Stand Up for Your Rights

YOUR RIGHT TO JOIN A UNION IS PROTECTED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT

Your Rights
Section 7 of the Labor-Management Relations Act, which is a federal law, guarantees employees the right to organize and bargain collectively with their employer. Here are the actual words from this law:

"Section 7. Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection..."

What this Means
It means that employees have the legal right to help organize, to join and to support a union of their own choosing. This includes such activites as signing a union card, getting others to sign cards, attending union meetings, wearing union buttons, passing out union literature and talking union to other employees.

It states that employees have the legal right to join together and work as a team in order to help each other.

It says that employees have the legal right to deal with their employer as a group, rather than individually.

It gives employees the legal right to take such group action as they feel necessary in order to gain their desired goals, so long as these actions violate no other laws.

It does not mean that employees have the right to carry on union activity during working hours or to allow their union activity to interfere with their jobs. (For this purpose, break time and lunch time ar not considered as working hours.)

Your Protection
Section 8 of the Labor-Management Relations Act protects employees by making it illegal for an employer to interfere with their rights as guaranteed in Section 7. Here are the actual words from the law:

"Section 8. (a) It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer --

(1) to interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 7;

(2) by discrimination in regard to hire or tenure of employment to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization..."

What this Means
It means that employees are supposed to have a FREE CHOICE in deciding whether or not they want to use their right to organize. Anything that an employer does to infringe upon this free choice is against the law.

It means that employers who interfere during an organizing campaign are breaking the law. An employer is not supposed to question employees, or even try to find out, about how employees feel, who signed cards, which employees are pushing the union, who attended meetings, what went on at meetings, etc. It is none of their business!

It means that an employer is not supposed to make any promises of raises, promotions or other benefits in order to influence employees in the exercise of their rights.

It means that an employer cannot take away, or threaten to take away, any benefits which you already have because of your union activity.

It means that it is illegal for an employer to penalize an employee in any manner because of his union activity or beliefs. This includes such things as cutting out over-time, transferring to a less desirable job, suspension or discharge. (If an employer does any of these things and it is proven that it was done because of union activity, he must reinstate the employee to his former position without loss of senority and pay him for all last wages, plus 6% interest.)

How You Can Help
Some employers, which have no respect for the law, try to rob their employees of their right to have a union by illegally interfering with their organizing activites. You can help prevent this from happening in your plant in the following manner:

If any company official or supervisor talks to you about the union and:

1. Asks any questions,
2. Makes any promises,
3. Makes any threats,

This is what you should do

1. Remember exactly what was said and write it down the very first chance you have. Don't put it off. Put it in writing the same day that it happens. This is very important!
2. Make a note of what was said, who said it, where the converstion took place and who was present. Be sure to add the time of day and the date. Write down everything you can remember.
3. Give this information to your union representative as soon as possible.