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In today’s day in age where you have to agree to terms and conditions to install an app on your mobile device or log into just about any website, we deal with contracts and agreements all the time, whether we realize it or not.

And if you have to sign a contract to buy a car, mortgage a house or something as simple as rent a movie from Redbox, why wouldn’t you want a contract covering and protecting your wages and working conditions?

Your employer has numerous contracts protecting their business. They’ve got contracts covering their vendors & suppliers, their lease or rent, their equipment. Virtually every aspect of their business is regulated to protect their interests. It makes sense for your employer to protect its interests, so why wouldn’t you want to do the same?

The answer is most people don’t understand their right to organize a union and negotiate with their employer over the terms and conditions of employment. According to the National Labor Relations Board, one of the governing bodies which oversee Unions, your rights include the “right to distribute union literature, wear union buttons t-shirts, or other insignia (except in unusual “special circumstances”), solicit coworkers to sign union authorization cards, and discuss the union with coworkers.”

The NLRB also states “it’s also illegal for supervisors and managers to spy on you (or make it appear that they are doing so), coercively question you, threaten you or bribe you regarding your union activity or the union activities of your co-workers.” This doesn’t mean your employer won’t try, but know they’re breaking the law in doing so.

So what’s holding you back? Would you like to know when your next wage increase is going to be? Would you like to have your schedule be little more predictable and protected by a contract? Would you like to have a guaranteed number of hours each week? Would you like paid vacations, holiday pay, a procedure to protect you from wrongful discipline, guaranteed medical benefits and a secure retirement? All those things are typically covered under a Union contract.

For more information fill out this form (no, it’s not a contract of any kind) or click on this link: labworkersunited.org/learn-more to speak to someone about becoming more educated on your rights as a worker.

What are you waiting for?

Here are a few additional links to some more information and resources:

• Your Rights during Union Organizing – NLRB
• Your Rights At Work – AFLCIO
• Collective Bargaining – Wikipedia
• Why Collective Bargaining is a Fundamental Human Right – Huffington Post