Through unions, workers improving their jobs — and their lives
A wave of worker action has swept the country, and unions are more popular than they’ve been in 50 years. This is because as a union, workers are most effective at raising wages, gaining better benefits and addressing workplace problems.
Working people in San Antonio and across Texas are part of this wave, and with their collective power, they are improving their workplaces and creating better careers.
In response to proposed job and wage cuts, San Antonio Symphony musicians are standing up to symphony management by going on strike. The pandemic has hit arts and entertainment workers and employers hard. Instead of working with musicians on a way to deal with the symphony’s financial struggles, management is choosing to not budge on a proposal that would further harm the symphony by slashing the number of full-time symphony positions and replacing many with lower paid, part-time positions.
The members of American Federation of Musicians Local 23 are using their power to reject this unacceptable proposal by refusing to perform until their employer agrees to a fair deal.
Over the past few years, professionals at Every Texan, Move Texas, Fair Shot Texas and Bookpeople, just to name a few, formed unions. The payoff is evident in the strong first contracts that have raised standards at these organizations.
At Every Texan, a statewide policy-focused nonprofit, the staff ratified their first contract in August, which increased the organization’s base pay by $15,000 and extended the length of paid parental leave to 16 weeks. Workers also negotiated for a monthly student loan stipend to help ease the burden of student debt. Bookpeople staff ratified their first contract this year as well, winning significant wage improvements.
Nationally, professionals are seeing the value of joining with their colleagues. Last year, union membership among professional employees hit a new high of 6.3 million members, and professionals make up about 40 percent of the labor movement. Unlike nonunion employees, union members have a legal right to negotiate with their employers over pay, benefits and working conditions. That’s why union members on average have 20 percent higher wages, as well as better health insurance and retirement plans with larger employer contributions.
Power in the workplace has become more important as employees deal with the global pandemic. For workers who continued to report to in-person work, those in unions have a voice in workplace safety and the ability to demand proper personal protective equipment.
Employees who have been working from home since the start of the pandemic are starting to be called back to the office. While some workers see quitting their job as the only answer to their employer’s return-to-work mandate, union members have the ability to negotiate with their employer over scheduling. In Texas and across the country, union employees were less likely to face layoffs as a result of the pandemic.
We know more Texans want to follow the lead of nonprofit employees, journalists, booksellers and the many others in the state who are reaping the benefits of union membership. Unions provide the power to raise pay, improve benefits and ensure sustainable careers.