A union is a union of workers.
A union is a group of working people that is developed to defend the financial, professional and social interests linked to the tasks carried out by its members. These are organizations with a democratic spirit that are dedicated to negotiating contract conditions with those who employ them.
Each union represents and brings together workers in specific sectors and is responsible for promoting collective negotiations with companies or business groups. The amount of salaries, rest periods, corresponding vacations, training and licenses are some of the issues that unions must resolve with employers.
Unions and collective labor agreements
In this context, it is also worth highlighting that the agreement established between a union (or group of unions) and one or more job generators is known as a contract or collective labor agreement . These contracts establish the minimum conditions implicit in each contract. For example: if the collective agreement signed by the Trade Union establishes that no employee in the sector can earn less than $500 per month, workers in the commercial sector will only be able to receive monthly salaries greater than $500.
Uniting workers through a union gives them the strength and power necessary to negotiate with companies, since it is often difficult to make claims and obtain satisfactory results through other means.
It should be noted that workers have freedom of association to organize according to their own will and without interference from the State , firms or other unions. This means that no employer can force its employee to disaffiliate from one union or move to another. On the other hand, no union is in a position to recruit members by force.
Unions often take forceful measures to defend the interests of their members.
Crystal Lee Sutton and her union revolution
Crystal Lee Sutton (or Pulley , her maiden name) was born in North Carolina , United States , in 1940 , exactly on December 31 , perhaps announcing that her life would end a series of abusive acts in the workplace and that would mark the beginning of a new era .
At the beginning of the 70s , he was working in a textile company, where he performed tedious and monotonous tasks, for a tiny salary and with working conditions that bordered on slavery. Given the injustices that both she and her colleagues had to suffer and endure in that company , Crystal allied herself with a union organizer named Eli Zivkovich , with whom she sought radical change for everyone .
Her actions were not well received by the company, and Crystal received threats for a time, until she was fired from her position. However, before he walked through the door for the last time, he took a piece of cardboard and wrote the word "union" in capital letters; She stood on her work table and began to spin it slowly, so that all her colleagues could read it. These, excited and also thirsty for a change, turned off their machines and responded with the sign of peace . The feeling of tranquility that existed in the room was memorable, although it did not last long.
After this act of bravery, the police forcibly removed Crystal from the building. However, it was too late to silence her: her actions would change things forever. Not only did her former colleagues win the right to be represented by a union, but she herself obtained a position as an organizer and, later, received the "Peace and Justice on Earth" award.
Many know her story thanks to the film titled "Norma Rae" , starring the brilliant Sally Field , and based on the book "Crystal Lee: A Woman of Heritage" . Ironically, Crystal died of cancer whose treatment was delayed due to her struggles with social security.