Understanding the process
Understanding the Process
+1 speak for everyone.
If elected by a majority vote (at least 50% of voters +1), the union represents all employees in the voting unit, even those who didn’t vote for representation.
You do have a right to:
- Say no to union organizers.
- Speak for yourself.
- Hear the facts the union didn’t tell you.
- Ask questions of any supervisor or manager.
- Not be bothered at home or at work by union organizers.
- Tell union organizers to leave you alone.
- Ignore phone calls from union organizers.
- Protect your privacy.
- Receive your entire paycheck, free from union deductions.
- Speak out against a labor union.
How does the unionization process work?
Union Authorization Cards
Union organizers’ first step is getting you to sign a union authorization card. Don’t sign a union authorization card without educating yourself.
Did You Know?
- Your signature (handwritten or electronic) is legally binding and final.
- It can be kept on file for one year or longer.
- You may be authorizing a dues deduction from your paycheck, if union representation begins.
- You are authorizing the union to speak on your behalf on all employment terms, if union representation begins (even if you voted “no”).
Voting Process
If 30% of the team members in your workplace sign a union card, the union representative can file a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to request a vote.
Even if you signed a union card, you aren’t obligated to vote in favor of union representation.
Under current labor law, employees have the right to anonymous voting conducted through a government-supervised, secret-ballot election. This process helps prevent undue peer pressure and intimidation. Unions are pushing Congress to change the law and take away this right from American workers.
How It Works
Consequences
Once a union is in place:
- Its number one priority is to deduct dues from your paycheck, several hundreds of dollars a year, whether you voted for the union or not.
- Where allowed by law (about half the States), the union will likely seek to negotiate a contract provision requiring that you pay dues or be fired. As expected, the Teamsters have done just that in negotiations with FedEx Freight.
- A union trial board can issue fines in addition to the dues you owe.
- The union legally represents you whether you voted for it or not.
- The union can trade benefits you have to negotiate for the things the union wants.
- Union-called strikes are possible. That means loss of income.
Unions survive solely on dues deducted from your paycheck. Usually, to get a contract in place, the union will agree to a management rights clause. Even though it strips the union of significant power, it keeps the dues coming in. A management rights clause preserves the company’s right to continue to run its business, which may include the right to:
- Make and enforce work rules.
- Subcontract work.
- Schedule and assign work.
- Determine technology to be placed on trucks.
- Establish staffing levels.
- Lay off and recall employees.
- And take many other actions.
FedEx Freight always insists on a strong management rights clause.
Collective Bargaining
During collective bargaining, company representatives and union representatives meet to agree on terms and conditions of employment to be outlined in a collective bargaining agreement.
Union promises are not legally enforceable. The only legal requirement a union can enforce is that the company must bargain with it in good faith. The union cannot provide anything that the Company does not agree to provide.
What you should know about collective bargaining:
- You can end up with more, the same or less than what you have now.
- The union can trade benefits you currently have for things they want.
- The decisions proposed or made by the union may not fall in line with your viewpoints, and may not be beneficial for you and/or your family. Negotiations frequently involve trade-offs. Not everyone will have the same opinion as to what trade-offs are best.
- Stockton was closed for economic reasons after five years of bargaining an initial collective bargaining agreement.
- At one location, the unionized drivers did not receive annual wage increases for two years.
Member Rules
Are there rules for belonging to a union like the Teamsters? Yes.
All unions have their own rules that members must follow.
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- The Teamster rules and regulations govern and control the activities of their members, both on and off the job — and the Teamsters union defines that control in writing, in a very critical document — the union Constitution.
- The Teamster Constitution restricts the freedom of its members, and violations of these rules can and do result in disciplinary action, including fines, for its members.
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