Union and benefits

[piercejpierce]

Jurisdiction

Kentucky

Can you lose benefits which changing from a employee contract to a union contract if no contract has been agreed upon?

Also can you provide the law or statute for self study

 

[Zigner]

Can you lose benefits which changing from a employee contract to a union contract if no contract has been agreed upon?

In the abstract, yes.
Beyond that, your question is (1) too vague and (2) requires the review of both contracts, which goes far beyond the scope of this (or any) internet forum. You should seek the assistance of an attorney who specializes in employment law.

 

[zddoodah]

Sorry, but your question is pretty well unintelligible. I suggest you try again and be clear about who's who and what the relevant facts are.

 

[piercejpierce]

People are trying to start a union but only 2% want it. Some ppl are saying you will lose your benefits or get worse benefits if the union is voted in. Others are saying that we will get the same benefits. So we are trying to figure out if it will change or not and to what degree if the union is voted in.

 

[army judge]

So we are trying to figure out if it will change or not and to what degree if the union is voted in.

You might find these articles enlightening.

=====================

One of the most important things that could be done to generate a more equitable economy is to dismantle the barriers to union organizing and collective bargaining (McNicholas et al. 2019; Oliver 2021). New data on unionization from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS 2022), coupled with evidence on the value of unions and on workers' desire to be unionized, reinforce the importance of this goal and the urgent need for policy reforms:

In 2021, 15.8 million workers in the United States were represented by a union—a decline of 581,000 from 2019 and well under half what it would be had the share of workers represented by a union (11.6%) not fallen to well under half of what it was roughly 40 years ago.
In 2021, after shooting up to 12.1% in 2020 because of pandemic-related employment shifts, the unionization rate dropped back down its 2019 level of 11.6% (down 0.5 percentage points from 2020 to 2021).
Unionization rates jumped up in 2020 in large part because of a "pandemic composition effect," and fell back in 2021 as that effect began to unwind. The jobs that were lost in 2020 were more concentrated in industries with low unionization rates, such as leisure and hospitality, which raised the overall unionization rate. In 2021 these types of less-unionized jobs came back and offset the 2020 increase unionization rates. As the economy continues to recover and the pandemic composition effect continues to unwind, that will put downward pressure on unionization rates in 2022.
Since 2019, union levels have dropped in both the private sector (down 507,000) and, to a lesser extent, in the public sector (down 74,000). In the private sector, the unionization rate in 2021 was 7.0%, down 0.1 percentage points from 2019. The public sector unionization rate was 37.6% in 2021, up 0.4 percentage points from 2019.
In 2021, men had a unionization rate of 11.9%, compared with 11.3% for women. The gender gap in unionization has narrowed somewhat during the pandemic, though both men and women saw declines in the number of unionized workers between 2019 and 2021—a loss of 429,000 for men and a loss of 152,000 for women.
Of all major racial and ethnic groups, Black workers continued to have the highest unionization rates in 2021, at 12.9%. This compares with 11.6% for white workers, 10.3% for Latinx workers, and 9.0% for Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) workers.
The substantial level of union activity in 2021 (including organizing drives and strikes), along with polling data showing the large share of workers who would like a union at their workplace, demonstrate that workers want and value unions. The fact that unionization nevertheless dropped in 2021 is a glaring testament to how broken U.S. labor law really is and how urgent it is that Congress pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.

(Lafer and Loustaunau 2020).

What can policymakers do to protect workers' rights?
Despite the attacks on union organizing, policymakers have neglected to update labor law to ensure that workers have a meaningful right union representation in their workplace—and the consequences are clear in the data. Union membership dropped in 2021 despite a substantial amount of union activity, and that drop is part of a decades long decline in unionization—a decline that is occurring not because workers don't want unions, but because our current system of labor law is broken.

As we emerge from the pandemic, we must adopt policies that make it easier for workers to form a union. The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which passed the House last year with bipartisan support, provides a comprehensive set of reforms that would strengthen private-sector workers' right to form a union and engage in collective bargaining. The Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, introduced last fall, guarantees public-sector workers the right to form a union and engage in collective bargaining. There is also room for improvement at the state level. Currently, more than half of U.S. states lack comprehensive collective bargaining laws for state and local public-sector workers, and millions of agricultural and domestic workers are excluded from collective bargaining laws unless states pass legislation to cover them (McNicholas et al. 2020). These policy changes at the federal and state level are not only crucial to restoring a fair balance of power between workers and employers, but also essential to an equitable recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

The dynamic we've seen over the last year—of employers needing to compete for workers leading to wage increases and enabling workers to quit their jobs and find better ones—is the result of the extraordinary labor market dynamics of the pandemic. These dynamics are unlikely to last once the pandemic is behind us. For lasting strong wage growth and decent working conditions, working people must be able to join unions. The 2021 union numbers are a wake-up call. If policymakers fail to act, the downward trends in unionization will likely continue and the post-pandemic economy will be marked by widespread inequality and a lack of worker power. The Biden administration and Congress must institute policies—such as the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and other legislation to boost unionization—that promote the right to union representation and collective bargaining as we rebuild our economy.

Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Daniel Perez for research assistance to prepare this report.

Latest data release on unionization is a wake-up call to lawmakers: We must fix our broken system of labor law

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June 10, 2022

Workers get significant economic benefits from labor unions, even if they are not members of a union themselves. While union membership rates among workers remained at historic lows in 2021, the year also witnessed increased union activity and favorable public opinion towards them. The last year has seen historic success of unionization efforts. Unionization took place at the JFK8 Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York, at over 110 Starbucks stores across the country and among graduate students at universities. New union organizing reflects a growing awareness of the economic benefits that unions have to offer all workers, including those who are not union members.

Unionization boosts wages for workers industry-wide, even if their workplaces are not unionized. Unionized workers earn 10.2% more than their non-union peers, while also raising wages and benefits for all workers in their industry.
Unions can play a critical role in narrowing racial and gender economic disparities. Unionization increases wages by 17.3% for Black workers and 23.1% for Latino workers.
Significant union activity took place in 2021, including a string of high-profile strikes, and unions' popularity reached a level not seen since 1965.
Supporting workers' right to organize is a key way to help boost wages and support quality jobs. Actions by Congress and the Biden administration will help protect the right to organize and increase the number of union jobs, ultimately creating significant economic benefits for workers and the broader economy.

Unions provide major economic benefits for workers and families - Unions provide major economic benefits for workers and families - United States Joint Economic Committee
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[zddoodah]

People are trying to start a union but only 2% want it. Some ppl are saying you will lose your benefits or get worse benefits if the union is voted in. Others are saying that we will get the same benefits. So we are trying to figure out if it will change or not and to what degree if the union is voted in.

Whether benefits would be worse than, the same as, or better than what you currently have depends entirely on the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. Of course, if only 2% of the workforce is in favor of the union, then it's highly unlikely to happen.

 

[Tax Counsel]

People are trying to start a union but only 2% want it. Some ppl are saying you will lose your benefits or get worse benefits if the union is voted in. Others are saying that we will get the same benefits. So we are trying to figure out if it will change or not and to what degree if the union is voted in.

The only way you will know how the benefits will change is to vote for unionization and then see what deal the union can strike with the employer. If the employer really hates unions, it's probably a safe bet it will try to strike a deal with union that is less generous, perhaps a lot less generous, than the company has now. A lot depends on how easy the company could replace you should the union and management come to loggerheads and the union calls a strike. If you have specialized skills that are in high demand you'll be harder to replace and do better than if your skills are something that most people can do.

 

[cbg]

It is possible, yes. It is by no means a given. Where I work the union has better benefits than the non-union employees.