radarlove
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2005
- Posts
- 677
Good point.
We can have a "defacto" union if certain triggering events happen.
That's why the "Values" committee can NOT have a negotiating aspect to it but a COMMUNICATION aspect only.
But you make a good point.
I'd have to dig into case law, but I know that one of the very reasons "collaborative committees" were stopped being used by industry is because the courts have said that there is no discernable difference between, in your case, a "Values Committee" and a company-sponsored union.
Companys are not allowed to sponser unions per the law, so when does a company-sponsered "Values Committee" cross the line into being a company union?
I think the answer is pretty clear, it would only take a petition to the Dept. of Labor and Bob's your uncle, the Values Committee becomes a truly independant union with all federal protections afforded.
I am not aware of any difference in "negotiating" versus "communicating" in terms of it being a company-sponsered union. If you're talking working conditions, then you are a union in the eyes of the law.
There's a downside to this, it's one of the reasons so many companies avoid these collaborative committees, but the Japanese, for example, embrace them. Here the law says a company can't sponser it's own union, in Japan the rules are a lot different.
So back to the question--if you do just a little research, I think you'll find that you already have a union on the property and can get it recognized in a jiffy if you want to.
I can't imagine not wanting to--if they're already acting as an agent for you, why not make it official? It's like people that live together for 20 years, buy a house and have kids but don't get married.