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Union Rights


HIGHLIGHTS


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ATTACKS ON WORKERS’ RIGHTS


Attacks on workers’ rights are not just taking place in states like Wisconsin and Ohio, they are happening at the federal level in Congress too. 

Congress has passed anti-worker, anti-union provisions as part of legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration.  The provisions in question would be devastating to workers’ rights and labor relations.   Learn more about the latest attack on working families. 

The right to organize and join a union is, for most employees, a fundamental employment protection under federal and state “labor” laws. America’s labor unions have led the fight for working families, winning protections such as the 8-hour day and the 40-hour week, overtime rights, and access to health care and retirement security.  Today, the fight continues both to retain these vital rights and to ensure a fair minimum wage, and a safe and healthy workplace. Workers in unions earn 28 percent higher wages on average, and are 62 percent more likely to have employer-covered health coverage.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FACTSHEETS

To help NEA and its affiliates promote and defend collective bargaining, NEA has developed four factsheets for use with such audiences as legislators, school board members, parents, and the general public. They may also be helpful in educating members and organizing non-members.

  • Setting the Record Straight (PDF, 4 pgs, 725kb)
    This factsheet discusses several hot-button issues, including public employee pay and benefits, tenure, seniority, and dues deduction and provides no-nonsense facts in response. 
  • Professional Development Benefits Students (PDF, 2 pgs, 463kb)
    This factsheet focuses on the importance of professional development in the complex, ever-changing teaching profession. The factsheet summarizes key aspects of quality professional development and emphasizes that collective bargaining between teachers and their employers can create a culture of professional learning. 
  • What It Is and How It Works (PDF, 3 pgs, 675kb)
    This factsheet includes a step-by-step outline of the bargaining process to demystify bargaining for those who aren’t familiar with it. The factsheet emphasizes that collective bargaining is good public policy and gives workers a voice in their workplace.
  • Bargaining Benefits Everyone in Education (PDF, 2 pgs, 717kb)
    This factsheet explores how bargaining can improve teaching and learning conditions and stresses that through bargaining, “everyone connected to the school—students, teachers, education support professionals, administrators, and taxpayers—benefits.”

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Power comes from unity. That was the message delivered September 15, 2009 by NEA President Dennis Van Roekel when he made history by becoming the first NEA president to address the national AFL-CIO convention. Van Roekel told delegates it was time to be "gloriously dissatisfied" with the status of the American working class, and to work together to bring positive changes.