"Stand Up" - Educate Your Employees on Card Check (DVD) Educational Institute

As an American worker you have decisions that you may be asked to make,
one of these is to decide whether you want a union workplace.
In the early to mid 1900's a number of manufacturing, textile, and
industrial employees established unions to secure certain rights.
Now, Federal law provides many of these rights
through the Fair Labor Standards Act,
the Federal Minimum Wage law,
occupational safety regulations,
and through other Federal,
state, and local requirements.
What's more,
hotel workers often receive better protection and benefits at their
workplace than current federal and state laws require
as a result
union membership has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years.
Many manufacturing and industrial jobs that were once the focus of the union
organizers have been outsourced to other countries
today
fewer than one in ten American workers choose union representation,
this has resulted in a push by labor organizers to find new industries to
target for unionization such as the service and hotel industry.
Consequently you are now a prime target for union organizers who are
determined to boost their membership and want to require that your hotel
become a union workplace.
You need to determine whether you want to absorb the cost of union dues and the
limitations that a union work place at your hotel may bring.
To make this decision,
it is vital that you have full information.
Today, your decision on whether to have a union workplace is initially made by signing
a union authorization card,
but union authorization card is a form that union organizers provide for
employees to sign.
It is important for you to know that when you sign a union authorization
card it means you want a union in your workplace.
Paid union organizers may attempt to pressure you and your co-workers into
signing these union authorization cards.
Union organizers are often individuals hired by unions to convince hotel employees to
form a union.
In certain cases, they may be your co-workers who have been recruited
and sometimes paid by the unions
to obtain employee's signatures for unionization campaign.
Your signature on a union authorization card
is like your vote,
your decision is not made in private...
Anyone, union reps and co-workers
can know whether you signed the card and whether or not you want to join a union.
can know whether you signed the card and whether or not you want to join a union.
While some union campaigns are pursued in a legitimate manner, unfortunately
many union organizers have resorted to deceptive and misleading tactics to try
to get signatures on union authorization cards by hotel employees.
Please note:
this video includes actual statements by hotel employees regarding their
experience with unionization attempts and union operations at their properties.
Certain employees have asked that their identities be kept confidential.
"They tried with their tactics by lying to people about getting them to sign up for cards."
"They tried with their tactics by lying to people about getting them to sign up for cards."
They uh... told people that they wanted their address,
because they wanted to send them Christmas cards uh... a lot of people
that uh... signed for these didn't realize that they were getting uh
you know... union cards and
almost everyone wanted their cards back but we found out that it was very difficult
almost everyone wanted their cards back but we found out that it was very difficult
uh... the union hall here said 'no you can't get them, you have to sign this, you
have to send it in certified...' they make it so difficult to get that card back..."
Union organizers who are seeking your signature on their authorization
cards, may approach you while you're doing your job,
while you are enjoying your break,
or, when you are trying to get home at the at the end of your shift, and they may not
stop there.
"I was actually over at my parents' house and
they stopped by my parents house so I wasn't really sure how they knew where
my parents' lived but
there's actually two people
when they tried initially to get me to sign the sheet.
And then they told us that the sheet wasn't,
wasn't going to be
for a petition, it was just
um... a sheet to sign saying they had stopped by the house, that they had
talked to me about the
union what it was and I saw the sheet again when they brought it in
and they had transferred my signature from another sheet onto another sheet.
So it was on a completely separate sheet that from what I signed, it looked very
very shady, I guess you could say kind of dishonest."
Paid union organizers may attempt to pressure you and your co-workers into
signing union authorization cards.
They may push for such signatures by making promises they can't keep such as
promises of higher wages, increased benefits, and reduced workloads.
Fact: unions cannot guarantee an increase in wages, benefits, or reduced workloads,
these decisions will always be made by your employer.
The truth is that unionization does not necessarily lead to increased wages.
In fact...
it can result in lower wages or the same level of wages that employees were
previously paid.
With or without a union,
your employer makes the ultimate decisions on employee compensation, benefits,
your employer makes the ultimate decisions on employee compensation, benefits,
and conditions at your workplace.
Fact: there is only one thing that union organizers can guarantee employees,
they can guarantee that employees may be subject to union dues.
If your hotel becomes a union workplace,
union dues may be deducted from your paycheck.
Hotel union dues very across the country,
but they can be as high as eighty one dollars a month,
depending on the city in the union bylaws.
This is money that comes out of your pocket each month.
Over a year, this could amount to nearly one thousand dollars.
"Me and the linen employees from the houskeeping department have bills to pay,
"Me and the linen employees from the houskeeping department have bills to pay,
and don't have extra money for union dues,
and don't have extra money for union dues,
and
my employer treats me right and I like it
my employer treats me right and I like it
and I have a good relationship with my supervisor and
the general manager
and i like it that way so I don't need someone interfering with that."
Fact: union dues are
are not used for your health benefits or for your retirement.
So where do your union dues go?
they are used to support political candidates
and pay the salaries and expenses of union leaders.
"But if that's really what the union
is uh... setup for is to protect employees then that money should be totally
earmarked for the employees not to be turned back around to be used for uh...
fund-raising for politicians or for their own
uh... extravagance."
and there are other serious consequences to signing a union authorization card
and operating under union workplace
"To me, adding the union into the mix
only makes for a more stressful situation and you do have to be prepared to go on
strike if that's what the union tells you to do..."
"You'll be out of a paycheck depending on how long the strike is and you know when you get
back to work is not guaranteed you know you'll be able to get what you want."
"I found that working in the union versus a non-union environment...
In a union
many times you couldn't reach out and ask someone to help you because you get that
'it's not my job' .
in a non-union environment
we work as a family
it's kinda like cogs in a wheel, we all work together for a common goal
i know if I get in trouble, I can look over
and
someone at the front desk will come running to help me out
And in turn, if I see
that someone is 'getting in the weeds', I'm right there beside them as we all have the same goal

and that's customer satisfaction
that's doing our best and taking pride and know we will be rewarded
with efforts we put forth."
Being part of a union is a choice
your choice you need to decide whether it's the right thing for you
taking into consideration what will change with union membership
"I think that it would uh...
kind of break up the team
and they didn't have the union representatives representing
every department and
so
you know it would just break up the team...
morale that we have right now."
Whenever wherever you are approached
remember you have a right to say no if you do not want to join a union
don't be intimidated or tricked into signing your rights away
the good news is that you don't have to sign a union card if you don't want to
join a union
you have a right to say "No"
Remember: whatever you hear
whatever anyone tells you, you don't have to sign the card
"No, I mean you do not have to join a union, you don't have to
sign anything that they give you, just flat out say you're not really interested in
and joining the union and if you still have problems, just contact your
human resources department."
"I simply tell them that i'm very happy and i don't need the union
that would
appreciate that they you know give us our space and get us respect and let us
come to work
in our hotel without
their pressure."
You are the one in control of your workplace rights
if u aren't interested in joining a union
firmly tell the union organizers you aren't interested
if they continue to press you to sign their card and you feel intimidated
or think that you are being misled
tell your supervisor
union organizers are not allowed to harass you
harassment is against the law
remember it's your right to say "No"
It's your right to say "No" to signing a union authorization card
and it's your right to say "No" to a union in a secret ballot election
It's your workplace and your decision
stand up for your rights speak to your supervisor if you have questions