A little background and some venting.
Im a Flexographic Press Operator for a Union facility that makes cartons. I ironically work in a union ship while holding a bachelor degree in HR. My employer make cartons of all sizes from 4 oz to Quarts to Gallons between 6 facilities and 2 paper mills represented by different unions. Teamsters, USW and I dont know the other two. We have been working rotating 6 day work weeks since October and our sister facilities have been on 7 day work weeks for a while now. Management is terrible and the union doesnt seem to do much to help. I love what I do and the pay is decent 22.67/hr.
What can we do to make unions stronger? We need stronger pro-union laws for sure but I highly doubt we will see pro-union laws passed in Congress anytime soon. However, we need more than just that. We need reform from within not just our locals but our national affiliates too. Most of us know about the previous UAW President stealing money. My local former treasurer stole 60K (almost a years worth of union dues), the USW district director held a meeting and told us to let them keep it in house for reasons unknown. 50 of us (out of 140) reported it to the Department of Labor. There has been rumors of bribes of union officials including one previous contract giving union president something called “circle rate” not defined in the CBA. Union President that succeeded that person was fired and settled out of court is rumor I heard. I could go on and on but we all know how rumors work.
Im autistic so I hate socialization and Im not a political person. I want stronger union laws but I want stronger unions from within. I want more transparency for unions for its members. We shoud be voting on major decisions not just finding out through the grapevine. I know union corruption cannot be eliminated completely but could we make a process quicker while giving due process to the indidividuals involved. I want the elimination of AFL-CIO policy of not letting local unions change from lets say Steelworkers to autoworkers or teamsteamers if they so desired especially in the case where we would probably be stronger if we voted on our contracts at same time. (Cant shift production if we decided to strike). My coworkers especially the ones who have been here a long time have a defeatist attituite.
For those that may have strengthened your local union in some way, any tips or suggestions? Do local unions have a local constitution for lack of a better term that can be modified? We just joined a conglomerate (without a vote) of the USW. Is there any good place I can find out about best practices for local unions (we have about 150 member if that helps) or lesser known legal requirements that unions have to protake of its members. I known about the Landrum Griffith Act of 1959.
Thank You and lets make unions stronger, together.