Why Organize?

• Growing Inequity in Wealth
• Due Process in the Work Place
• The Only Legally Sanctioned Method of Improving Your Working Conditions

Growing Inequity
TheThe gap between rich and poor in America is widening. Many working people are not benefiting from the great boom our economy has been experiencing. Those in the upper income brackets, however, are increasing their wealth at fantastic rates.
Research has shown the top 1/2 percent of the wealthiest Americans now hold 27.5 percent of all wealth in this nation. That is up from 23 percent in 1989. The top 10 percent of wealthy Americans own close to 70 percent of all wealth in this nation. That leaves 30 percent for the rest of us to divide up. That gap is also growing.
Why is this occurring? Perhaps because only slightly more that 15% of all American workers are organized Union members. In nations were Union membership is higher, for example Germany, inequity is much lower. The chart below illustrates the gap between American and German industrial workers. The German worker makes over $30 per hour while the American makes under $20.


Is there any coincidence that around 40% of German workers are Unionized while less than 20% of American workers are? There is an obvious correlation between standard of living and Union membership. Maybe American corporations figure they can pay lower wages and benefits because American workers don’t realize this. Well It’s time to spread the word! Organize!


DUE PROCESS AND FAIR PLAY
All Americans are guaranteed due process and just cause in court. Our Constitution mandates it. But what about at work? That’s a different story. While we spend more than a third of our waking day at our jobs, we are subjected to absolute dictatorship. There is no due process guaranteed at the work place. Further, the growth in popularity of the “At -Will” clause, which employees are forced to sign, guarantees that any employee can be fired at any time for any reason...or no reason at all! In fact, experts say that America has the worst record of all industrialize nations regarding work place justice. Evidence of this are the 150 thousand employees terminated for arbitrary and capricious reasons annually in the U.S. The ONLY way to guarantee not being a victim of this sort of work place dictatorship is to organize. Forming a Union and obtaining a strong contract assures equity, fair play, and due process in all employment matters.


The Only Legal Way To Improve Your Standard of Living
DUE PROCESS AND FAIR
Did you know that it is the official declared policy of the United States government to encourage collective bargaining? Section 1 of the National Labor Relations Act states such. By stating this, the federal government sanctioned workers to form Unions and self organize. Why? Because the government was concerned about working conditions and poverty when the law was first drafted during the great depression. They were concerned that inequity and unfairness in the work place would disrupt commerce and lead to unrest. Because of this they sanctioned a process by which employees could help themselves...by banding together and negotiating with their employers.

This process has brought us such things as holiday pay, medical insurance, pensions, and a living wage. Since fewer workers are organizing, we are seeing slippage in these areas. Fewer employers are willing to provide health care, pensions are being converted into 401K plans, and living wages are becoming a thing of the past. All the while inequity grows and the rich get richer! TIME TO ORGANIZE!
THE TIME IS RIGHT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT INEQUITY. ORGANIZE TO GET YOUR FAIR SLICE OF THE ECONOMIC PIE!