Starting a Union in 7 Easy Steps
Want to Start a Union at Your Workplace?
It’s our job to help with that. No matter your questions, we’re here to answer them and serve you.
No experience with unions? No problem. You can start a labor or trade union at almost any company as long as you and your coworkers decide your job would be better with a union to back you up.
Ready to learn how to unionize? Let’s go!
Take the first step towards unionizing
Follow Start a Union!
– Keona Johnson, UFCW Local 368A, AlbertsonsWe are going to have a voice at work. We work hard and we are asking for recognition, better pay, benefits, and a more predictable work schedule that allows us to better plan our lives.
Pros and Cons of Having a Union
A union is a proven way to make your job better. When you have a union, you and your coworkers get to have a say in your wages, schedule, vacation policy, retirement plan, store safety, and anything else that impacts your life at work.
UFCW Union Advantage | With a Union | No Union |
---|---|---|
Better wages and regular raises | ||
The ability to come together with your coworkers to negotiate your pay and benefits | ||
Guaranteed hours and stable schedules | ||
Affordable healthcare with coverage for prescriptions, dental and vision | ||
Free college for you and your family | ||
More paid vacation, holidays, and sick days | ||
A dispute procedure that legally protects you against unfair discipline or dismissal | ||
Protections against any harassment from management | ||
Secure retirement and pension benefits | ||
Seniority rights when it comes to scheduling, vacation and job security | ||
Discounts on home & life insurance, travel, car rental, legal services, cell phones, and more | ||
Respect in your workplace | ||
Must accept unfair or unjust discipline |
How To Start a Union At Your Workplace in 7 Steps
Step 1: Talk to Your Coworkers
A union is when workers join together to improve their jobs. Talk to your coworkers about wages, benefits and working conditions to see if they want to make them better, too.
Step 2: Talk to a Union Organizer
No matter your questions, we’re here to answer them and serve you. From learning how you can start a union to better understanding all the steps involved in negotiating a contract, we want you to have all the information you need.
Step 3: Start a Committee
With the help of a Union Organizer, you and your coworkers will build an organizing committee. This will be the key group of leaders at your workplace who feel strongest about the need to organize. Your committee will then work together to get more coworkers involved with the effort to win a union contract that makes everyone’s job better.
Step 4: Know Your Rights
Unions like the UFCW will bring you more control over your wages, benefits and workplace conditions. Companies would rather keep that control for themselves, so they often try to discourage employees from starting a union. Don’t worry, it is your right, protected by federal labor law, to start a union. You have the right to talk to your coworkers about starting a union and about workplace conditions, including pay.
Step 5: Sign Union Support Cards
Once a majority of your coworkers agree on the need to have a union, you will sign support cards. These cards declare that you want to start a union and have the UFCW as your partner at work to help negotiate better wages, benefits and working conditions.
Step 6: Vote!
Once a majority of your coworkers have signed union support cards, they are submitted to the National Labor Relations Board to request a union election. This part can take several weeks as the Board decides on an election date and determines who at your workplace can vote. If a majority of your coworkers vote YES at your election, your employer now has to recognize your union and bargain with you and your coworkers.
Step 7: Negotiate Your Contract
Congratulations! It’s time to get the benefits you deserve! UFCW and our negotiating team will begin working with you and your coworkers to negotiate your first union contract. You and your coworkers will have the opportunity to vote on the contract before it is finalized to ensure it has the benefits and value you deserve. After you’ve won your first contract, you can officially obtain UFCW membership!
Hear from Our Members about the Benefits of Having a Union
It was my union that made sure my job had a good salary and benefits. Even more important, they helped me get my schedule in advance. So that I could plan my life, a full month ahead of time. When you’re a single parent, the difference that that makes is everything. Now, I can spend time with my daughter, and plan who will take care of her when I can’t.
It helps me raise my daughter right. It changed my life. My union family made the difference for my family and my life.
Kim Mitchell,
UFCW Local 400
The truth is that without UFCW fighting for us, standing up for me, we know our jobs wouldn’t have the wages or benefits that we deserve.They listen to us. They fight for us. They negotiate strong contracts — contracts that have helped me take care of myself and the ones I love. They’ve made a real difference in my life.
Jose Guarado,
UFCW Local 770
It was my union that made sure my job had a good salary and benefits. Even more important, they helped me get my schedule in advance. So that I could plan my life, a full month ahead of time. When you’re a single parent, the difference that that makes is everything. Now, I can spend time with my daughter, and plan who will take care of her when I can’t. It helps me raise my daughter right. It changed my life. My union family made the difference for my family and my life.
Kim Mitchell,
UFCW Local 400
The truth is that without UFCW fighting for us, standing up for me, we know our jobs wouldn’t have the wages or benefits that we deserve.They listen to us. They fight for us. They negotiate strong contracts — contracts that have helped me take care of myself and the ones I love. They’ve made a real difference in my life.
Jose Guarado,
UFCW Local 770
– Melissa Gutierrez, UFCW Local 1428, Rite AidMy union contract guarantees that I wasn’t penalized when I took maternity leave. When I returned to work my union made sure the company gave me my annual wage increase that I missed while on leave.