What is the difference between a “Right-to-Work” State and a “non-Right-to-Work” state? Prior to 1947, whenever a union became the representative of employees, federal law allowed the employer and union to require all...
Category - Q&A
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How Do Union Members End Up With Bad Contracts?
If union members have the right to vote on contracts, how do they end up with bad contracts? That is a question that is often asked by people contemplating whether or not to bring a union into their workplace. Or, related to this is the other...
What Can A Union Promise Employees?
Or, what is the difference between a union promise and a union guarantee? People often vote to unionize on the belief that, somehow, the union will solve an issue that they have—whether it’s wages, benefits, or even unfair treatment. By...
Can Employees Lose As A Result Of Collective Bargaining?
Question: Can employees lose wages or benefits as a result of collective bargaining? Answer: Yes. Very often, people believe that they cannot lose things (i.e., wages, benefits, or other things) if they are unionized. Nothing could be further from...
Why Is It Important To Vote?
Here’s why it is important to vote in NLRB elections. Sometimes, voting in NLRB elections can be confusing. The question people sometimes ask is: If I’m not really interested in the union, why should I bother to vote? Just to be clear...
What Is A Union?
A union is a business that “represents” employees on the job with their employer. Like other businesses, unions have executives and staff who run the union’s business. These executives and staffs have very lucrative compensation...
How Much Are Union Dues?
Union dues are typically a percentage of pay—usually between 1.5% of pay to as much as five percent of pay. The amount of union dues vary from union to union and will usually range from a few hundred dollars per year to more than a thousand...
What If I Don’t Want To Pay Union Dues?
What is a Right-To-Work state? If you are employed in one of 22 Non-Right-to-Work states (also called Forced Dues states) and the union negotiates a “union (income) security clause” you could be required to pay the union as a condition...
Can Unionized Employees Deal With Their Employer Directly?
The loss of the freedom to speak on one’s own behalf can be costly for unionized employees. Can Unionized Employees Deal With Their Employer Directly? The answer is ‘No.’ If you become unionized it becomes unlawful for your...
Can A Union Keep Me From Getting Fired?
Question: Can a union keep me from getting fired from my job? Answer: No. Unionized workers are fired from unionized workplaces all the time. One of the common fallacies about unions is that, if you violate a company policy, you cannot be fired...