#1 My supervisor told us that they cannot give us a raise because of the union.
The fact is that it is within the Employer's sole discretion to give merit increases, and they can even give raises that bring employees above the maximum pay for their job classification. If your supervisor says otherwise, a union representative will be happy to meet with the two of you and get the matter cleared up.
#2 I've heard from management that employees can't be promoted to new job descriptions because of union rules.
Not true. The union does not, and cannot, create the Employer’s job descriptions. Nor does our union have the ability to tell the Employer whom to hire or whom to promote. (There have been occasions when we have been able to work with management to negotiate promotions of some of our union members to higher, more appropriate classifications.)
#3 I'm a professional. Isn't it unprofessional to be part of a union?
In January 2018, newsroom employees at the Los Angeles Times voted overwhelmingly to join a union. Academy Award actors and actresses are union members. At the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, Wally Pfister, who won a cinematography Oscar for “Inception,” thanked his “fantastic union crew” during his acceptance speech, and later said: "What the union has given to me is security for my family. They have given me health care in a country that otherwise does not provide health care and I think the unions are a very important part of the middle class of America, so I stand strong behind any of the union members in this country and in any other country."
Grammy Award winners Tony Bennett and Carlos Santana are proud union members. World-renowned physicist Albert Einstein and the late Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post Cartoonist Herblock were also prominent union members. These are just a handful of the top artists, scientists, journalists, educators, and others who have strongly supported their unions. Union-member professionals are also teachers, college professors, nurses, TV broadcasters, and librarians. AFSCME District Council 36, home to Local 800, is also the union home for lawyers and paralegals who work at Bet Tzedek. Nationwide, white collar workers make up the largest percentage of union members. Professionals work through their unions to preserve professional integrity and respect on the job. Without a proper contract and a union to support it, an employee may be fired or penalized for offering a perspective that is at odds with his or her supervisor. Nothing could be less professional.
