Why a Union with OPEIU?

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Why a Union with OPEIU?

Office and Professional Employees International Union was chartered in 1945 and with over 100,000 members strong, we’re one of the larger unions of the AFL-CIO. OPEIU has local unions in every state, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. You are not alone when you join with OPEIU. Click here to find an OPEIU Local Union where you live.

OPEIU members work in many settings as varied as banking and credit unions, insurance, higher education, shipping, hospitals, nursing homes, medical clinics, social services, utilities, transportation, manufacturing, hotels, offices and more.

Professional organizations and guilds affiliated with the OPEIU are a diverse group which includes physicians, optometrists, pharmacists, chiropractors, appraisers, podiatrists, clinical social workers, biofeedback practitioners, acupuncturists, hypnotists and helicopter pilots. Affiliation with the OPEIU has given these groups more legislative clout and greater access to people who need their services.

”Before we had a union we really had no protections or say in what happened on the job. Our administration made all the decisions. Joining OPEIU has given us more power with a workplace we can all be proud of together.”

Carmen Paez
Medical Assistant

Unions Make A Difference

	Union	Nonunion
A Voice On the Job	Only union members enjoy the legal right and power to have a say on the job.	Management has exclusive control and decision making power.
Wages	Pay rates are negotiated to ensure fairness for everyone and protected in the union contract. Seniority is recognized.	Management alone decides what's fair pay and can base any raises on business needs, favoritism or anything else.
Benefits	Protected by the contract. Changes can only be made with employee approval.	Can be taken away or changed at any time.
Promotions & Hiring Practices	Awarded fairly according to the process agreed to in the union contract.	It's up to management.
Unfair Treatment & Job Protection	Employees have a protected way to challenge any unfair or questionable treatment with support and representation from their union. Just cause standards are applied with binding arbitration if the parties can't agree.	You're on your own. Any grievance process gives management the last word.
Working Conditions	Schedules, vacations, workload, subcontracting, work standards, layoff procedures, hours of work are all agreed to between workers and the employer and protected in the contract.	Management decides what's best for employees.
Protections & Guarantees	Only union workers enjoy a legally-binding written agreement with their employer that defines, protects, and guarantees all terms of employment.	Nonunion workers have no guarantees and no protections.

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