Organizing
What is Organizing?
The common term for a group of workers
looking to join a union is “Organizing.”
Workers organize for various reasons, be
it to improve their working conditions,
increase their pay or benefits, and/or
to create a better working environment.
Sprinkler Fitters Local 550 encourages you to read more
about us to see if joining our union is
right for you and/or your coworkers.
Our Mission
Our Founder’s Mission was to achieve
unity of action among all workers in the
industry, to meet the needs of
construction workers, and to elevate the
conditions of life and labor for working
people.
We must honor, respect, and never forget
their sacrifices and dedication to our
industry. We must continue their fight
for working people and never let the
union die.
Introduction
The American Promise is that if we go to
school, work hard, and become a
productive and faithful employee, we can
then expect to support a family, raise
and educate our children, enjoy a
healthy and fulfilling life and retire
with dignity. We weren’t supposed to
have to win the lottery, or be a
corporate executive to enjoy the
American dream.
That was the vision of middle class
Americans, who once modeled the image of
what it was to be an American. The
middle class is disappearing in direct
proportion to the demise of the American
union movement. After World War II,
nearly 30 percent of our work force
belonged to unions. Today, barely half
that are organized. Today, a few own the
world’s resources while most live in
poverty.
The minimum wage in NY State is $6.75
per hour; however wages of $8 per hour
are common. For most of these workers
there is no health insurance or
retirement plans. The result? Taxpayers
across the United States are making up
for what employers should be paying with
public assistance programs. That’s
corporate welfare.
Why are wages so low? Because that’s the
easiest way to increase profitability.
The result? Today, the wealthiest one
percent own as much of our nation as
ninety percent of the rest of us.
Corporate CEO’s can earn 500 times the
wages paid their workers.
Why Unions?
The freedom to form unions is a basic
human right. In 1935, the US Government
enacted the National Labor Relations Act
that said, “Employees shall have the
right to form…labor organizations…to
bargain collectively…(and employers may
not) interfere with…the exercise of…this
right.” In 1948, the US joined
four-fifths of United Nations member
states to ratify the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights which
included the right of all people to come
together in unions.
Workers form unions because there is
power in numbers. Where unions are
strong, employers must bargain
collectively to set the terms and
conditions of employment. The demand for
profits must then be compromised with
fairness toward workers.
How Employers Prevent Unions?
When American workers seek to exercise
the right to form a union, they nearly
always run into a buzz saw of employer
threats, intimidation and coercion such
as:
• Captive
audience meetings
•
One-on-one meetings with supervisors
• Threats
to close or move the workplace if
workers vote to unionize
• Hiring
professional consultants (union-busters)
to coordinate anti-
worker campaigns
• Firing
workers for union activity
According to Human Rights Watch, the
treatment of workers by employers and
the failure of the US government to
prevent it constitute a serious
violation of human rights. Their report
says, “Many workers…are spied on,
harassed, pressured, threatened,
suspended, fired, deported or otherwise
victimized in reprisal for their
exercise of the right to choose a
union.”
The consequences have been devastation
for all of American society. When
collective bargaining is suppressed,
wages lag, inequality and poverty grow,
race and gender pay gaps widen,
society’s safety net is strained and
civic and political participation are
undermined.
What Have Unions Done for Us?
8-hour day
5-day work week
Health Insurance
Good pensions
Higher wages
Job security
Overtime pay
Job safety
Family and medical leave
Fair treatment for women, people of
color, and those with disabilities
Union members earn 28 percent more than
nonunion workers. But stronger unions
raise living standards and improve the
quality of life for everyone. In the 10
states in which unions are the
strongest, there is less poverty, higher
household income, more education
spending, and better public policy than
in the 10 states where unions are
weakest.
Unions Encourage Democracy
Unions encourage voting and other forms
of political participation by members
and other social groups with common
interests. Political Scientist Benjamin
Radcliff has estimated that for every 1
percent decline in union membership
there is a 0.4 percent decline in voter
participation.
35 Things Your Employer Cannot Do:
| 1. Attend
any union meeting, park across the
street from the hall or engage in any undercover activity which would indicate that the employees are being kept under surveillance to determine who is and who is not participating in the union program. |
| 2. Tell
employees that the company will fire or
punish them if they engage in union activity. |
|
3. Lay off,
discharge, discipline any employee for
union activity. |
| 4. Grant
employees wage increases, special
concessions or benefits in order to keep the union out. |
| 5. Bar
employee-union representatives from
soliciting employees’ memberships on or off the company property during non-waking hours. |
| 6. Ask
employees about union matters, meetings,
etc. (Some employees may, of their own accord, walk up and tell of such matters. It is not an unfair labor practice to listen, but to ask questions to obtain
additional information is illegal.) |
| 7. Ask
employees what they think about the
union or a union representative once the employee refuses to discuss it. |
| 8. Ask
employees how they intend to vote. |
| 9. Threaten
employees with reprisal for
participating in union activities. For example, threaten to move the plant or close the business, curtail operations or reduce employees’ benefits. |
| 10. Promise
benefits to employees if they reject the
union. |
| 11. Give
financial support or other assistance to
a union. |
| 12.
Announce that the company will not deal
with the union. |
| 13.
Threaten to close, in fact close, or
move plant in order to avoid dealing with a union. |
| 14. Ask
employees whether or not they belong to
a union, or have signed up for union representation. |
| 15. Ask an
employee, during the hiring interview,
about his affiliation with a labor organization or how he feels about unions. |
| 16. Make
anti-union statements or act in a way
that might show preference for a non-union man. |
| 17. Make
distinctions between union and non-union
employees when assigning overtime work or desirable work. |
| 18.
Purposely team up non-union men and keep
them apart from those supporting the union. |
| 19.
Transfer workers on the basis of union
affiliations or activities. |
| 20. Choose
employees to be laid off in order to
weaken the union’s strength or discourage membership in the union. |
| 21.
Discriminate against union people when
disciplining employees. |
| 22. By
nature of work assignments, create
conditions intended to get rid of an employee because of his union activity.
|
| 23. Fail to
grant a scheduled benefit or wage
increase because of union activity. |
| 24. Deviate
from company policy for the purpose of
getting rid of a union supporter. |
| 25. Take
action that adversely affects an
employee’s job or pay rate because of union activity. |
| 26.
Threaten workers or coerce them in an
attempt to influence their vote. |
| 27.
Threaten a union member through a third
party. |
| 28. Promise
employees a reward or future benefit if
they decide “no union”. |
| 29. Tell
employees overtime work (and premium
pay) will be discontinued if the plant is unionized. |
| 30. Say
unionization will force the company to
lay off employees. |
| 31. Say
unionization will do away with vacations
or other benefits and privileges presently in effect. |
| 32. Promise
employees promotions, raises or other
benefits if they get out of the union or refrain from joining the union. |
| 33. Start a
petition or circular against the union
or encourage or take part in its circulation if started by employees. |
| 34. Urge
employees to try to induce others to
oppose the union or keep out of it. |
| 35. Visit
the homes of employees to urge them to
reject the union. |
Click Here to contact our organizer via email.
|
