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Some of our professional car haulers have voiced questions about union representation and union authorization cards. We would like to answer some typically asked questions as well as answer any other questions you may have. If you are asked to sign a union authorization card, please know that it is a legally binding document that can give the union the exclusive right to speak and act for you at United Road, possibly even without a secret ballot election.
Do I have to support a union or sign a union authorization card?
No. You don’t have to support a union to keep your job here, and don’t let anyone tell you that you do. Unions did not start the Company nor has any union ever given you a job or paid your wages at United Road. You also don’t have to sign a union authorization card if you don’t want to do so. That is your choice. Nobody can force you to sign a union authorization card.
Do I have to talk to union organizers?
No. You do not have to talk to union organizers. You can choose to speak with them if you want, or you can treat them like any other paid salesperson and ask them not to contact you.
What is a union authorization card and why might a union ask me to sign one?
A union needs signed authorization cards to become your exclusive bargaining representative at the Company. Signed authorization cards can be used by a union to become your representative with or without a secret ballot election. Under a federal law called the National Labor Relations Act, if a union obtains signed authorization cards from at least 30% of the group of employees it wants to represent, it can then file a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) requesting a secret ballot election. During that election, employees vote to decide if they want the union to represent them.
Can unions use signed authorization cards to become my bargaining representative at United Road without a secret ballot election, and without me being allowed to vote on whether I want that to happen?
Yes. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled that unions are not required to file an election petition that would allow you to vote in a secret ballot election. Instead, the NLRB has ruled that if the union obtains signed authorization cards from more than 50% of the employees they are seeking to represent, the union can demand to become your bargaining representative at the Company without you being allowed to vote. In that scenario, you could become represented by a union even if you did not sign an authorization card.
How will a union try to get me to sign an authorization card?
Despite what anyone tells you, you do not need to sign anything to get more information about the union. Also, you do not need to sign an authorization card to be eligible to vote in a union election. The union may try to persuade you to sign a union authorization card through its professional organizers, or by fellow employees making promises about how the union will potentially change things at the Company. For instance, a union may promise that it can make the Company’s dispatch operations work in a particular manner. Keep in mind that union promises are NOT guarantees. If the union wins an election to represent United Road employees, the Company will certainly bargain in good faith with the union. However, nothing changes during the bargaining process unless both the Company and the union agree, and both parties have a legal right to say “NO” to any proposal that is not in their best interests. The truth is that no union can guarantee the results of good faith collective bargaining. Your wages, benefits and working conditions could get better, they could get worse, or they could stay the exact same. What employees actually receive following good faith negotiations is often times very different from what the union has promised.
What is the typical cost of union dues?
Union dues aren’t cheap. The amount an employee pays varies depending on the union local but, in general, dues run about 1½ – 2% of the employee’s hard-earned wages each month. Over the course of a year, the typical union member spends several hundred dollars in dues. These dues usually come straight from your paycheck and, with many unions, are increased annually without notice or vote of the members.
Please describe in great detail what URS plans to do with drivers who do not want to join the union if or when you lose this battle for control over the service you are selling.
If the union becomes the exclusive representative of a group of employees, the union represents all employees in the bargaining unit, regardless of whether they voted for the union or not. All employees in the bargaining unit are subject to the outcome of the collective bargaining process, which could result in more, the same or less than what you have now. URS will be prohibited by law from dealing directly with union-represented employees regarding their wages, benefits, and certain terms and conditions of employment.
Employees in Right to Work States cannot be forced to pay dues or fees to the union, and no employee can be forced to become a member of the union. However, as explained above, employees in Right to Work states must abide by the contract that is negotiated during the collective bargaining process.
What is the union for besides paying fees. What does a union do?
Unions grew in the early 19th century because workers felt unprotected. Those protections are now provided by government agencies and laws: State wage laws, discrimination and harassment laws (EEOC), workplace safety (OSHA), and family and medical leave (FMLA), to name a few. Click on https://weareunitedroad.com/union-business/ for more information.
What if I have more questions?
Feel free to contact your Terminal and Regional Manager or use our long-standing Open Door Policy to speak with our leadership team.
Get an insider’s perspective!
Joe Brock was literally born into the Teamsters union. His father was a top ranked union leader most of his life, and raised Joe on the picket lines and in the union halls. Joe eventually joined the ranks of union members, becoming an officer, a spokesman, and eventually the President of his large local.
Joe finally realized that what he heard in the union halls and in organizing campaigns had very little to do with unions’ true agenda. Today, Joe works on behalf of workers across the country, giving them the inside scoop on how a union really operates, so that they can make an informed decision when it comes time to cast their vote in a union election.