Labor Unions

The right to organize unions, bargain freely and strike when necessary is being destroyed by employers and their representatives in government.

Today, nearly one out of ten workers involved in union organizing drives is illegally fired by employers who wage a campaign of fear, threats, and slick propaganda to keep workers from exercising a genuinely free choice.

And as union membership falls, so do the wages of all working people, union and non-union alike. We support efforts to overcome these legal handicaps, especially in the South and Southwest where the laws are most hostile. We also must dedicate ourselves to fighting for a complete overhaul of this country’s labor laws.

We should support the irreducible right of working people, without hindrance, to form a union and to bargain collectively with their employer. This right was guaranteed under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935.

We support the right of workers, without penalty, to inform other workers on the premises of a union being formed. This includes advertising and recruiting.

It is imperative that employees enjoy workplace democracy, which includes the following:

1. The right to elect representatives to sit equally with management on the Board of Directors.
2. The right to fair and democratic elections of their own union officers.
3. No permanent replacement of striking workers.
4. No forced overtime.
5. Flexible working schedules so employees can arrange their own time to deal with personal and family concerns.
6. All workers, temporary or permanent, must be paid a living wage. The federal minimum wage for all workers should be set to at least $15 per hour, indexed to inflation.
7. All workers must have health care coverage, at least half paid by employer, until the passage of universal health care.
8. All workers must have unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and access to a jobs search program when they are unemployed. This security applies to farm workers as well.
9. Minimum pensions for all workers, fully vested and portable, that do not reduce social security benefits.
10. Mediation as the first available solution to labor–management disputes, with an agreed-upon time limit.
11. New union members’ right to submit a first contract to binding arbitration at the request of the union.
12. Labor’s first right to buy out a company that is for sale or is going bankrupt, or being outsourced to another state or another country.
13. Requiring employers who purchase or merge with other companies to honor all existing collective bargaining agreements and contracts.
14. Labor’s right to stock ownership and oversight of the investment of its own funds in the company where it works.

Source: Green Party

Labor