Mar 3, 2016 | Departments, Home, Organizing |
The size of District 141 membership nearly doubled in 2011–2012. That’s strength in numbers.
Our success arises from District 141 members themselves, thousands of whom relentlessly volunteer time and talent, and vote.
Leadership at District 141 Communications comes from a background in running political campaigns.
Nobody in the labor movement expected District 141 to defeat our rival Teamster union, an organizing powerhouse. When United Airlines brought in management’s hand-picked union-busting law firm, O’Melveny & Myer, and led the assault on PCE (Public Contact Employees), United Airlines had every right to expect to District 141. The same law firm decimated the contract and rights of workers at Northwest/Delta Airlines, and it had never lost a union-busting drive. Until now. District 141 crushed them. But in the end, it’s not about sending a few lawyers packing.
District 141’s record of success laid the groundwork for successful contract negotiations at United Airlines. In turn, that means a better life for you and your loved ones.
More broadly, our success leads to your success. Earn more, live better.
Mar 3, 2016 | Organizing |
Union organizers help people who work secure union representation at their worksite. A union organizer informs people (mostly nonunion workers) about their rights, identifies and develops leadership skills among workers, explains the union organizing process and helps the workers campaign for union recognition. The organizer builds relationships based on what those workers do on their jobs, the problems they face at work and challenges and inspires them to get involved with their co-workers to have a say on the job by organizing a union.
The ultimate goal is for workers to build power in their workplaces by winning a binding agreement with their employer that makes real improvements in their living and working conditions.
You have certain rights designed to protect you as an organizer. For example, the right to
- Join a union, and to ask others to join an airline union
- Attend union meetings, and to ask others to attend
- Wear a union pin on the job, so long as it does not carry a controversial slogan, or violate company policy or uniform requirements
- Hand out union leaflets on your own time
- Aassist in, and encourage others to support, a union, so long as your efforts don‘t interfere with your work or violate posted company policy
Certain restrictions placed on your employer . For example, management cannot within the law
- Fire, lay off, or punish employees for engaging in a union activity
- Bar a union representatives from soliciting cards or membership during non-work time, in non-work areas
- Ask about confidential union matters, for example, “Have you signed a union card?”
- Ask whether you support the union or a union representation election
- Ask employees how they intend to vote in a representation vote
- Threaten, coerce, or attempt to influence, or prevent employees from voting
- Tell employees that existing benefits will be discontinued if you vote
- Promise or give employees promotions, raises or other benefits if they vote against a union
Mar 2, 2016 | Departments, Home, Organizing |
Unions are about a simple proposition: By joining together, working women and men gain strength in numbers so they can have a voice at work in what they care about. They negotiate a contract with their employer for things like a fair and safe workplace, better wages, a secure retirement and family-friendly policies such as paid sick leave and scheduling hours. They have a voice in how their jobs get done, creating a more stable, productive workforce that provides better services and products.
Earn More, Live Better
Union members earn better wages and benefits than workers who aren’t union members. On average, union workers’ wages are 28 percent higher than their nonunion counterparts.
While only 19 percent of nonunion workers have guaranteed pensions, fully 78 percent of union workers do.
More than 84 percent of union workers have jobs that provide health insurance benefits, but only 64 percent of nonunion workers do. Unions help employers create a more stable, productive workforce—where workers have a say in improving their jobs.
Unions help bring workers out of poverty and into the middle class. In fact, in states where workers don’t have union rights, workers’ incomes are lower.
Mar 2, 2016 | Departments, Home, Organizing |
DL141 Update: April 29, 2016
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today announced it petitioned the National Mediation Board (NMB), the federal agency that oversees union elections in the airline and railroad industries, to conduct a representation election for approximately 300 cargo workers employed by SM Cargo in Houston, TX.
“We want to form a union so we will have the protections of a union contract and no longer be ‘at will’ employees and be fired at any time for any reason,” said Cargo Agent Doug Moore. “With an IAM contract we will be able to finally have the decent wages and benefits that we can live on.”
“I want these brave workers to know that the IAM is 100 percent behind them in their effort to form a union and achieve the justice on the job they deserve,” said General Vice President Sito Pantoja. “The IAM will do all in its power to bring these sisters and brothers into the Machinists family.”
IAM representatives delivered the election authorization cards (a-cards) and petition to the NMB this morning. The federal agency will now determine if at least 50 percent of the work group submitted a-cards. If so, the NMB will schedule the election.
It is important to emphasize that is against federal law for SM Cargo management to know who did or did not sign an a-card. It is also important to note that SM Cargo management is prohibited by federal law from knowing how a worker casts his or her vote in a union representation election.
Mar 7, 2015 | Organizing |
Only 17 states and the District of Columbia have laws that ban discrimination in the workplace because of a person’s sexual orientation. Only eight of those states and the District of Columbia ban discrimination in the workplace because of a person’s gender identity. Because there is no federal law prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, working people in 33 states are being denied employment on the basis of something that has no relationship to their ability to perform their work.
The states with laws that prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation are California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. California, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Washington also forbid gender identity discrimination.
Also, 131 cities have laws banning workplace discrimination because of sexual orientation. Fifty-seven of those cities extend protections to include gender identity.
Congress is considering the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that would prohibit discrimination in hiring, firing, promotions, compensation and other employment practices because of a person’s sexual orientation. For more information about ENDA, see:
The work issues pages at the Human Rights Campaign site.
The non-discrimination law page at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force site.
The following site also can provide information about discrimination:
Federal Office of Personnel Management memo on the rights of federal employees regarding sexual orientation discrimination.
Mar 7, 2015 | Organizing |
Religious freedom is one of the principles on which America was founded, and one of the basic rights we value most.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on religion by a private employer, state or local government or educational institution with 15 or more employees for 20 or more weeks a year.
If you think you have been discriminated against because of your religion, you can file a complaint on a form with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that works to protect you from discrimination based on age, sex, race, color, national origin, religion or disability. You can file a charge by calling 800-669-4000 for more information (800-669-6820 for the hearing impaired). All charges must include:
- Your name, address and telephone number.
- Your job title.
- A brief description of the problem.
- When the incident(s) occurred.
- The type of discrimination you encountered.
In addition to your denomination’s website, the following sites also can provide information about discrimination:
For more information, visit the EEOC question-and-answer page about discrimination.
