Workers-United564.org 

Frequently asked questions

Feel free to stop by the hall with any questions.  

Below we have listed 10 questions and answers that we often hear from workers.   

1. What will be in our contract? 

It is for you, the employees to decide. Everything is negotiable.

2. Who runs the Union? 

It’s a democratic process. You elect your own officers. You vote on all issues of importance to you. You vote on the contract.

3. The company says the union is just after our dues money. Why should we pay money to the union? 

In this union the dues are 1.5 X your hourly wage plus  per capita tax. No worker will pay any dues until after a contract is voted and approved. The money is used to provide expert services including negotiators, lawyers, economists, educators: to pay salaries of officers and staff.

4. Could we lose or have our benefits or wages reduced? 

It’s against the law for the employer to retaliate against you by taking away wages or benefits. The Purpose of forming a union is to win improvements in wages and benefits, not to lose them. We start with what we have and go up. 

5. What can the union do about favoritism?

Fairness is the most important part of the union contract – the same rules apply to everyone.

6. What about all these articles and speeches the employer has been giving about the union being corrupt? 

It’s a strategy from the employer to try to make you think that the union is corrupt. Unions are made of decent, honest working people like you and are here to better workers lives.

7. The employer says the union can’t guarantee us anything. Can you? 

The union can guarantee this: that when workers stick together as a union they have more bargaining power and more of a voice than they do as individuals. We can make no promises on what the contract will contain-that is for you to decide.

8. The employer is implying the company could close if the union came in?

Companies do not go out of business because they have a union. Companies close because of market conditions or poor management. This is a scare tactic to keep you from voting for the union.

9. Could I get fired for participating in the campaign?

The law prohibits the employer from discriminating against anyone for union activities. If the employer does discriminate, you need to let us know so we could file an Unfair Labor Practice Charge with the National Labor Relations Board.

10. The company says there will be a strike if we organize? 

There could only be a strike if you, the employees, vote for the strike. No one can make you strike. The company tells you that to scare you from voting for the union.