Once we file for our election, the NLRB will notify our employer that CBG employees (who still remain anonymous) intend to form a union. Because forming a union holds our employer accountable and gives you a say over things like wages, benefits, hours, and safety, our employer will likely fight our efforts to unionize. By devoting time and money to an anti-union campaign, our employer will attempt to convince you and your coworkers – either by illegal intimidation or a “friendly” approach – that forming a union is against your interests. To dissuade management from doing this and to keep morale high among your coworkers, you will need to publicly show your numbers in various ways during the run-up to your union election. This may be as simple as wearing union buttons to work or as elaborate as a rally where members of your community show their support for your organizing drive.
Go Public
5
Once we win union recognition, our employer, by law, must sit down and bargain a contract “in good faith” with us. All of us will select representatives from our workplace to bargain the contract with the help of union staff. Our contract will be federally enforceable, meaning our employer can be disciplined for violating it. Though our employer is required to bargain “in good faith” – meaning it must make a good faith effort to agree on the terms of a contract – it will try to give up as little as possible in negotiations. In order to make the terms of our agreement with the employer the best they can be, all of us must maintain our unity and strength. This means continuing to show our numbers and support like we did during your election campaign.
Negotiate OUR Contract!
7
We win our union election with a simple majority: 50 percent of the workforce plus one vote. For example, if 50 workers vote, 26 must vote for the union.
WIN Our Election
6
Once we get a tentative agreement on our first contract, then all union members will get to vote to accept or reject the contract. Only if a majority of your coworkers vote for the contract will it be authorized.
At the end of the day, our voices will be heard.
Vote on OUR Contract
8
Our Keys to UNION Victory!
Start talking privately with a few trusted coworkers about the shared issues you’re having at work and about organizing a union. Together, determine who else would be interested and privately reach out to them.
Build Your Base
1
In order to win union recognition from your employer, you will need to build overwhelming support by having your coworkers sign “authorization cards,” showing their desire to join the union. During this process, it is extremely important that the union stay “underground,” meaning you and your coworkers keep your efforts a secret from management. Authorization cards are completely confidential and your employer will never see who signed them. Depending on your workplace, the process to build enough support to file for an election could take weeks or months.
Sign a UNION Card
3
You can’t build a union alone! You will need to identify others at your workplace who are not only deeply committed to forming a union but are respected by your co-workers. Workplace leaders help build support for the union by gathering information, having conversations with other workers about the union, identifying issues that others care about, running union meetings, and more, all with the help of a union organizer.
Build a Committee
2
Once we get a significant majority of workers signed up on authorization cards, we will use those cards to ask for recognition from CHS. If CHS chooses to not recognize our wishes and respect our voices then we will file for a union election. With the help of a union organizer, we will take our authorization cards to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to file for a union election. The NLRB is the federal agency that oversees union elections and protects workers from any kind of retaliation from their employers. The NLRB will set a date for a union vote, usually within three weeks of the day you file.