Why Join A Union?

As long as there is organized capital, there will be organized labor. And, that is as it should be in a democratic society. The true union member wants to help, and not hinder, his employer. He realizes that the more successful the business is, the more successful the employee will be ... if he receives fair value for his labor, and a fair share of the profits he has helped produce. A working man's life is valuable. Every time the clock ticks, there goes a second off that life. When he sells the hours of his life to make a profit for someone else, he is entitled to all he can get for those precious hours. Workers try to get as much as possible for the hours of their lives that they sell to their employers. By himself, this is difficult. He can be broken like a stick. But, breaking a bundle of sticks is not so easy. That is why working people organize unions: to help in getting a share of the profits they bring into a successful business. Unionism has brought about, in addition to reasonable pay, better working conditions, more job security, and more leisure time for workers to enjoy vacations and pension benefits. It is an ignorant man who values his life cheaply, sells it cheaply, and works hours to make his employer richer, to the extent that he keeps himself poor. Well-paid organized labor is a good thing for any town. The more a worker earns, the more he has to spend. And the more he spends, the better it is for the merchant, the farmer and everyone else.

The above paragraph was a sermon by Dr. David M. Baxter, an Evangelical Protestant Minister. He had been asked for advice by a group of workers, as to whether or not they should form a union at the plant where they worked

Need More reasons to join?

Did you know that labor unions made the following 36 things possible?

1. Weekends without work
2. All breaks at work, including your lunch breaks
3. Paid vacation
4. Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
5. Sick leave
6. Social Security
7. Minimum wage
8. Civil Rights Act/Title VII - prohibits employer discrimination
9. 8-hour work day
10. Overtime pay
11. Child labor laws
12. Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
13. 40-hour work week
14. Workers' compensation (workers' comp)
15. Unemployment insurance
16. Pensions
17. Workplace safety standards and regulations
18. Employer health care insurance
19. Collective bargaining rights for employees
20. Wrongful termination laws
21. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
22. Whistleblower protection laws
23. Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) - prohibits employers from using a lie detector test on an employee
24. Veteran's Employment and Training Services (VETS)
25. Compensation increases and evaluations (i.e. raises)
26. Sexual harassment laws
27. Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
28. Holiday pay
29. Employer dental, life, and vision insurance
30. Privacy rights
31. Pregnancy and parental leave
32. Military leave
33. The right to strike
34. Public education for children
35. Equal Pay Acts of 1963 & 2011 - requires employers pay men and women equally for the same amount of work
36. Laws ending sweatshops in the United States

Now we fight to keep these rights!

Thank a union member by buying union-made in America products!