YOUR RIGHT TO JOIN THE 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.

“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 join and to support a union of their own choosing. This includes such activities 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 lunchtime are 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.

“Section 8. (a) It shall be an unfair labor practice for and employer.

To interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 7: 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 interfere with this free choice is against the law.

It means that employers who get ‘nose trouble’ 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 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 seniority and pay him for all lost wage, plus 6% interest.)