At a recent crew meeting, our restaurant owner had this to say about unions:- The Unions (such as Teamsters) would recruit us into their union soley so they could get dues from us. He said the dues would run about $20 a month, and you would have to pay them every month until you are no longer employed with the franchise, even if you were only to work one shift that entire month!
- To form the union you need support from 50% of the employees plus 1 more.
- The union must stay in effect (and everyone must keep paying the dues) for at least one year, and there's no way to back out of it before then.
- Once unionized, all entering employees must also join the union, and pay the dues.
He went on to say he really doesn't want other people telling him how to run his business. In many ways, I agree - in my opinion, conditions at our restaurant are great, and if there was ever a problem that merited union involvement, our "open door policy" is heavily touted, and the managers claim if there were such problems they could be solved by serious discussion between crew and management.
Any comments on those union facts (or myths)? Are they legitimate reasons not to consider a union unless there was no other alternative (which, for us, there is), or is it just a threat to keep us from exerting our right to form a union?
Also, McDonald's in Canada has a firm no solicitation rule. That means you couldn't even put a poster up to advertise our school play - it would be ripped down immediately. That's understandable - they don't want people bringing in competitiors products and stuff like that. But in the crew room the warning sign is even bigger. I think it's all a way to keep people from discussing unions in the workplace - the rule is mentioned at orientation, during our reviews etc. - so they can legitimize firing employees that might try to form a union.
Waddaya think?
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McSpotlight: You don't think that your owner had a vested interest here?
