Public Employee Press

Viewpoint
THE UNION ADVANTAGE

If you asked any of these workers if they are better off today than before they joined the union, I am certain the answer would be 'Yes.'

By EDDIE RODRIGUEZ

You would undoubtedly learn the value of a union, if you left your city job and went to work for a company such as Amazon, where workers do not have a union. And you would soon wish for your old job back.

Amazon uses portable devices to time workers as they search for products to fill orders.

These devices are meant to speed up work, but they actually only result in debilitating stress for workers. If a worker takes too much time to locate a product, she or he accumulates "points." Too many points result in the worker being reprimanded - or fired.

Think about workers at car washes and other low-wage workers fighting to make just $15 an hour. That is not enough to live in New York City.

Most non-union companies demand excessive overtime and assign work schedules with no regard to workers' needs. In non-union jobs, the pay is low and frequently is only minimum wage. Often there are no benefits such as sick leave, vacation time, or health insurance.

In 2006 Local 1549 along with DC 37 organized MetroPlus HMO workers at the Health and Hospitals Corp. The workers had no due process or seniority rights, and were subjected to poor working conditions.

After joining the union they now have a strong voice in their workplace along with contractual protections and a package of comprehensive health benefits. If you asked any of these workers if they are better off today than before they joined the union, I am certain the answer would be 'Yes.'

Because DC 37 is a strong union, our members have decent wages, which will be boosted by more than 10 percent under our contract.

Our health benefit package is among the best in the region with little or no out-of-pocket costs. Our benefits include low-cost prescription drugs along with optical, dental and legal services.

We enjoy these benefits because the union negotiates for premiums paid by the city. Through the years, the union has also won gains in workplace violence protections, preserving rent regulations, childcare benefits and pensions.

Across the country, billionaires and corporations are working to destroy unions. They give donations to influence politicians, who in turn introduce laws to weaken or outlaw unions. They do this to enrich their profits and power. Unions stand in their way and protect working people and the poor.

A Supreme Court case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, is challenging the right of unions to collect agency shop fees. In Wisconsin and Michigan, politicians stripped unions of the right to collectively bargain and collect agency shop fees.

Our national union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, has seen its affiliates whittled down to almost nothing because of the actions of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Walker's attack on unions has resulted in a decrease in wages; increased out-of-pocket health care costs; a reduction in vacation and sick leave days and the end of seniority and due-process rights. After that defeat, an AFSCME leader said that, "We never thought it could happen to us." But it did.

Left unchecked, these attacks will weaken and ultimately destroy our unions. We cannot let the same thing happen here in New York. So together, let's become "Union Strong"!

Eddie Rodriguez is president of Clerical-Administrative Employees Local 1549 and President of DC 37.