4 ms·

Is it mandatory for employees to join the union?

by 0des 4y ago

toomuchtodo 4y ago
Or course not. You can work somewhere else if you don’t want collective representation. Can’t have your cake and eat it too, getting benefits of a union without joining it is freeloading.
- t34egr 4y ago
  - toomuchtodo 4y ago
    [flagged]
    - t34egr 4y ago
      [flagged]
- karaterobot 4y ago
  When I worked at a place with UAW representation, you had the option to not become a UAW member and still work there, but you had to pay some portion of the union dues anyway. They were not called dues in that case, but something else. The argument was that UAW had negotiated certain benefits that you enjoyed whether you were a member or not, so you should still pay something.
- djbebs 4y ago
  The union isn't my employer, why would I need their permission to work?
  - pessimizer 4y ago
    Because your employer wants the union to be happy. You also need the customer's permission to work; because if customers ask your employer to fire you, your employer will think that it's a good idea to fire you. edit: TBH, you need my permission to work, too, if I know enough of the customers or have enough followers on my twitter account.
    - djbebs 4y ago
      I can assure you my employer would like the union to fuck off. In a world where it isn't illegal to fire everyone who even thinks of joining the union, you might have some (ethically wrong) point. That's not in this world.
xeromal 4y ago
Depends on the contract, but when I worked for Kroger years ago, if I opted out of the union, I got like 2 more $ an hour but at the cost of some other benefits. I was 15 so of course I opted out for that extra cash.
- softcactus 4y ago
  Holy crap those are some insane dues! I had a similar experience working for a grocery store at that age. I am pro-union since I have seen the good it does for trades, but it seemed scummy trying to convince me to join the union as a kid who was on his parents insurance at the time and didn't need benefits.
  - lupire 4y ago
    It's not dues, it's health insurance. And it's not really "scummy" of the union that health insurance had weird loopholes for kids.
    - softcactus 4y ago
      Then why try to convince me to join if I'm paying into insurance and strike funds that I will never see any benefit from? I understand collective bargaining but it seems like they just wanted to trick high school kids into giving away 15% of their paychecks. Also even though the store had high union membership, my managers still pulled crap like calling me to the register during my legally mandated 15 minute break.
  - xeromal 4y ago
    Funny enough, the person who replied to you was wrong. I didn't get health insurance. They were dues. The benefits I mentioned were guaranteed raises that I knew I wouldn't get because I didn't plan to work there for more than a summer.
FrancoisBosun 4y ago
In Canada, it is not. If you don’t join the union, you may still benefit from the union’s bargaining power so you will pay some dues to the union. I would presume this varies per region.
- pastor_bob 4y ago
  It depends. In many industries it's a requirement of the bargaining agreement. But many states have passed 'right to work' laws which state you can't be forced. And still, I know of positions where there are 'union' and 'non-union' people basically doing the same job at companies. Non-union usually comes with a pay bump to offset not having the union benefits.
  - lokar 4y ago
    When I helped run a union we had to carefully track paid time and expenses. Only time spent negotiating and enforcing the contract could be collected from non members.
- djbebs 4y ago
  So it is mandatory...
bjornsing 4y ago
I doubt that would be legal. The unions in Sweden tried it, but it was against rights enshrined in the constitution (freedom of association), so didn’t fly even here.
pessimizer 4y ago
No, and even worse, it is mandatory for the union to negotiate for employees who don't join. That's one of the many ways in which unions are sabotaged in the US. If unions could negotiate for exclusive benefits for their own members, they wouldn't have any trouble recruiting. Instead Taft-Hartley made it illegal for them to manage insurance/pensions that the employer contributes to. Unions are weak because the deck was stacked, the same way it is in every kleptocracy.
- erik_seaberg 4y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Members-only_unionism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Members-only_unionism is allowed, but most unions impose the same rules about non-members to prevent competition.

Is it mandatory for employees to join the union?

by 0des 4y ago

Is it mandatory for employees to join the union?

Or course not. You can work somewhere else if you don’t want collective representation. Can’t have your cake and eat it too, getting benefits of a union without joining it is freeloading.

t34egr 4y ago
- toomuchtodo 4y ago
  [flagged]
  - t34egr 4y ago
    [flagged]
karaterobot 4y ago
When I worked at a place with UAW representation, you had the option to not become a UAW member and still work there, but you had to pay some portion of the union dues anyway. They were not called dues in that case, but something else. The argument was that UAW had negotiated certain benefits that you enjoyed whether you were a member or not, so you should still pay something.
djbebs 4y ago
The union isn't my employer, why would I need their permission to work?
- pessimizer 4y ago
  Because your employer wants the union to be happy. You also need the customer's permission to work; because if customers ask your employer to fire you, your employer will think that it's a good idea to fire you. edit: TBH, you need my permission to work, too, if I know enough of the customers or have enough followers on my twitter account.
  - djbebs 4y ago
    I can assure you my employer would like the union to fuck off. In a world where it isn't illegal to fire everyone who even thinks of joining the union, you might have some (ethically wrong) point. That's not in this world.

xeromal 4y ago

Depends on the contract, but when I worked for Kroger years ago, if I opted out of the union, I got like 2 more $ an hour but at the cost of some other benefits. I was 15 so of course I opted out for that extra cash.

softcactus 4y ago
Holy crap those are some insane dues! I had a similar experience working for a grocery store at that age. I am pro-union since I have seen the good it does for trades, but it seemed scummy trying to convince me to join the union as a kid who was on his parents insurance at the time and didn't need benefits.
- lupire 4y ago
  It's not dues, it's health insurance. And it's not really "scummy" of the union that health insurance had weird loopholes for kids.
  - softcactus 4y ago
    Then why try to convince me to join if I'm paying into insurance and strike funds that I will never see any benefit from? I understand collective bargaining but it seems like they just wanted to trick high school kids into giving away 15% of their paychecks. Also even though the store had high union membership, my managers still pulled crap like calling me to the register during my legally mandated 15 minute break.
- xeromal 4y ago
  Funny enough, the person who replied to you was wrong. I didn't get health insurance. They were dues. The benefits I mentioned were guaranteed raises that I knew I wouldn't get because I didn't plan to work there for more than a summer.

FrancoisBosun 4y ago

In Canada, it is not. If you don’t join the union, you may still benefit from the union’s bargaining power so you will pay some dues to the union. I would presume this varies per region.

pastor_bob 4y ago
It depends. In many industries it's a requirement of the bargaining agreement. But many states have passed 'right to work' laws which state you can't be forced. And still, I know of positions where there are 'union' and 'non-union' people basically doing the same job at companies. Non-union usually comes with a pay bump to offset not having the union benefits.
- lokar 4y ago
  When I helped run a union we had to carefully track paid time and expenses. Only time spent negotiating and enforcing the contract could be collected from non members.
djbebs 4y ago
So it is mandatory...

bjornsing 4y ago

I doubt that would be legal. The unions in Sweden tried it, but it was against rights enshrined in the constitution (freedom of association), so didn’t fly even here.

pessimizer 4y ago

No, and even worse, it is mandatory for the union to negotiate for employees who don't join. That's one of the many ways in which unions are sabotaged in the US. If unions could negotiate for exclusive benefits for their own members, they wouldn't have any trouble recruiting. Instead Taft-Hartley made it illegal for them to manage insurance/pensions that the employer contributes to. Unions are weak because the deck was stacked, the same way it is in every kleptocracy.

erik_seaberg 4y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Members-only_unionism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Members-only_unionism is allowed, but most unions impose the same rules about non-members to prevent competition.