Know Your Rights!

You are protected by a federal law called the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

Under the NLRA, you have the RIGHT to:

  • Organize a union free from fear, intimidation, or threats;

  • Talk about unionizing while you’re at work;

  • Wear a union pin while you’re at work;

  • Sign a union card;

  • Engage in other collective concerted activity, like advocating for your co-workers to management!

While a manager can tell you that they don’t want you to vote for a union, they CANNOT LEGALLY do the following things:

  • Threaten or intimidate you if you support the union;

  • Discipline you or retaliate against you in any way for your support for the union;

  • Ask questions about your union activity;

  • Surveil or monitor union activities.

Look out for Union Busting!

Be aware of these common anti-union tactics:

  • Play the Nice Guy: Sometimes companies will play the “nice guy” and make long-overdue changes to the workplace, start hosting “listening sessions” and more. While positive changes can be a good thing, we are organizing a union so we can ensure that we can get our rights in writing (meaning that they can’t be taken away) through a union contract! Another example of this is management throwing pizza parties & other hollow actions (we’ve already seen this in the context of frustration over the POS system).

  • Attack the Union: Sometimes companies will revert to attacking unions. They may say things like “a union is just a business” or “you don’t want to pay union dues, do you?”. It’s important to remember that you and your co-workers are the union and you will be the ones at the bargaining table and building the union at Healthy Living!

  • Intimidate Workers: Unfortunately, sometimes employers will use dirty tactics to try to scare workers from organizing. If this happens, know that we are stronger together and we have a legal right to organize. The union and your coworkers have your back in case management tries to do anything like this.

  • Hold Listening Sessions and One-On-One Meetings: Management may start hosting “listening sessions” to get your ideas, or start pulling people for one-on-one meetings. Remember that it is illegal for management to interrogate you about your thoughts on the union. You do NOT have to tell anyone if you signed a card or how you plan to vote!

  • Guilt Trips: Be aware that management or paid consultants may try to guilt you by making things personal. Our union is not against any individual. This is about having accountability and a voice on the job! We deserve a say in our pay, benefits, and working conditions to make Healthy Living the best workplace possible.

Sometimes companies will make implicit threats by saying things like “this will change our culture.” This is simply not true. The union is us — Healthy Living workers — and we are the ones who will improve Healthy Living for the better.

This is an example of union-busting from Starbucks. You can see how Starbucks is trying to prevent workers from signing union cards by using legal jargon and making it seem scary.

This is another example of typical union-busting. Often times companies will suddenly start hosting “listening sessions” to get worker feedback when they’ve never done things like this in the past. While it is a good thing for companies to listen to their workers, without a union, they can choose to listen or disregard feedback. With a union, companies are legally required to bargain with workers over wages, benefits & working conditions!