Welcome to Newman Talks Union – Learn All About Unions
Hello Everyone. Welcome to the first episode of a new and groundbreaking podcast, Newman Talks Union. I’m your host, Michael Newman, and I’m here to talk to you about everyone’s favourite topic – UNIONS. Love ’em or hate ‘em, unions and the decisions they make can end up having a significant impact on your life. The goods you receive, the services you expect, the way you travel are all governed to a large extent by the actions of a union.
It doesn’t matter if you have never been organized into a bargaining unit. It doesn’t matter if you have never had union representation. At some point in time, the unions of other workers have played a role in how our society functions, indirectly or directly affecting you and your family. So positive or negative, unions are here to stay and will continue to leave their mark.
On this podcast you will hear the truth about unions. The truth of how unions actually work – what their structure is and how they operate.
On this podcast you will learn how you as a worker can very easily and very effectively agree with your coworkers to become a bargaining unit, certify a union as your legal representative, and achieve superior representation with your employer. I will show you how to get a good union for a good union benefits everyone involved.
This podcast will always tell you the truth about all things union.
Every lesson and every discussion I have will be from the perspective of you, the worker. And everything I talk about on this podcast will be for your benefit. I’m on your side.
This podcast does not endorse any union.
It is NOT a podcast for unions or those who work for them.
This podcast is just for workers like you who make up the bargaining unit. And this podcast will always operate in good faith, genuine good faith in the pursuit of finding honest, fair representation for the workers who put in an honest and fair days work.
Together, we will examine what unions are, what they do and most importantly, the steps you and your fellow bargaining unit members can take to get honest, effective service from your bargaining agent. I will lay out a simple and easy program for you to follow which will ensure that you and your bargaining unit are in charge of your union and not the other way around.
It doesn’t matter if you know little or nothing about unions. Everyone can learn and know everything they need to know on how to run a union. And run it well. If you are a member of a bargaining unit or if you and your coworkers want to become a bargaining unit then I can show you how to become the best damn union around.
All you need is the willingness to learn.
This podcast is the place to start learning.
And the time to start learning is now.
Lesson ONE:
Making a Good Union is No Harder Than Making a Good Cup of Coffee
In this world today, we are all so use to convenience. We don’t really have to do much for ourselves, if we don’t want to. In most cases, it doesn’t even cost that much. It costs more now than before, but still reasonably enough that when we have a choice between doing it ourselves or paying someone else to do it for us, we usually choose the latter.
Take coffee for instance. Coffee is not that hard to make. And in fact, it’s a whole lot cheaper to make it for yourself at home. Even if you factor in the cost of a good coffee maker and thermos (to take it with you) it’s probably one tenth the cost of buying coffee every day at Tim Hortons, McDonald’s or Starbucks. Making it at home is way cheaper. And, with a little effort and practice you can make it just as good as they do.
But most of us, myself included, choose not to. We choose to forgo the efforts of setting up a coffee machine, measuring the ingredients of water and ground coffee, and waiting for it to brew. Instead, we choose to line up, standing, or sitting in our cars, waiting for someone else to do it for us. And when they don’t do it right, sometimes we complain and sometimes we accept it just as it is. But even with excessive long wait times and the real risk of them getting it wrong, we all seem to keep coming back for another cup.
This is clearly the choice of many with what seems like a coffee shop on every corner and cars and their drivers lined up, willing to endure it all to get a cup of their favourite brew that they could easily make at home, only if they were willing to.
This is but one example of how people, when given the choice, will let others do the work for them, if all they have to do is sit back and pay for it. The convenience of letting others do it for us is too tempting to resist when given an affordable choice.
Now don’t get me wrong. I love a great cup of coffee, especially when its made for me and I don’t have to do a thing except pay for it.
And there is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with convenience that you pay for. It makes life easier and more enjoyable.
But it also, inadvertently, conditions us to give in to convenience when maybe we should not. Sometimes you have to do things yourself. Especially when you need it done right. And if it’s as easy as making a cup of coffee, then it just makes good sense to do it the right way by doing it yourself.
This is exactly the case with UNIONS.
When you need it done right do it yourself because the running of a union is as easy as making a cup of coffee.
That’s right. I just said that because it’s the truth:
The running of a union is as easy as making a cup of coffee.
And so it’s worth taking the time and effort to make it yourself.
Unions of course, don’t want you to know this because then they would all be out of a job. But it’s the truth. It’s not that hard to run a union. Any union that tells you or the rest of the members of your bargaining unit that you cannot do what they do, is not telling you the truth.
If you can make your own cup of coffee, you can run your own union.
If you don’t know how to make coffee, then you can easily learn.
That’s why you can easily learn how to run your own union.
You just need someone to show you how.
This podcast will do just that.
I will show you and your coworkers how to enforce the authority and power your bargaining unit rightfully has over any union to ensure that you get superior union representation.
In this podcast, I will teach you everything you need to know about unions so that, if you want to, you and your bargaining unit can represent yourselves and be your own bargaining agent.
I will show you how to be your very own union.
Your Collective Bargaining Agreement is the most important contract you can ever make with your employer. Negotiating your CBA and enforcing all that is in that agreement is the sole and exclusive right of your union. No one else may act on your behalf, including you and the rest of the bargaining unit. Only your union can. You and your bargaining unit certified your union to have full legal control over all aspects of your CBA. Therefore, you need a good union which will listen to you and your bargaining unit. You need a good union that will follow orders given by you and your bargaining unit.
All important decisions concerning your CBA are supposed to be made by the members of the bargaining unit to be carried out by your union as ordered.
Making those decisions and carrying them out is no harder than making your morning cup of coffee. That’s why every bargaining unit should be making their own decisions in bargaining unit meetings. That’s why your union has no excuse to not do as it is told by the bargaining unit. A union’s purpose is to serve the members of the bargaining unit. If a union fails to listen to the members, then that union no longer serves its purpose.
No bargaining unit should ever be without a Good Union.
A bad union and bad representation should never be accepted or tolerated by any bargaining unit ever.
Always remember the truth that running a union is as easy as making a cup of coffee. You can get someone to do it for you or you can make it yourself. Either way there is no excuse for it not to be the best cup of java. Never accept less. And so it is the same with your union. There is no excuse for bad representation. Never accept anything less than the best.
In this podcast, I will give you simple instructions on how to make a great cup of coffee.
I will also give you simple instructions on how to make an amazingly effective bargaining unit with the power to effectively bargain.
So much so, you’ll want to become your own union and do it all for yourself.
Never forget! Whether you’re making a cup of coffee or making an effective union, one is no harder than the other.
You just have to know how to do it.
And on this podcast, I will show you how.
So don’t miss the next episode of Newman Talks Union with me, Michael Newman, so we can talk about my favourite subject and hopefully yours – UNIONS and how to get a good one.