CWA LOCAL 13500 - GLOSSARY OF UNION TERMS

The world of unions has its own vocabulary. Some words or phrases are used solely within this world, while others may have a slightly different meaning than when you encounter them elsewhere. Here is a list of some of the more important parts of the union vocabulary.

Agency (or Union) Shop: workplace where employees are required to belong to the union or pay dues as a condition of employment. 

AFL-CIO: the national federation that includes most labor unions, resulting from the 1955 merger of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations.

Arbitration: the process by which a neutral outside party acts as a "judge," taking evidence and issuing a binding ruling on a contract grievance or other dispute. 

Bargaining: the process of face-to-face meetings, exchange of proposals, and give and take that produces a union contract.

Bargaining Agent: a union, designated by the National Labor Relations Board, or recognized voluntarily by the employer, as the exclusive representative of all employees in the bargaining unit for purposes of collective bargaining. 

Bargaining Unit: the group of workers represented by a particular union and covered by a union contract. This unit may include all the workers in a single office or in a number of offices, or it may include only the workers in a single department. The final unit is determined by the NLRB, or agreed to jointly by the union and the employer. 

Central Labor Councils: the AFL-CIO sponsored collection of the local unions in a particular city or other geographical area. 

Collective Bargaining: see bargaining.

Collective Bargaining Agreement: the document produced as a result of negotiations between a union and an employer, constituting the set of binding workplace rules. 

Constitution and Bylaws: legal documents governing the administration of local and international unions. Adopted by union conventions or by membership vote, these rules generally cover elections and duties of officers, conventions, committees, and dues.

Contract: see collective bargaining agreement.  

Corporate Campaigns: a multifaceted pressure campaign waged by a union, designed to expose an employer's legal weaknesses, public relations vulnerability, or business bottom line.

Duty of Fair Representation (DFR): the union's obligation to act diligently and fairly in the interests of members of the bargaining units. This flows from the union's role as the exclusive representative of all those in the bargaining unit.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): the federal agency that implements many anti-discrimination laws. Many states and localities have equivalent agencies.

Fair Labor Standards Act: the federal law setting the minimum wage and establishing standards for overtime pay. Many states and localities also have laws applicable in their jurisdictions.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): the 1993 law creating an entitlement to unpaid leave connected with family emergencies and medical situations.

Fees, Fines, and Assessments: extra payments beyond dues made by members to the union. Sometimes authorized by the Constitution or By-laws, these payments are in fact extremely rare.

Grievance: a dispute or difference arising between the employer and the employees.

Grievance Procedure: a series of steps set forth in a union contract for attempting to resolve disputes between the employer and employees/union.

Just cause: the usual standard for discipline, requiring sufficient and fair grounds before punishing an employee. The burden is on the company for establishing just cause.  

Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA): a federal law containing the Bill of Rights of Members of Local Organizations, guaranteeing the right of union members to participate in union meetings, to vote in union elections, and so on.

Lockout: a refusal by an employer to allow employees to report to work designed to force the union to accept the employer's position in a bargaining dispute. 

Master Contract: a union contract covering several companies in one industry. 

Mobilization: consists of 3 basic parts - strengthening Locals, inside actions, and using community support to mount effective "corporate campaigns." It is a continuous process of organization, education, and collective action that is designed to achieve a high level of member participation in collective actions. Organization allows the union to communicate one-on-one, worker-to-worker, with every single member in a short period of time. We can educate ourselves about issues that confront us and what we can do about them as a union. Once we understand the issues, we can become actively involved in collective actions to win changes.  

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB): the agency that administers the National Labor Relations Act, created in 1935 and continued through subsequent amendment, whose functions are to define the appropriate bargaining units, to hold elections, to determine whether a majority of workers want to be represented by a specific union or no union, to certify unions to represent employees, to interpret and apply the Act's provisions prohibiting certain employer and union unfair practices, and to otherwise administer the provisions of the Act.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): the federal agency that administers the basic health and safety law, the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Officers: elected representatives of the union. The President of Local 13500 is Sandy Kmetyk and the Secretary-Treasurer is Terri Senich. There are five Executive-Vice Presidents: Julie DaLoisio (Central Division), Carol Coultas (Pittsburgh-Western Division), Jazmin Torres (Philadelphia Division), Richard Hunt (AT&T Division), and Michael McCalla (Eastern Division). 

Organizer (Union Organizer): employee of a union - usually paid but sometimes a volunteer - who helps unrepresented employees acquire union rights. 

Past Practice: a procedure or workplace custom that can acquire binding effect.

Rank and File: the members of a union; not the leaders, just you and your co-workers. 

Ratification: the procedure in which union members vote to accept or reject a negotiated contract settlement.

Recognition: when the employer agrees to recognize the union as the exclusive bargaining agent for the employees.

Scab: a derogatory term used for a person who refuses to honor a strike and crosses a picket line in order work where the strike is taking place.

Seniority: a worker's length of service with an employer relative to the length of service of other workers. Contracts frequently use seniority to determine layoffs, promotions, recalls, and transfers.  

Steward: the front-line union representative, usually a volunteer, who is elected and officially represents other workers on the job, enforces the contract, and files grievances. Sometimes called "the union's eyes and ears."  

Strike: a collective refusal to work, designed to pressure an employer to accept the union's position in a bargaining or other dispute. Wildcat Strike - a strike not sanctioned by a union. Slowdown - a reduction of output without an actual strike in order to force a concession from employer.  

Unfair Labor Practice (ULP): a labor law violation, committed by either an employer or a union. Common employer violations include making changes in the workplace without going through the union, and interfering with employees' rights to engage in union activity. 

Unfair Labor Practice Strike - a strike caused, at least in part, by an employer's unfair labor practice. During an Unfair Labor Practice Strike, management may only hire temporary replacements, who are let go at the end of a strike. 

Union contract: see collective bargaining agreement.

Union Dues: regular payments by members to their unions. The amount is set by either the constitution or bylaws, and is subject to revision by the membership. Dues are based on fixed amounts or upon the individual member's hourly rate. 

Union Label or Bug: a stamp or tag on a product or card in a store or shop to show that the work is done by union labor. The "bug" is the printer's symbol. 

Union Local: the lowest level in a union's formal organizational structure. A local may be confined to union members in one company or one specified locality, or it may cover multiple contracts with various employers. Local 13500 is a state-wide local and has members who work in a variety of jobs within different companies.

Wagner Act: the 1935 statute, subsequently amended, that set up the framework for union representation for most private sector employees. Formally, the National Labor Relations Act, named for US Senator Robert F. Wagner of New York.

Weingarten Rights: an employee's right to have a representative present when being questioned about a possible disciplinary infraction. Named for a 1975 US Supreme Court decision, NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc.

Workers' Compensation: the government-regulated insurance plan providing for set monetary payments to employees who are injured or disabled in connection with their jobs.