Current Events > Could I get fired by joining a union?

(+) Yeah! (+)

It'd have to be after the 6 month mark so that I'd qualify for unemployment, plus the mandatory 3 month notice period would help me find a better job

that seems... illegal

Do you work in an at will employment state like Texas? Then you probably can.

Not too familiar with union laws or employment laws for other states unfortunately because I am in fact stuck in Texas.

ThisIsAKnoife posted...

Do you work in an at will employment state like Texas? Then you probably can.

Not too familiar with union laws or employment laws for other states unfortunately because I am in fact stuck in Texas.

Is your name a Crocodile Dundee reference?

You're not American so no.

Questionmarktarius posted...

that seems... illegal

There's already illegal clauses in my work contract so I don't think they'd care

ThisIsAKnoife posted...

Do you work in an at will employment state like Texas? Then you probably can.

Not too familiar with union laws or employment laws for other states unfortunately because I am in fact stuck in Texas.

Hesse, but iirc work stuff is covered by federal law not state law

MabusIncarnate posted...

Is your name a Crocodile Dundee reference?

Yea

teep_ posted...

There's already illegal clauses in my work contract so I don't think they'd care

Do it anyway, then make yourself and some lawyer very rich.

teep_ posted...

Hesse, but iirc work stuff is covered by federal law not state law

No idea how labor laws work in Germany at all.

Questionmarktarius posted...

Do it anyway, then make yourself and some lawyer very rich.

Once I'm in the union for three months, I get access to their legal services. Everyone wins!

In the United States, it is illegal to fire someone for joining a union or attempting to form a union.

That being said, in most states employers are free to fire you for basically any other work-related reason, so they can fire you for that as long as they claim in communications with you that it's for a different reason. It's pretty easy to workaround and keep out unions.

Starbucks keeps shutting down stores that coincidentally happen to go union. Almost certainly illegal, but...

ChocoboMogALT posted...

Starbucks keeps shutting down stores that coincidentally happen to go union. Almost certainly illegal, but...

Starbucks covered its plausible-deniability ass here: https://observer.com/2022/07/starbucks-is-shutting-down-16-u-s-stores-two-of-which-are-unionized-citing-safety-concerns/

generally they will make up some other grounds to fire you so that they will be able to say it was not because of the union

MarcyWarcy posted...

generally they will make up some other grounds to fire you so that they will be able to say it was not because of the union

They can't just make it up, even "at will" they have to build a case to prove it if the employee sues. So what they do is build a list of the tiniest of infractions then fire you.

voldothegr8 posted...

They can't just make it up, even "at will" they have to build a case to prove it if the employee sues. So what they do is build a list of the tiniest of infractions then fire you.

yeah this is where they get you. just about every job has requirements on paper that you can't reasonably be expected to do in reality -- it's mostly an idiosyncrasy of the way the system works, but they know how to exploit it.

anyway, joining a union won't be all that effective on your own. get in touch with a local union and talk about unionizing your workplace. I can say from experience that it takes a whole lot of work, and that at times it can seem hopeless, but it's very much worth it once you really get the ball rolling

My job required me to join a union before I can get employed lol

LMFAO, unions.

If you want to have an idea of what joining a union will be like, take 20% of your next check and just yeet it as hard as you can directly into the trash

PoundGarden posted...

LMFAO, unions.

If you want to javelin a preview of what joining a union will be like, take 20% of your next check and just yeet it as hard as you can directly into the trash

I thought CE advocated unions as a way to counter employer overreach...

PoundGarden posted...

If you want to javelin a preview of what joining a union will be like, take 20% of your next check and just yeet it as hard as you can directly into the trash

union fees are a few percent of my monthly pay. I make over 3k before taxes and I'd pay the union 30 a month. stfu

averagejoel posted...

get in touch with a local union and talk about unionizing your workplace.

there's two things in Germany that would be covered by a union in the US: unions and works councils (a council of "regular" workers that get a say in how the company is run alongside the directors/owners/etc). the latter is harder to set up but would achieve more at my particular workplace imo

PoundGarden posted...

LMFAO, unions.

If you want to have an idea of what joining a union will be like, take 20% of your next check and just yeet it as hard as you can directly into the trash

What union has 20% dues? Get out of here with your bullshit.

Solid_Sonic posted...

I thought CE advocated unions as a way to counter employer overreach...

Only the smart ones

PoundGarden posted...

LMFAO, unions.

If you want to have an idea of what joining a union will be like, take 20% of your next check and just yeet it as hard as you can directly into the trash

ITP: Someone that has been spoonfed anti-union propaganda and has never actually interacted with one

PoundGarden posted...

LMFAO, unions.

If you want to have an idea of what joining a union will be like, take 20% of your next check and just yeet it as hard as you can directly into the trash

im sure if you found a dogslayers union you would join it in a heartbeat

Solid_Sonic posted...

I thought CE advocated unions as a way to counter employer overreach...

Most of us do. PoundGarden has generally the opposite of good opinions.

PoundGarden posted...

LMFAO, unions.

If you want to have an idea of what joining a union will be like, take 20% of your next check and just yeet it as hard as you can directly into the trash

Is there any union that takes 20%? Listening to friends, it seems most are in the fraction of the a percent to like 2-3% tops.

I guess I like unionization but less so the unions themselves. The big unions feel more like businesses in their own right rather than worker advocates.

But workers using large scale bargaining power to negotiate better conditions for themselves is a good thing.

ThisIsAKnoife posted...

Yea

Is it? Or is it actually a Simpsons reference?

Norman_Smiley posted...

Is there any union that takes 20%? Listening to friends, it seems most are in the fraction of the a percent to like 2-3% tops.

the SEIU (which I was in touch with when organizing my coworkers) takes 2% per paycheque, and it doesn't start coming off the pay until we actually start receiving the benefits of the union

Solid_Sonic posted...

The big unions feel more like businesses in their own right rather than worker advocates.

I recall during that John Deere strike a few years ago, plenty of workers were calling out the UAW saying they're more interested in glad handing in DC than they are representing workers. Specifically the whole strike started locally and they were just as pissed at the UAW as they were John Deere, because the UAW approved a shitty contract.

Of course, even a few months later it was a bitch to find any article referencing that, whether that was by design or a product of the 24 hour news cycle is yours to debate. The UAW scrambled to get on top of that one and make sure they didn't look bad.

Hmmm

teep_ posted...

there's two things in Germany that would be covered by a union in the US: unions and works councils (a council of "regular" workers that get a say in how the company is run alongside the directors/owners/etc). the latter is harder to set up but would achieve more at my particular workplace imo

the latter can also potentially be incorporated as part of a union agreement

You are an engineer, right?

Not trying to be insulting, but that pay does seem pretty low. Is it normal for starting positions in the field over there?

Alteres posted...

You are an engineer, right?

Not trying to be insulting, but that pay does seem pretty low. Is it normal for starting positions in the field over there?

Salaries are lower in Europe.

Alteres posted...

You are an engineer, right?

Not trying to be insulting, but that pay does seem pretty low. Is it normal for starting positions in the field over there?

It's under the 25th percentile for my position, yes

And not just by a few cent

Legally, no

but they're still going to find some other excuse to fire you for it

FL81 posted...

Legally, no

but they're still going to find some other excuse to fire you for it

they'll underfund the store and prevent it from ensuring it is compliant with health and safety laws. then they will shut down the store for not complying with health and safety laws. all just to squash the union dead. Or they will pick 20 "random" stores to close due to similar concerns, and every store with a union will just coincidentally be one thats closed.