Hi,
I work at ESB and I would like to share my experience working in unions. I have worked with three different unions AFSCME, AFL-CIO, and DC 37. Each time, this union was already in place at the job I was hired at. I had absolutely no choice or vote to decide if I was a union member. Taking the job meant paying the union dues, just like I had to pay part of my salary to taxes, social security, etc.
Here's what the union did for me:
1. Within six months of joining AFSCME, I was given a raise. They had been negotiating the raise before I got there, and I was able to receive it because I was a union member.
2. The same thing happened when I joined AFL-CIO ... I remember joking about it, saying that as soon as I join unions everyone gets raises.
3. DC 37 were in negotiations for a long time. Over a year. During this time there was no tension between employees and employers. Elected union representatives were involved in the negotiations, not just lawyers. Pretty much, to the average employee nothing was different during this time. When the negotiation finally went through we got a sizable raise. Not only did we get a raise, but it was a RETROACTIVE RAISE starting from the date when negotiations began. Let me just explain this again because it took me a few times to understand how awesome this was. We got a raise, and it was effective from A YEAR PRIOR. So that means I got a raise, and a $1000+ bonus for all that retroactive time when the negotiations were taking place. I have no idea if this is typical, but it was amazing.
4. DC 37 fought to put something in our contract protecting employees from being forced to work every Saturday. It had been practice that managers never scheduled themselves on Saturdays, and if they didn't like you, you would find yourself working every Saturday. The union fought to have something put in the contract that an employee could not work more than 2 Saturdays in a row, and could not work more than 3 Saturdays in a month.
Can the Newspaper Guild get us better wages and better working conditions, just like the above-mentioned unions? No one knows until they actually try to negotiate! But why wouldn't you want to try?
I have also had experience with higher wages, more benefits, and more security in union jobs.
ReplyDeleteI was just looking at the Bureau of Labor Statistics information about income for union and non-union workers for 2010 and 2011. On average, those who were members of unions or were represented by a union at the workplace earned $934-938 per week, while those in the same jobs who were not affiliated with a union earned $729 per week. There is no guarantee of increased wages or benefits, but these statistics make it clear that we need to see what the union can accomplish for us.
Here is the link to the BLS charts:
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.t02.htm
About six months ago, there was a lot of discussion about a new set of stats showing how much wealth disparity has grown in the U.S. over the last thirty years. I feel like this is largely because a lower percentage of jobs are unionized now than in the past. Our country (and Kaplan) has more than enough money to go around and unions make sure that workers are appropriately rewarded for their time, energy and intelligence. Here's an article from Washington Post's own Slate magazine on why organized labor leads to equitable income distribution and a more robust economy, citing Germany's much healthier recovery from the economic crash compared to the U.S.
ReplyDeletehttp://slate.me/mSCvlq
In my previous career I worked for both union and non-union companies. The pay was far better at the union companies, the benefits at the non-union companies didn't even compare (being practically non-existent) and the union companies were run more professionally. Because the compensation was so much better at the union companies they could hire more skilled workers who were then more dedicated and took more pride in their work. In the end the union companies were able to offer a better product and were more profitable. Although I never became a member of the union, working at the union companies I had to pay more dues than what the Newspaper Guild requires from it's members. Still, I never for a moment questioned where I would rather work.
ReplyDeleteI have also worked at both union and non-union companies. It's easy to think that everything is better with a union, but that isn't always the case. At my last union job the contract negotiations took forever, we almost went out on strike and after all that the union didn't make any big gains in our contract.
ReplyDeleteSo it's not quite black and white. If a company listens and treats employees well there is no need for a union.
"If a company listens and treats employees well there is no need for a union."
ReplyDeleteOf course, but what if a company doesn't listen or treat employees well?
Personally I have never felt like Kaplan did not treat us well. It's not as if a union can guarantee higher pay anyway, especially in this economy.
ReplyDeleteSo if the union isn't going to get us higher pay, why pay all that money in dues? I'd rather save it in case we go back into recession.
"Personally I have never felt like Kaplan did not treat us well."
DeleteI don't know about you, but I think teaching is really hard work. I used to work a 9-5 in a cubicle, and 8 hours there was actually much easier than 5 hours in a classroom. When you're doing work at a computer all day, you're able to pace yourself. You've got deadlines to meet sure, but if you're feeling stressed you can get up and stretch, get something to drink or eat, listen to music, or just sit there for a few minutes and collect your thoughts.
You have none of those luxuries in a classroom.
Instead, you've got 15 people requiring your attention at all times. And in the case of KIC, these are 15 *paying customers*, and if you are not meeting each of their individual expectations they will be quick to run to the academic office demanding a different class, or at the least they'll give you a negative score on their surveys, which affects your job status.
Personally, I've got no problem with the teacher survey system; KIC is a for-profit school, and without happy customers there are no profits. But this is very demanding work.
The OECD average for teaching hours per day for full-time primary school teachers 4.2. And that number only falls when you look at secondary and university teachers. And how many of them do you think have sick days, vacation days, holiday pay, and a real health insurance plan? How many of them get minimum wage for prep time while living in one of the most expensive cities in the world?
"It's not as if a union can guarantee higher pay anyway, especially in this economy....I'd rather save it in case we go back into recession."
As to "this economy" and "going back into recession"...you might want to check out these numbers:
Kaplan International's before tax profits (aka Operating Income):
2008: $59,957,000
2009: $53,772,000
2010: $56,152,000
2011: $46,498,000*
*Revenue was actually up 18% in 2011, but the drop in operating income is because of their expansions and acquisitions in Australia, Asia, and Spain.
