Top 5 Reasons for Organizing
Have you ever wondered, “Why do we organize?” It’s a good question. Here are 5 reasons for organizing the construction industry and why you need to get involved today.
1) Increase Wages for Union Members – When a union controls the work in a given area it is in a better position to negotiate higher wages for workers. Increased union market share insures unions will be the predominant player in their industry and able to bargain from a point of strength. More members mean better contract negotiations. The leadership of your union knows this and that is why they are working to increase market share. It will help in future contract negotiations. It’s a fact that areas where union density is the highest tend to have higher rates of pay than those that don’t. Union members earn 27% higher wages than nonunion workers according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor.
2) Increase Retirement and Health Benefits – The more people contributing into a retirement and health plan the stronger the plan will be. This is just one of the many reasons to actively recruit new members and contractors into the union. Fully 81% of union members have medical coverage while only 50% of nonunion workers have medical coverage, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Similarly, union workers have pensions 72% of the time compared to only 15% of nonunion workers.
3) Improve Working Conditions - Unions give workers a voice in the workplace. This results in a safer working environment and a more democratic approach to solving problems on the job. The greater the strength of the union the more influence that workers have for improving conditions throughout the industry.
4) More Employment Opportunities – Signing contractors increases employment opportunities for members. Encouraging union contractors to bid projects that might otherwise go nonunion helps employ members as well. Training members to become union contractors further increases employment opportunities.
5) Fight Corporate Greed - Unions are under attack by well funded nonunion corporate industry groups bent on turning back the clock on wage increases and worker rights (ie: Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Center for Union Facts, National Right to Work). Their attorneys actively lobby against workplace safety rules, prevailing wage laws and project labor agreements. They spend millions of dollars each year in attempts to stifle gains by labor through expensive litigation and support of politicians who oppose unions. They want to take your right to belong to a union away from you. The way to counter such attacks is by aggressively organizing the entire industry.
You can help your union organize by volunteering to:
- Serve on an volunteer committee
- Picket jobsites
- House call nonunion workers
- Voter registration
- Phone banking
- Precinct walking
- Hand billing
- Bannering
These are just a few of the ways you can help organize the construction industry. Get involved in the process and become a more active participant. Ask a union representative how you can help. You will find that you “get much more out of it than you ever put in”, as they say. You have the ability to create change in the workplace and improve people’s lives.
Over the next several years construction unions will work to keep up with the growing demand for qualified craft workers and contractors. Trade unions are actively seeking additional members and contractors to grow their ranks. Large numbers of union members are expected to retire while at the same time many young people are choosing to attend college or pursue other careers outside of the construction trades. This is expected to create a shortage of skilled workers and result in increased opportunities for remaining construction workers.
The labor movement has been focusing money and resources toward organizing at an unprecedented level since the mid 1980’s. This trend is expected to increase.
Commit to organizing the entire construction industry. Organizing is a vital mission and the responsibility of every union member. Stand up for justice and worker solidarity and never back down.
