Every day working people in all trades and industries and all walks of life join together in unions to gain a voice at work. Union members have a say about pay, benefits, working conditions and how their jobs get done—and having that say gives them a "union advantage."

If you do not have a union where you work, find out more about how to form one. Today, more people are taking the steps to form unions on the job than at any time in recent history. You can be one of them. There's an old saying that even the longest journey begins with a single step... here are two simple steps that will get you started on your journey to dignity and respect:

Step One: Know Your Rights

"...It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States to...encourag[e] the practice and procedure of collective bargaining and [to] protect...the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self-organization and designation of representatives of their own choosing, for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment or other mutual aid or protection."
—excerpt from the National Labor Relations Act

Federal and state laws guarantee your right to form a union in your workplace. Eligible employees have the right to express their views on unions, to talk with their co-workers about their interest in forming a union, to wear union buttons, to attend union meetings and in many other ways to exercise their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association.*

In spite of these laws, many employers strongly resist their employees' efforts to unionize. They may threaten to shut down operations and move the work somewhere else just to frighten you. So, before you start talking union where you work, get in touch with one of our Organizers and get started in the right direction.

*Supervisors and a few other kinds of employees customarily are excluded from coverage. For more information, see specific laws covering your position or contact a union organizer as described below.

Step Two: Get in Touch with a District 725 Organizer

Union Organizers assist employees in forming unions on the job to give them the same opportunity for dignity and respect, good wages and decent working conditions that current union members already have. To get in touch with a District 725 Organizer, click here to e-mail them, or call them at the telephone numbers listed on our Organizing Department Contact page. All calls to our Organizers are held in strictest confidence. What have you got to lose? Don't delay-- call today!