- What does signing authorization cards mean?
- Is my card confidential?
- Can I be fired for signing an authorization card?
- Can I Organize at Work?
Union Contracts
- What's a Union Contract?
- Isn't the IWW opposed to Contracts?
- What difference does a contract make?
- What goes into a union contract?
- When and how are contracts negotiated?
- Who negotiates with the company?
Strikes, Stewards, and Union Dues
- What about a strike?
- What is a Shop Steward?
- How are Grievances handled?
- When do we pay initiation fees and dues?
- If the union wins, do we lose our benefits?
- Does the IWW oppose "merit" raises?
What does signing a union authorization card mean?
The National Labor Relations Act requires that at least 30% of the workers in a potential "bargaining unit" show that they are interest in having a union. Thus, workers sign authorization cards to (1) show that they are interested in a union and (2) authorize the union of your choice to act as their collective bargaining agent. Authorization cards are not union membership cards.
Is my authorization card confidential?
Absolutely! The IWW guarantees that neither your employer nor supervisor will see your card. Under federal labor law, only union representatives of your choosing and agents of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) are entitled to see your card. Your card must and will be kept confidential at all times.
Can I be fired or suffer any penalty on the job for signing a card or participating in organizing?
No. Federal law says, "employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join or assist labor organizations." Congress passed this law to ensure that workers could freely participate in joining the union of their choice without interference from their employer. The employer may try to break this law, and they are used to workers not knowing their legal rights.
Can I sign up co-workers and otherwise participate in the union campaign on the job?
The law protects your right to campaign for the union of your choice at the work place, but only on your own time, i.e. before you clock in, during your breaks and lunch hour, and after you clock out. Remember, signing up co-workers using authorization cards is not the same thing as having your co-workers join the IWW outright.
A union/management contract is an exchange of mutual agreements, arrived at after bargaining, which impose rights and duties on each party. Company policy is not a contract. The rules and regulations are set entirely by management. Workers don't have a voice in setting company policy. Management sets the rules and enforces them, and can ignore or change them at any time. Your only choice is to take it or leave.
Doesn't the IWW Oppose Contracts?
At one time, this was true, but not anymore. We still believe that contracts represent only a temporary truce in the struggle between the working class and the employing class. The boss class is always trying to cheat workers out of the "guarantees" in their contracts, and workers don't truly enjoy the full fruits of their labor under even the best contract (because only workers produce goods and services). However, it is not always possible to maintain a strong union environment without a contract, and many workers desire them. Since the IWW is a democratic union, we respect the choices our members make, including the decision to negotiate a contract.
What difference does a contract make?
The National Labor Relations Act requires an employer to bargain in good faith with the union a majority of workers vote for in a secret-ballot election. The employer must come to the bargaining table with an open mind and a sincere desire to discuss the issues. Both parties must try to reach a settlement through negotiations, and when agreement is reached, they must sign a written contract. Here's what this means to you:
- Management cannot reduce wages or change working conditions without first negotiating with the workers, through their union representatives. Workers are entitled to vote on changes made to their contract.
- Your contract is for a set period of time and cannot be changed at will by a notice or announcement. There will be no favoritism or change of policy to suit the whim of management.
- The union, which is essentially you and your co-workers (with the help of the rest of the union of your choice), enforce your contract to make sure the company abides by the rules.
- The IWW enforces your contract through a grievance procedure, in arbitration.
What goes into the union contract?
Your ideas on wages, benefits and rights on the job will be used to develop the proposals to be negotiated with management. Your union negotiating committee will try to bargain all the improvements you propose. Most union contracts set wages, hours, working conditions, seniority, health and welfare benefits, pensions, rights to promotion, maintenance of standards, anti-discrimination clauses, grievance procedures, and other rights that help workers on the job. Some even include sections on profit-sharing.
When and how are contract proposals developed?
As soon as the union of your choice achieves official recognition and is certified or recognized as the bargaining agent by the National Labor Relations Board, the union and you will ask for immediate negotiations with management. Contract proposals are developed as follows:
- Many workers have already told the union in person, by letter, by e-mail, and on the telephone what they would like to see in the contract.
- Meetings will be called so that you and other union members can develop contract proposals and elect your union negotiating committee.
- At the request of your organizing committee, IWW staff and attorneys may help put the proposals together so that everyone knows what's on the bargaining table.
- Very often, other union contracts are studied for comparative working conditions in particular workplaces and industries.
Who negotiates with the company?
The committee you elect, assisted by union officers and staff, will conduct negotiations and provide you regular reports. The contract is not valid until a majority of eligible members vote by secret ballot to accept it. Although a small committee may hammer out actual language, every worker in the bargaining unit is entitled to one vote in any and every formal decision about the contract.
A strike is an action of last resort and seldom occurs. In the IWW, strikes can only be authorized by majority, secret ballot vote of the workers involved in the workplace (or union of workplaces, if the contract or organizing committee represents more than one individual shop). The IWW cannot order you or your co-workers to strike, nor can it call off your strike should you vote to have one.
What is a steward and how is he/she elected?
A shop steward is a union member at your workplace you elect to enforce the contract. The steward's job is to handle grievances directly with your supervisor and to report problems to your IWW branch. You have a right to have your shop-steward present any time your supervisor or employer disciplines you. Shop stewards should have extra copies of the contract present at all times and should be accessible to all members of the union at their workplace.
In most unionized workplaces, members report problems to their steward. The steward and the members have copies of the contract; and because the steward has been trained, the steward will know whether there has been a violation of the contract and how to handle a grievance. If the problem is not covered by the contract, the steward may still process the grievance. Occasionally, workplaces have a different grievance procedure, or at least a slight variation on the one described here.
A grievance requires a response from the employer, and can go through various steps of "appeal." If your immediate boss won't settle a grievance, maybe his or her boss will. Your steward or local union officers will handle the grievance, all the way to arbitration if necessary. In some contracts, the workers even retain the right to strike should a grievance remain unresolved.
When do we pay initiation fees and dues?
You pay no initiation fees to the IWW, and you pay no dues until a contract has been approved by secret ballot of you and your co-workers, unless you choose to do so individually.
If the union wins, can I lose any of my current benefits?
No. The National Labor Relations Act requires management to maintain the "status quo" until a union contract is in place.
Does the IWW have a position on "merit raises"?
The IWW believes that rating and productivity systems are generally arbitrary. While some aspects of productivity can be measured, not all individuals are born with the same abilities. Almost all work requires group effort, and while individual contributions are important, they have little or no value without the cooperation of others. It is not fair to penalize workers who don't have the ability to work as hard as those who do. Even if there were a fair way to measure "merit", the boss class rarely does. They use arbitrary and contradictory standards, and usually these have little or nothing to do with actual productivity. Supervisors have too much control over wages. They can approve raises for their "favorites"; they can withhold raises from even the most deserving workers. However, workers may choose to negotiate the details of a merit based system if they wish.
