Strikes
There are two things unions want you to believe about strikes:
1. Strikes are very rare, so you don't have to worry about that.
2. Going out on strike is entirely up to you - so again, you don't have to worry about that.
Neither of these statements is true:
Here are two examples of what unions say about strikes:
International Association of Machinists:
Utility Workers Union of America:
Are strikes as rare as unions say? You be the judge; here are just some of the strikes conducted by one union, the International Association of Machinists, over the past three years:
Does the IAM conduct more strikes than other unions?
Not according to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service which tracks strikes nationwide.
According to their records, unions that have conducted even more strikes than the IAM include:
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United Steelworkers Union
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Teamsters
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Service Employees International Union
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California Nurses Association
Click here to see FMCS data
Can unions force members to go out on strike?
Union-represented workers can continue to work when their union calls a strike, although the union can punish them for doing so. In that sense, unions can't force members to strike.
But the statements at the top of this page imply something else: you'll only go out on strike if you want to.
And that's not necessarily true.
Here are just three examples of strikes ordered by union leaders:
Here are the facts:
1. Strikes are not rare at all.
2. A lot of workers who go out on strike really don't want to.
Lockouts
Unions recently have started using a new strategy: forcing companies to "lock out" workers instead of calling a strike. The advantage for the union is that lockouts create negative publicity for the company rather than for the union. Also, in some states, locked-out workers can get unemployment payments while striking workers cannot.
How do unions force companies to lock out their workers?
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The union holds a "strike authorization" vote of the members. If the members who actually vote support authorizing the union to call a strike, the union lets the company know that they could call a strike at any moment. After awhile, it becomes difficult for companies to operate with the threat of a strike hanging constantly over their heads; for example, customers often look for another supplier who isn't likely to have a strike.
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The union tells the membes to do a "slow-down" at work, doing as little work as possible so that productivity drops. In effect, workers are "striking while working."
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The union tells members to commit acts of sabotage to disrupt company operations.
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The union "drags their feet" during contract bargaining by skipping meetings, ignoring deadlines, refusing to take management's offers back to members for a vote, or refusing to respond at all to management's offers.
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Union members have no say concerning lockouts; it's the union who leaders decide if and when they want to force a company to lock workers out. Unfortunately, this strategy is being used more often: the New York Times reported in 2012 that lockouts "have grown to represent a record percentage of the nation's work stoppages."
Here are examples of lockouts that have happened recently:
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After the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers refused for more than two years to come to an agreement, ADT was forced to lock out 19 employees in Winston-Salem, N.C.
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When the United Steelworkers refused to bring management's offer to the membership for a vote, Allegheny Technologies had to lock out more than 2,000 union workers at 12 plants in 6 states.
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The Utility Workers Union held a strike vote and then notified Entergy that they could strike at any time. But the union refused to let the members vote on the proposed contract. Eventually, management told the union that they had no choice but to lockout the workers.
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When the Utility Workers Union refused to meet agreed-upon deadlines, FirstEnergy was forced to lock out 142 utility workers at its Penelec subsidiary in central Pennsylvania.
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When the United Steelworkers rejected every offer Sherwiin Alumina made, the company was forced to lock out several hundred workers.
What happens if you go on strike, or are locked out?
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The company stops paying your wages
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The company stops paying for your benefits. You can pay the cost of your benefits yourself (although that can be difficult with no wages). Sadly, there are many cases where striking workers or their family members fell sick, or even passed away, during a strike, only to find that they had no health or life insurance.
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The company can hire replacement workers:
In the case of a lockout or an "unfair labor practice" strike (where a union is claiming management broke the law), replacement workers are temporary and must leave when the strike or lockout is over.
In the case of an "economic strike" (where there is a dispute over wages, benefits or conditions of employment, which is the case in most strikes), the replacement workers are considered permanent. This may mean that even when the strike ends, those replacements may continue working, with strikers coming back one at a time as openings occur.
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Workers can choose to cross union picket lines and continue working during a strike, but not during a lockout.
What about union strike pay?
Most unions provide a small amount for strike pay, and only after workers have been on strike for some time. In addition, workers must walk the picket line to qualify for strike pay.
For example:
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The IAM pays $150 per week, after a two-week waiting period
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The UWUA pays different amounts as determined by the Executive Board, after a two-week waiting period
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The United Steelworkers Union pays $200 per week, after a three-week waiting period.
What happens if you continue working during a strike your union called?
Nearly every union Constitution says it is a violation of union rules for a member to cross a picket line and work during a strike. Members found guilty of working during strikes have been fined by their unions; in fact, this is the most frequent reason for union fines.
Here are just a few examples:
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Several workers at Boeing were each fined $4,500
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A worker at Honeywell was fined $7,361.36
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At Caterpillar, dozens of workers were fined a total of over $1,000,000.00; three examples of individual fines were $15,564.00, $11,938.00 and $21,558.00.
What's it like to cross a picket line?
This video gives you some idea . . .
Unions want everyone to know who's crossing their picket line, so they write "scabs" names on signs and fake outhouses.
How does a strike affect workers and their families?
Here's one person's experience . . .
When the strike is over, do the hard feelings go away?
Not according to this Boeing employee . . .
What kinds of things do union members do during strikes? As a union member, would you be told to do these same things?
Below is a court order telling the IBEW what their members must stop doing during their strike against Verizon. Apparently, throwing feces was part of their protest strategy.
When there is a strike or lockout, it's the workers who lose pay, benefits and possibly their jobs.
Union officials who call strikes or force lockouts don't lose anything -- they still get their pay and benefits. Companies have the legal right to use replacement workers to keep their doors open.
It's the workers who often are caught in the middle and suffer when there are disputes between unions and companies, and they may never make up what they lost while they were striking or locked out.