Help with Unionizing

[Diirez]

I work at a big retail company (who's color is red and is known for anti-union) and I have been seriously considering trying to unionize my store. Most people seem to just be too afraid of it or have bought into the terrible anti-union video we're all forced to watch as part of orientation.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with unionizing and the process or any advice?

[#FF0000]

It's extremely difficult. First you need to find a union to represent you. Many of the old unions are diversified and so even unions like the IBEW (electrical workers and construction) might also represent retail workers. You have to go to them, though, and tell them that you're interested. If they'll help you, they'll have you try to get interested co-workers to sign authorization cards and come to organizing meetings. Once they have 60-70% of the workforce at your store to sign the authorization cards, the campaign goes public (if managers didn't figure out what was happening by now -- and they will), and there's an NLRB election to vote for or against bringing the union in.

It's difficult for a few reasons. First of all, most unions are extremely passive when it comes to organizing. You will always have to go to them -- they will very rarely go anywhere to organize the shop with few exceptions. Secondly, the NLRA pretty effectively limits unions' power but still allows employers plenty of underhanded and effective tools to retaliate against unionizing workers (even though doing so is technically illegal). And lastly, it's very hard to get co-workers to bring in a union, because union contracts generally don't offer very much these days because union bureaucracy tries to keep close ties with management.

If you don't mind me asking, what region are you in? The IWW has organizing trainings pretty frequently, and even if you don't intend to join, I think its a useful training, as they focus on organizing tactics that don't rely entirely on NLRB elections.

[consuming negativity]

why would you even ask for outside help like that? the entire point of the union is that they can't fire everybody so they have to capitulate to your demands. why would you choose to have masters across the country who were pre-selected by nobody you've ever even met before when you could just unionize your workplace? aren't we supposed to be in favor of workplace democracy and direct worker control over production? how about we try to actually do what we want rather than using the system capital allows to exist precisely because it exists to recuperate successful radical activity