Being pro-union helps create stronger employers and companies! We want our employers to be successful and we should support the products our companies offer. In turn the company we work for should not shame us to want a voice in our workplace. Unfortunately with many companies the balance has shifted from benefits for all, to benefits for only a few. Employee’s who work hard also contribute to a company’s success! We should have a voice in the company as well our fair share of the profits for the hard work we perform.
As a Union we attempt to maximize collective power in the workplace for the best possible wages, benefits, and working conditions. A Union is strong when members feel they have a voice that matters. While we cannot win all issues that we face as a Union, its important to understand that it takes hard work and commitment of all Union members to make change happen. Only with continued support and involvement of our members can we make our Union strong enough to matter. Your voice is important to us and the entire membership of this local!
Your union brings together the collective strength of you and your co-workers to insure meaningful negotiations with management for a a fair and equitable contract. Negotiations are not limited to only wages and salaries, but can also include staffing and overtime, fair and flexible working hours, paid holidays, paid medical leave, safety and health, continuing education, adequate pensions, vacations, training, equitable promotion and job transfer policies, and a workable grievance system. In addition when workers’ have a voice in helping to make decisions about how work gets done; results in increased productivity and a lower job turnover rate.
What advantages are there in being a Union member? The main advantage is that you get a voice in the affairs of your Union. Union membership allows you to attend Union meetings, participate as an officer, or a steward, and to vote on how your Union is run. Most importantly Union membership allows you to vote on Union contract proposals. If you’re not a member; you can’t vote on contract proposals. Unions also protect workers from “arbitrary” employer actions relating to discipline and dismissals by using the grievance and arbitration process. That protection makes jobs better and often leads union members to stay at their jobs longer than non-union workers.
In a non-union workplace, management retains the legal right to make all decisions regarding the workplace. Your benefits which include pay, pensions, health care, severance, vacations, and holidays, can be arbitrarily cut without notice to the employees. With a union, benefits and other working conditions cannot be changed arbitrarily; they have to be negotiated, and the members of the union are able to vote for or against proposed changes.
Unions do not ask for more in a contract than an employer can afford. It would be a disservice to Union members if our employer’s were made less competitive. Many of the world’s largest and most successful businesses are unionized. A union contract is nothing more than a set of rules that govern the relationship among those who carry out the work and the company they work for. All employers want rules that help stabilize their competitive process. Unions negotiate a contract that will allow a stable work environment upon which members can plan their lives. The only way to guarantee that stability is through a legally binding, negotiated contract that offers professionals a voice on the job.
As a member of CWA Local 4900 you enjoy privileges that the non-union worker doesn’t, it by no means excuses a poor worker. Each and every member of this Local is expected to perform their job to the best of their ability, not only by their respective company, but also by CWA Local 4900. This not only means your duties to the company, but also your obligations to your co-workers. It is expected of you to interact positively with your co-workers, as well as your managers. A labor union is somewhat like a family that supports, consoles and defends one another. While we may have disagreements within our family, we pull together to protect and defend against outside forces. And remember, that while we may not all agree on everything, we are in this together for the betterment of all involved. For our futures…and our family…
CWA Local 4900