United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America - Bargaining and Grievances

Bargaining and Grievances

UE’s approach to collective bargaining places a premium on membership involvement. In preparation for contract bargaining, UE locals solicit ideas for contract changes from their members, and most locals then conduct a membership vote to approve the full slate of union proposals. UE bargaining committees regularly report back to members, both orally and through publications, during the course of bargaining.

UE routinely rejects management pleas for bargaining "blackouts,” gag rules which prohibit open communication to rank-and-file union members during negotiations. The union frequently calls on its members to collectively demonstrate their support for the union’s bargaining goals during contract talks, by wearing T-shirts, buttons or stickers with union insignia and slogans; speaking up to management on key bargaining issues; and through rallies, informational picketing and other actions. Some UE locals even insist on the right of rank-and-file members to attend negotiating sessions as observers.

UE is very explicit in mandating that all union negotiations are a collective endeavor. The UE constitution states: "No representative of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) shall negotiate alone with the employer." UE feels that its open and participatory approach to bargaining results in better contracts than bargaining methods which restrict member involvement. Illustration of how UE negotiates with employers can be seen in the union’s detailed web reports on its 2011 national bargaining with GE.

Fighting for workers over day-to-day injustices on the job is, in UE's view, a central task of unions. The “first line of defense” in UE’s workplace organization consists of elected shop stewards within each department or workgroup. Among unions UE has one of the highest ratios of stewards to members, and aims for a steward-to-supervisor ratio of at least one to one. UE has a strong training program for its stewards, distributes a Steward Kit that includes the exemplary “UE Steward Handbook,” and publishes a monthly publication, the UE Steward, that provides tactical tips to stewards and local officers for dealing with workplace problems.

UE’s approach to grievances includes careful investigation of the issue by the steward, being well-prepared for meetings with the employer, and strategies for organizing and mobilizing members to pressure management to resolve the problem. UE warns its locals against excessive reliance on grievance arbitration, pointing out that the majority of arbitration decisions are in favor of management, and that an arbitrator’s unfavorable interpretation of a contract clause can harm the union for many years. UE avoids arbitrating grievances that it believes it is unlikely to win and trains its staff and local officers to carefully prepare for those cases they do take to arbitration. In most UE locals, the decision whether to arbitrate a grievance is made by membership vote.

In the UE national contract with GE, UE locals retain the right to strike over grievances. Such grievance strikes by UE-GE locals are infrequent and usually of short duration, but the existence of this option gives the union added clout and helps it to favorably resolve many grievances.