You Have the Right to Form and Join a Union

"Unions improve the well-being of workers and support the mission of the U.S. Department of Labor in many ways – by improving job security and benefits, strengthening labor-management partnerships and advocating for safer workplaces. Union workers also earn more than their nonunion counterparts and enjoy better benefits. In short, unions have major economic benefits for workers and families. 

Following Labor Day, the department is launching the You Have the Right to Form and Join a Union campaign, an effort to inform people of their right to organize a union. Most workers in the private sector, with some exceptions, have the right to form and join a union. Unions are for every worker in every sector, from teachers to retail workers to engineers and more. 

As part of this campaign, we’re pleased to share two new resources we hope will help workers understand their right to form a union: 

The Worker Organizing Resource and Knowledge Center (WORK Center), developed by the department as part of the White House Taskforce on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, is a brand new one-stop shop to learn: 

• Who has the right to form a union 

• The process for forming a union and negotiating a contract 

• The union advantage in pay, benefits, health and safety, pay equity and more 

• What your employer can and cannot do during a union organizing effort 

Worker.gov is a newly updated website about ALL your major workplace rights and your right to not be retaliated against when exercising them, including: 

• Organizing a workers’ committee or a union 

• Voicing safety concerns 

• What to do if you think you may be facing retaliation 

There is also a workplace concerns feature that allows you to learn about your rights and how to report or address the issue. 

Are you interested in improving your workplace? If so, you may be interested in these downloadable resources:  

• Your right to organize 

• Your right to concerted action and your right to discuss your wages 

• What employers can and can't do if you organize a union.."
  Unions 

Thank You, Unions

"Thank You, Unions

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Unions

 

Workplace Rights

 

Benefits

 • By: Jeffrey Freund • August 27, 2021

An undated photo of a New York City Labor Day parade. Source: Library of Congress

Labor Day is around the corner, and what has so often for many been a day off of work, filled with family and friends, this year gives us a lot to reflect on. It’s the unofficial end of summer, and many will take the day to look back at these last few months and start thinking about next year. There is no doubt that Labor Day this year feels a little different than it has in the past, but let’s take a look back at the history of the day and, more impactfully, of organized labor, while also looking forward to getting back to baseball games and picnics once we have successfully overcome the challenges COVID-19 has brought us.

How did Labor Day come to be? Well, you can thank the labor movement for bringing it to you. Labor Day was an invention of the labor movement. The first Labor Day celebration was in New York in 1882 organized by the labor movement in New York City to honor union members and the work they and their unions did for working people everywhere. Between 1882 and 1894, when it officially became a federal holiday by an act of Congress, many states recognized it as a holiday for government employees. Over time, the holiday spread to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, and it now applies to all state and local government employees. It is generally recognized by the private sector as a holiday as well, although many employers remain open and workers must be on the job – including the essential workers providing critical services to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. At least among union-represented workers, those who have to work are typically paid a premium for working that day..."
Labor Day 

Union Members - 2009
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"In 2009, the union membership rate--the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of a union--was 12.3 percent, essentially unchanged from 12.4 percent a year earlier, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions declined by 771,000 to 15.3 million, largely reflecting the overall drop in employment due to the recession. In 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent, and there were 17.7 million union workers..."