Alecia Fawcett, Local 227:
Carhartt Garment Factory,
Glasgow, Ky.
Alecia Fawcett worked without a union and vows never to work at a nonunion plant again.
I had been working three months at Carhartt when a UFCW International representative talked to me about the union and signing an authorization card. In the three months I'd been at the plant, I saw what it was like to work without a union. The company hired and fired at will. I have seen as many as three people get walked out the door in one day, and that is a scary feeling, just because the company was in a mood to fire somebody. So when I was asked to sign a card, I did because it was an opportunity to stand up and make it better, not just for me but for everybody.
A lot of people, young and old, don't understand the concept of union. When the topic comes up, the first things many people think of are strikes and union dues, because those are the aspects that get the most attention in the media.
I tell people: yes, you pay union dues. But how do you put a price on job security? On dignity? On self-respect? I would never work in a nonunion plant again. For one reason, not a day goes by that we don't exercise our seniority rights.
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