Should a company, or boss or supervisor, be able to fire you or get rid of you for non-job related or trivial reasons?
Should the time (years and years) you spend dedicated to your job count for something?
When I witnessed a family member fired at a company we both worked at, for know other reason than to have the wrong friend at work, it left a wound on my conscience that I did not know how to heal.
This healing didn’t come easy. It wasn’t until I worked at a unionized company and learned that you can’t be fired unless the company has cause to do so. That there are steps that must be taken when “discipline” is meted out.
That I had assurances of rights that were protected by a contract.
This was new to me. Something I had never hard of.
And, I was anti-union when I heard it.
After months of complaining about paying dues and being in a union, it was when people that shared my worldview and ideology that showed me an aspect of union membership that I had never known.
Two things moved me. And still do to this day.
“Just Cause Rights”
and,
“Seniority.”
Just Cause Rights means that you cannot be disciplined or fired unless the company has real reasons for doing so. Not just because the Supervisor or some other higher up doesn’t like you or things and people you know.
And Seniority. All the hard work and time you put in to your work actually has value. If there are layoffs or downsizing of a company, there are protections in place that has to be followed. And not just getting rid of people that have been around the longest.
The Janus and Right To Work zealots never tell you what is lost when you do not have a union in place. You can quit your Union, but what is lost when you do is dramatic and has lasting consequences for you, your career and your family.
I prefer to have real rights at work. Without a contract in place, without a Union or Association recognized to protect multiple and varied rights of employees, there is little hope for protections to be in place.
TR Ball