So it seems there was no recession for Ksplan International...yet they still froze our raises so we could effectively subsidize the rest of the Washington Post Company.
"So if the union isn't going to get us higher pay, why pay all that money in dues?"
The Guild doesn't receive any dues from us until a contract is in place. The contract itself has to be approved by us. I know that we're English teachers and not Math teachers, but I think we have enough skills to be able to see when a contract is not worth our 1.3846%.
I definitely wouldn't say dropping the starting pay drastically over the years, giving no raises in 2010 even though the company profited, and offering no sick pay or holiday pay is listening and treating employees right.
ReplyDeleteIt's not the union's fault if Kaplan doesn't agree to a contract. Teachers have more than enough reason to say they have been treated unfairly, and if Kaplan wants to continue to do so they can stall the contract. That isn't a good enough reason to just accept things the way they are. I'm sure they will figure out they can start hiring people for $15 an hour, or $12 for those who are really desperate. How secure will your job be then?
http://truth-out.org/news/item/8059-washington-post-annual-report-reveals-widespread-accreditation-and-legal-problems-at-kaplan-university#.T78L2b-yeho.mailto
ReplyDeleteI found the last bit to be of interest:
Kaplan University was once known as the cash cow of The Washington Post company. Now, it is little more than a legal albatross for its sugar daddy. Tragically, the Post Company's answer to Kaplan's declining domestic fortunes has been to export their educational product internationally. Kaplan International was one of the only divisions of the Washington Post Company to show growth in 2011, with a $100 million increase in revenues. This tells us that our struggle against Kaplan and the for-profit college industry is now international.
Where in the world is Kaplan going to get the money to be able to pay for potential wage increases? I hear that they may even have to give us less than we have now in order to meet a union's demands of better pay....REALLY??
"I hear that they may even have to give us less than we have now in order to meet a union's demands of better pay....REALLY??"
DeleteSaying "The union may give up some of what you currently have" is a classic way for employers for to scare employees out of voting for a union.
But what exactly do we have to give up? 83 out of 90 teachers are part time and receive absolutely no benefits.
And one of the main reasons people have for being pro-union was the lack of full-time positions offered by Kaplan. In fact, it was the spark that set the whole thing in motion. Through collective bargaining teachers would seek to create more full-time positions, not less.
Please share though what you are afraid will be given up through collective bargaining. This is exactly the kind of discussion we need to have on this page.
One of my students just told me she owns a $3,000+ pair of shoes. I told her for that money she could live in my apartment for over two months. Our students are rich, and they give Kaplan a LOT of money. How much money is Kaplan paying union-busting firms and lawyers to try to combat the union? Why couldn't that money go to us instead?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think Kaplan should give you huge raises? Just because it can? If you are not the company's owner you are not entitled to its profits. You accepted your job based on the wage that Kaplan offered you, so what are you complaining about?
DeleteTypical UNION mentality that you should get first crack at any profits. Was setting up Kaplan YOUR idea? Did YOU take the financial risk to start the company?
I don't think it's wrong or unfair to expect the profitable company that I work for to compensate me for the hard work I do. Excuse my language, but I work my ass off for Kaplan and I can barely make rent every month. I do believe that as a highly educated employee I deserve to be paid a wage I can actually live on.
DeleteI'm not that concerned about a raise. I'm more concerned about what would happen to me if I develop a serious illness.
DeleteNot having access to adequate health care coverage is a frightening thing. You feel like you're walking on the edge of a cliff all the time.
Hey Present Progressive, if you can barely make rent maybe you're trying to bite off more than you can chew. Try a smaller apartment and stop whining about mistreatment where there is none.
DeletePlease refrain from making disparaging comments towards another teacher. It's extremely unproductive, to say the least.
DeleteThe comment section on this blog is for teachers to express their views regarding unionization and working conditions. If Present Progressive doesn't feel like he/she is being compensated fairly, he/she has a right to say so. Conversely, if you feel like Kaplan treats you fairly, you have a right to express and articulate that view as well. In fact, I'd encourage you to do so.
No one is asking Kaplan for "huge" raises, just a decent wage commensurate with our level of education and hard work as well as some benefits.
ReplyDeleteAre you okay with the fact that Kaplan pays us as little as it possibly can? Because we work in a state without the labor protections of say, California, we get paid less. Kaplan pays the Cali teachers more for prep and more across the board. How is that okay? Isn't NYC just as expensive to live in Cali? If they can afford to pay Cali teachers a higher wage, why not us?
I have been teaching online exclusively for many years now, and I also develop online courses. Kaplan is the first online school for which I worked, and by far the worst as it turned out. There was little respect for educators, whose livelihoods were often at the mercy of vindictive student evaluations by students with a sense of entitlement and little else to offer themselves, classmates, or the institution. The two women who ran the Department did so with an iron hand. They didn't seem to understand that fascism does not foster good teaching or learning. I lasted for two years, and it was about that time that the first inklings of unionization began to surface. Long letters from the President always followed emails from union organizers, and the message between the lines was always the same: unionization is non-collegial and your job is on the line, as it if wasn't on the line every day of one's tenure at the place. Educators in Asian countries are among the most respected groups, while the opposite appears to be the case in the U.S. Schools that foster disrespect are only shooting their students and the economy in the foot.
ReplyDeleteHi there -
DeleteThanks for adding your comment to the discussion.
I've got a lot of questions I'd like to ask you. If you're willing, please fill out the contact form on the side bar, so we can continue the discussion in private.