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 About the Union :: Your Role as a Union Member |
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The most important thing to know about your union is that YOU are the union. A union is only as strong, effective and powerful as the members who participate in its operation and activities.
BWH/MNA union is a democratic organization where the membership has ultimate control over every decision of our union and its priorities. The power of the MNA lies with you. You can best exercise that power by being informed, involved and active in your union.
While not everyone can invest the time to be a member of the negotiating team, or even to serve as a floor or unit rep., every member can take a number of simple steps to make our union a more powerful and effective vehicle for advancing your interests and the interests of your colleagues. Those steps include:
- Read your contract and keep it handy – your contract delineates your rights and benefits at work and represents the focus of your union’s activity. You need to read it, refer to it and understand it so you can use it to your benefit, as well as to understand what it doesn’t address so you can advocate for changes to improve it.
- Submit ideas for contract proposals – when contracts come up for renegotiation, members have the opportunity to submit proposals to be considered for inclusion in the negotiation. This is your opportunity to propose changes or new ideas to improve your workplace. You don’t need to know how to draft a proposal, see the item below dealing with communicating with your negotiating team.
- Go to your union leadership if you have a question – if you are unclear about what your contract says, or what your union is doing to address an issue, go to one of your elected leaders and ask them. The names of your leaders are posted on bulletin boards, listed in our newsletters and can be found on this web site. Go to them, talk to them, they are there to represent your interests.
- Attend meetings – if you can’t make a meeting, send a surrogate from your floor that you trust and who can express your views and help you stay informed.
- Read newsletters, E-Mails, etc.– your negotiating committee has stepped up efforts through the production of our newsletter, contract updates, email blasts and this web page to keep members informed of ongoing issues. Review this material so you know what is going on. If something is happening you don’t understand or agree with, let a member of your committee know about it.
- Participate in and vote in the election of leaders of your unit – our bargaining unit has by-laws that dictate a process for holding elections of its leadership and negotiating team. If you have the time and interest, run for a position. If you don’t have time, learn about who is running. If you know of a member who shares your views and is a strong leader, encourage them to run for election. And, of course, make sure you vote in all union elections.
- Participate in the activities of the bargaining unit – As your union does its work on your behalf, it will engage in a number of activities, leafleting, member surveys, petition drives, picketing and, if needed, strike votes and even strikes. The success of all of these activities depends on broad participation by the membership. If your union is engaged in an activity, participate.
Again, you are the union and by engaging in some or all of these activities you can guarantee that the union is successful in representing your interests.
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