In These Times
10-21-2015, 08:50 PM
This report first appeared at The Century Foundation's website (http://www.tcf.org/work/workers_economic_inequality/detail/members-only-unions-can-they-help-revitalize-workplace-democracy). It can be downloaded as a PDF here (http://www.tcf.org/assets/downloads/Marvit__Schriever_Members-only_Unions.pdf).
On July 10, 2014, when the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 42 was officially announced, many Americans were introduced for the first time to an old labor practice: members-only unions.
Local 42 was formed at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, after the UAW was defeated in “one of the most closely watched unionization votes in decades,” (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/15/business/volkswagen-workers-reject-forming-a-union.html?hp&_r=0&mtrref=undefined&gwh=28330AF412671AE53F0A0EE9ACCEB1C5&gwt=pay) which many on both sides staked out as a symbol of labor’s prospects in the South. Typically, after facing such an election loss, most union organizers either regroup for another election, or simply walk away. In the case of Local 42, the UAW chose a largely forgotten third option: forming a nonexclusive, members-only union.
Members-only unions, like the name implies, are unions that comprise only a portion of the employees in a workplace, rather than including all workers in the bargaining unit. Workers who do not wish to be members do not have to join, and in turn, the union does not have to provide non-member employees with any services. In fact, by law, a members-only union can only represent those who have joined, as opposed to representing all employees as in a traditional bargaining unit. They are not as powerful as a bargaining unit that results from an election, but in some circumstances they are the easier—and sometimes the only—option.
More... (http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/18530/members-only-unions-minority-labor-decline/)
On July 10, 2014, when the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 42 was officially announced, many Americans were introduced for the first time to an old labor practice: members-only unions.
Local 42 was formed at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, after the UAW was defeated in “one of the most closely watched unionization votes in decades,” (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/15/business/volkswagen-workers-reject-forming-a-union.html?hp&_r=0&mtrref=undefined&gwh=28330AF412671AE53F0A0EE9ACCEB1C5&gwt=pay) which many on both sides staked out as a symbol of labor’s prospects in the South. Typically, after facing such an election loss, most union organizers either regroup for another election, or simply walk away. In the case of Local 42, the UAW chose a largely forgotten third option: forming a nonexclusive, members-only union.
Members-only unions, like the name implies, are unions that comprise only a portion of the employees in a workplace, rather than including all workers in the bargaining unit. Workers who do not wish to be members do not have to join, and in turn, the union does not have to provide non-member employees with any services. In fact, by law, a members-only union can only represent those who have joined, as opposed to representing all employees as in a traditional bargaining unit. They are not as powerful as a bargaining unit that results from an election, but in some circumstances they are the easier—and sometimes the only—option.
More... (http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/18530/members-only-unions-minority-labor-decline/)