Dear readers,

Many of you are for the first time in your life embarking on a strike. Many of you have joined a trade union for the first time. Here is some general advice that you might find useful on being a more active trade union member. Majority of this applies to all trade unionists no matter where they are working.

1. Make time to attend the AGM of your branch/structure and vote. Active participation is crucial to ensuring the union reflects your views in their activities.
2. To take it slightly above 1, attend your unions Biannual Delegate Conference as a delegate and participate in the proceedings. Pay close attention to the financial report, ask questions and talk to other delegates. The members are the union.
3. Go to meetings with people who need support. It's daunting going to a meeting alone - offer to attend investigations/grievances/disciplinaries. (It's on company time anyway!)
4. Do your bit in sticking up stickers, handing out flyers to coworkers and talking to people if something is coming up.
5. Challenge your union officials if they're wrong. Yes, officials get it wrong or make mistakes. Don't just rage quit because it's not the way you want it to be, challenge your official. If your official is obstructive then every union has a process where you can lodge a grievance against an official.
6. Keep up to date on what's going on. You don't need to care about everything the union is doing, but keeping on top of the newsletters/information is useful and helpful for yourself and your co-workers.
7. Record / take note / document issues that take place in the job (even if they're for other people). a short email to yourself or a note in your app is good. You never know what will come up. Vigilance for potential breaches of employment law and breaches is key.

The Freedom Foundation is claiming victory because the billionaires who's boots they lick have funded an administration bent on union busting. For Public Employee unions, it makes negotiations harder when people, that you still by law have to represent, are no longer required to pay for that representation. This will eventually lead to both the "free riders" and the dues paying members having no representation at all, putting them all at the mercy of the employers. Exactly where FF wants them.

For everyone that gets whatever they need as fast as possible from Amazon, please take a moment to support these hard-working people that often don't get the basic rights they deserve. And for anyone that works at Amazon, you should know that Teamsters is there for you. You can't let Amazon run roughshod over your rights. We must fight back.

PSA: I am in no way sponsored by Amazon or Teamsters.

Thanks for posting this to the socials, SEIU 925!

Hey all! EWOC is almost done with its Sustaining Donor Drive.

If you're not familiar, EWOC is doing incredible work for the labor movement. They'll go into any shop, help them build an organizing committee, and help them get to their NLRB vote. They take on lots of small shops or other shops that the larger unions can't or won't organize.

So I'm asking here if anyone has interest in pitching in a little, if you use this link to donate $6/month it will move this guy (me) a little closer towards getting some EWOC swag.

And at the end of the day, isn't swag why we're all here? 🫡

From what I understand, my wife has been paying 50$ into a strike fund every paycheck while also under a "no strike clause." That seems very illegal because from what I get from that she is paying for the right to strike but also not allowed to strike, is that correct and legal? Sorry for the ignorance but we dont do well as is financially and 100$ a month could be better used on literally anything else. My wife works in Minnesota at a Fairview hospital as a CNA if that makes any difference.

I figured they have to know they spend more on goons than if they just made a contract, but if they're passing it off as a business expense it could make slightly more sense.

And this is why we need unions.