Here are seven good reasons to join your co-workers to form a union.
- Those of us on the front line have the best insight into what is needed to do the best job possible for the students and families we serve. Together, we can advocate more effectively for improvements in our workplaces and bring progress to our education system. Union contracts often include the establishment of a Labor Management Committee, where union members regularly sit down with our employers’ top decision-makers to improve things like staffing levels, proper training, and other worksite issues.
- Working together, union members have the strength to win better wages, affordable health care, a secure retirement, good working conditions, and improvements to the services we provide. And with a contract, these things are guaranteed in writing and can’t be changed simply because there’s a new boss or the economy is suffering.
- The Union Advantage is substantial. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, union members are much more likely to have health benefits and pensions.
- Union members earn more than their non-union counterparts—28% more, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. For Latinos and women workers, the union impact is even greater. Women workers who are union members earn nearly 32% more a year than their non-union counterparts. For Latino workers the union advantage is 43 %.
- In addition to helping workers win better wages and benefits, unions help all workers by giving working families a stronger voice in our communities and in the political arena. In this tough economy, it’s more important than ever to we advocate for funding for the quality services we provide. And we work with elected leaders to find alternatives to layoffs, so that both jobs and services can be protected.
- By joining together, we can build the strength to hold elected officials accountable and to elect leaders who will truly address our concerns. As education workers, many of us have the unique opportunity to elect our own bosses to the school boards in our districts.
- We help insure a fair environment at work, where there are protections against favoritism and unjust treatment. Most contracts outline progressive discipline and grievance procedures, establishing good practices for management to follow.
