AFSCME LOCAL 2728

How to Organize and Build a Union

By Ashley Henderson

            “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”   In a speech given by Martin Luther King on April 3, 1968 King suggested and helped prove the need for unions. Unions help enforce the right of employees by making sure they are being treated with respect, get paid the salary they deserve and receive helpful and necessary benefits among other things hard working Americans deserve.  In the following paragraphs you will learn how to organize and build a union.

            First of all in order to start a union there needs to be collective bargaining rights which guarantee the legal right to form a union. According to The State Employees of North Carolina Inc. “Collective bargaining is the process of negotiation between representatives of workers and management to determine the conditions of employment. The collectively determined agreement may cover compensation, hiring practices, layoffs, promotions, working conditions and hours, worker discipline, and benefit programs.”  Collective bargaining rights began in 1935 after the federal National Relations Act (also known as the Wagner Act) enabled many US workers the right to bargain over wages, hours and other terms and conditions of their employment with their employers. This act not only enabled the employees to form unions but also required them to bargain in “good faith.”  Unfortunately not all of the states support collective bargaining, meaning that unions are not available everywhere.

            Once you have a group of workers that have collective bargaining rights and want to form a union, Labor Law states that 30% of employees at that establishment must sign a union card.  Then 50% plus 1 must vote in favor of a union and then they can start negotiating a contract with the employer.

            A president must be elected as well as a Vice President and other important positions, such as a secretary. The union AFSCME which stands for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is a union which represents a variety of classification of workers throughout the states, counties and cities throughout America. According to the AFSCME website “Every two years, AFSCME holds its International Convention. AFSCME members are elected as delegates, and debate and vote on the union’s basic policies. Every four years, delegates elect the International Union’s President, Secretary-Treasurer and 33 International Vice Presidents.”  You might be wondering who exactly runs each union.  The answer is simply the employees that pay their dues and belong to the union. 

            In conclusion, you’ve learned that unions are important in the effect that they enforce the right of employees. My father is a strong supporter of unions and has taught me the power of a union.  I am looking forward to being part of a union someday and will also educate my future children about the power of unions.  From the words of the Great Martin Luther King “We’ve got to stay together and maintain unity” because if we didn’t have unions, Americans wouldn’t have some of the most meaningful rights we have now as workers in this country.