Union leadership

THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE LOCAL UNION

Most people who are union members joined after being hired by a union- ized employer. As Chapter 10 will describe in more detail, unions usually negotiate union security clauses into collective bargaining agreements, requiring that represented employees join the union or pay an agency fee for representation services. In states with right-to-work laws, federal employment, and most state and local public employment, employees cannot be required to join unions if they are represented, and most often they are not required to pay agency fees.

In some occupations, unions are a major labor supply source. Where employment is transient (as in the construction and maritime industries), and when the union takes a leading role in occupational skill training (as in the building trades), entry to employment is most often through the union. In these unions, membership is not usually required to be employed by a unionized employer, but it is a prerequisite for being referred to many opportunities.

Joining, Socialization, and Leaving Employers usually orient new employees to their workplaces. Most often new employees start work at the beginning of a pay period. They usually attend a group meeting at which they receive information about the com- pany and its policies and procedures, enroll in benefit programs, and the like. Then they go to their work areas, meet their supervisors, are assigned workstations, meet their fellow employees, and begin on-the-job training. Sometimes there may be a formal training period before beginning the job. New employees are often hired in a probationary capacity, making the transition to so-called permanent employment after a training and adaptation period. While new employees in a unionized bargaining unit are covered by the labor contract from the outset, most contracts usually reserve the company’s right to terminate a probationary employee for any reason without recourse to the grievance procedure.

Most collective bargaining agreements exempt probationary employees from union representation or payment of union agency fees. If there is a union shop agreement in the contract, new employees will be required to join immediately after the probationary period. At this point, they must pay an initiation fee and begin to pay monthly dues.

Generally, stewards enroll new members in a work unit. They explain to employees how the union represents them and how the collective bargain- ing agreement benefits them. Stewards make employees aware of union activities and try to get new members involved. Since the union must dem- onstrate majority support to represent employees, it is important for union representatives to be able to spell out to present and potential members the gains the union has previously negotiated. Aspects of the contract related to protection from unilateral discipline and rationalizing job opportunities

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through seniority clauses reflect the operationalization of union values. 1 Personal contact by the steward in socializing new members to the union appears to be much more important than formal programs. Socialization positively influences new members’ attitudes toward the union and their later commitment to the union’s programs and activities. 2

Where there is no union shop or required agency fee, employees do not need to pay dues to the union to receive contractual benefits. This is free riding. Employees who are socialized into the union or who develop feelings of union solidarity avoid free riding. Employees who are less attached to their occupations or who have less fear of arbitrary employer actions may be more willing to free-ride. Those who do not believe the benefits gained through collective bargaining exceed the costs of dues and other efforts would also be less likely to join. An adversarial relationship between the union and the employer will be more likely to create a perceived need for union protec- tion. 3 But unionized employees who perceive the labor relations in their workplaces to be adversarial are likely to decrease commitment to both the employer and the union. 4 Factors associated with higher rates of free riding (holding other factors constant) include employment in the private sector in a right-to-work state; lower earnings; employment in a white-collar occupa- tion; higher education levels; and being younger, white, or a woman. 5

As the economy shifts the predominance of employment increasingly toward services and there is increased diversity in the workforce, iden- tification with traditional union goals and tactics has decreased among members in a union shop environment. Union democracy increases the perceptions of union relevance. 6

Free riding in federal employee unions is particularly common. Federal law prohibits the inclusion of union shop or agency shop requirements in negotiated agreements. In unions that have relatively broad representation,