"Have you ever had to organize a party for someone? You have to get the word out it's happening and get everyone who is helping out to agree on things like what food people are going to bring. Everyone might agree they want a party, but have different ideas about what flavor of ice cream to get or activities to do. But if you want that party to happen, everyone has to come to some basic decisions."

Federally there are few groups who can’t unionize. Those include employees that are:

• Employed by federal, state, or local government.
• Employed as agricultural laborers.
• Employed in the domestic service of any person or family in a home.
• Employed by a parent or spouse.
• Employed as an independent contractor.
• Employed as a supervisor (Companies risk violating the NLRA if they discriminate against supervisors in certain situations.)
• Employed by an employer subject to the Railway Labor Act, such as railroads and airlines.
• Employed by any other person who is not an employer as defined in the NLRA.

Salary ≠ Management

As long as you do not work in one of the specified circumstances above, and do not have hiring, firing, or disciplinary priviledges you are likley eligible to join a union! Local 1869 was the first all-salary bargaining unit at General Motors.

Negotiating a Union Contract

A union contract is not the same thing as an employee handbook. Your employer can decide to change a handbook at any time, for any reason. A contact is legally binding and cannot be changed unless agreed upon by both parties during the life of the contract.

Coming together to determine what you want to discuss with your employer:

Contracts typically expire after 3-5 years (depending on what is agreed upon together with the company), so many times negotiations will start from an old contract read to expire. Most discussions begin by starting with what you have now, then building upon it. You are only limited by what you and your coworkers can dream up together.

Items up for discussion can be anything you want to address in your workplace, including, but not limited to:

• Wages
• Healthcare
• Pensions and Retirement Benefits
• Hours & Scheduling
• Paid time off (PTO)
• Overtime compensation
• Premium and holiday pay
• Working Conditions
• Seniority and advancement policies
• ...and more!

Most unions have a process for voting on the issues to bring to the bargaining table. For Local 1869 we call these, "resolutions". Prior to the beginning of negotiations we gather to hear out the concerns and wants of our membership and each member will have a chance to vote on those resolutions.

It's a Negotiation

It's important to remember that the entire process is, in fact, a negotiation. Both sies will hear each other's ideas and priorities. The process always includes formal discussions with notes or minutes taken so there is a record of what was said in case there is a question or dispute later.

A Union and the company will go back and forth on terms to form the language of the contract. Evidence and information will be requested an gathered to substantiate (or disprove) the claims of various proposed changes. If common ground can't be found a neutral third-party mediator may be called in.

All of these efforts will culminate in a tentative agreement.

The Members get the final say

Ultimately, the members of the union get to have the final say for any contract. The tentative agreement remains tentative until it is brought to a vote before the membership.

If the majority of the bargaining unit votes yes and accepts the agreement, it will become the official, binding contract

If the majority of the bargaining unit votes no and rejects the contract, the bargaining committee and the company will typically restart negotiations and continue trying to work out a solution that both sides can agree on.