A graphic with a colorful background and a white box. The header says, "What is a Union? Words to Know" The bulleted list says, "Bargaining: coming up with a contract for the workers and management at the place you work. Bargaining committee: members of the union who help write the contract and meet with management. Collective bargaining: the right to negotiate with management to make a contract. Discipline meeting: a meeting where management talks to you about something they think you did wrong at work. Negotiate: trying to make an agreement with someone. Organize: start a union with your co-workers. Union: a group of workers who come together to protect their rights at work. Wall to wall union: a kind of union where everyone who works at the place you work can be a part of it."
A graphic with a colorful background and a white box. The header says "What is a union?" The rest of the text says, "A union is a group of workers who come together to protect their rights at work. Some people think a union is a group from outside a workplace. They think a union will stop workers from talking to their employers. This is not true. Workers form unions. The people in a union all work together. An employer is someone who pays you to do work. Some employers say that unions are not important today. That is not true. People who are in charge of businesses also negotiate their contracts like unions. Negotiating means trying to make an agreement with someone. Both contracts talk about things like how much you get paid, when you work, what happens if you get in trouble at work, what happens if you get fired, what happens if you retire, what happens when you are sick, what happens when you want to take a vacation, how your employer will protect you, and more"
A graphic with a colorful background and a white box. The text says, "It should not be different for workers! Workers should not have fewer rights. Having a union is the only way to negotiate a contract and make our jobs a better place. Some unions include all the people who work somewhere. Other unions are just for people who work in a specific part of the company. For example, the Guild of Autistic Self-Advocate Staff (GASS) is a wall to wall union. A wall to wall union means that everyone who works at the place you work can be a part of it. Workers get a lot of important rights when we form a union. One of the most important rights we get is the right to collective bargaining. Bargaining means coming up with a contract for the workers and management at the place you work. Collective bargaining is the right to negotiate with management to make a contract. The law says your employer has to bargain with you and your co-workers after you organize.
Text says, "Organizing here means starting a union with your co-workers. It can take a long time to win your first contract. Sometimes a contract can take weeks, months, or even years. The bargaining committee meets with management to bargain. The bargaining committee are members of the union. They help write the contract and meet with management. After the bargaining committee and the employer agree on a contract, your union will vote. If your union votes for the contract, your employer cannot change your contract or take it away. The law says your employer has to follow the contract. If your workplace already has a union and you have a question, you can talk to a steward. Stewards are union members who get extra training about management. They help other members of the union. A steward is a good person to ask to join a discipline meeting. A discipline meeting is a meeting where management talks to you about something they think you did wrong at work." The GASS logo is on the bottom.
💡 What is a labor union? What rights do workers get when they form a labor union? We made a plain language guide that talks about what a labor union is and why they matter. Check it out below!
