Talk to friends family coworkers managers Read handouts websites Read Talk Challenge both sides

Facts (you can check!) Safe environment Respect Open mind Informed decision Your commitment to each other

WHO: XXXX local XX WHERE: location here WHAT: NLRB election WHEN: Day & Date here SECRET BALLOT WHY?

ELECTION CAMPAIGN CARD SIGNING TARGETING NEGOTIATIONS Months to years Up to one year 3 – 5 week If 50% + 1 of votes are “yes” Everyone eligible to vote is now “represented” by the union. VOTE Neither side is required to agree to any proposal. By law the union and the company must now meet and “confer in good faith”. SECRET BALLOT

s/documents/224/basicguide.pdf No guarantee of an agreement Neither side must agree to any contract proposal Pay and working conditions cannot be changed without agreement Source: Center for American Progress for American Progress May go on for years Of unions certified through the National Labor Relations Board election process- only 38% achieve a first contract within one year 44% never achieve a first contract

A union contract is written about you. (not by you or for you) Most contracts have a management rights clause. The company can still hire, fire, demote, promote and lay off. A union contract is an agreement between a union and a company. (not between a company and its workers)

Employees’ issues Pay Benefits Schedules Job Security Workload “Respect” Company goals Management Rights Clause Flexibility Quality Remain competitive

The union will assign a negotiator. The negotiator has all the power at the table. The negotiator makes all decisions on the contract including what to propose, reject and agree to. Workers rarely have any say in who negotiates for them.

Most unions do NOT require workers vote to accept a contract. And the International union has the final authority to approve or reject all contracts. The only vote may be to accept a losing contract or go out on strike.

Do Strikes Still Occur? Strikes are not nearly as common as they once were. Strikes are less effective now as employers are better prepared for them. Now unions often threaten to strike only to scare union members into ratifying an unwanted contract.

You might stay the same. (and still pay dues) You might get more. You might get less. But the union can’t make any guarantees. The union can trade away what you have now for things the union wants. Some could gain while others lose, even in the same contract. You might get less. You might get more.

Read Talk Sample union contract To friends and family about how union bargaining works Will the union guarantee in writing that I’ll get more in a union contract than I get now? Will the union guarantee in writing that I’ll never lose anything in a union contract? Challenge