Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1179836
THE ARTISAN FALL 2019 • 7 Brothers and Sisters: Union This is my 'Norma Rae' moment… One of the defining days in my life was three decades ago when I received my IATSE Local 706 card. I had previously belonged to two other unions—NABET and Teamsters— but had no real connection to either organization. As I have explained before, it wasn't until years after joining the IATSE that I began to explore my feelings about "being union." As Americans, we have always "joined"—whether the PTA at our children's school, or social, philanthropic or faith- based organizations—to solve problems and make positive changes in our lives and communities. Through unions, we unite to strive for improvements where we spend a great deal of our lives and waking hours: at work. You are the union. It is the right of every American worker to organize, to join a union; this is widely recog- nized as a fundamental human right around the globe. The right to orga- nize belongs to the worker— not the employer, and not the union. Here in the United States, this right is pro- tected by the Constitution and many laws, and is supported by a majority of Americans—although unions only represent a little more than 11 per- cent of the current workforce. Through 'Collective Bargaining,' working people gain a voice at work and the power to shape their future. Fact: Union contracts are essential for a prosperous economy and a vibrant democracy. What is decided at our negotiations tables elevates union and non- union workers across the nation. Because of this, corporations are constantly working against us; decades of anti-union cam- paigns make it increasingly difficult today for working people to use our full collective bargaining strength to sustain our standard of living: our wages, benefits and pensions. Union workers are diverse—just like America. Once, a union member was pictured to be an uneducated white male work- ing a manufacturing job on an assembly line in the Midwest. However, women were at the forefront of the labor move- ment a century ago; today, two-thirds of workers covered by a union contract are women and/or people of color. Unions also represent workers in a variety of industries and with all LOCAL PERSPECTIVE levels of training; more than half of all union workers have a degree or some form of higher education. Unions now thrive in diverse workplaces, including 'new economy' jobs: transpor- tation, utilities, education, health services, construction, and communication—including the creation of motion pictures and television! This is notable because we continue to be one of the most heavily unionized private sector industries and we create products that remain one of the most 'uniquely American exports' desired all over the world! Unions strengthen democracy by giving workers a voice in policy debates. Unions fought for—and worked to strength- en—many of the humane standards that protect our society today. Unions abolished child labor in this country and moved children from the factories to public schools. Unions created essential programs, including Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance, Workers Compensation—for people injured on the job, health and safety laws—to protect us from being injured on the job, the 40-hour workweek and the minimum wage. Unions continue to be a major driving force behind laws regarding discrimination, immigration, housing, and voting rights in America. Americans have a constitutionally protected right to associate and ask for change. For centuries, we have joined together to transform laws and poli- cies, and worked for political and social change. When Americans have want- ed to make the economy less biased and more responsive to the needs of workers, they have traditionally joined unions to do so… So, what many of us simply know as "the union"—the organization that protects and represents us in the workplace or the creature that takes our dues each quarter—actually has deep roots in our society and across America. We are connected with all workers—union and nonunion—on a basic level: our com- mon interest in preserving our way of life. You will receive from this relationship exactly what you invest in it. We are the union. You are the union. Please enjoy your issue of The Artisan. Sincerely and fraternally, Randy Sayer BY RANDY SAYER Business Representative, I.A.T.S.E. Local 706 It is the right of every American worker to organize, to join a union. " "