Assessment of
To Organize or Not to Organize
Yolanda A. Wesley
HRM534
Dr. Annette West
January 26, 2016

An Assessment of
To Organize or Not To Organize
The discussion will pertain to “To Organize or Not To Organize” a union with the Foster Care Workers, who work for the City of Newport News Department of Human Services in Virginia. Within the discussion, safety regarding workers going on home visits alone and not in pairs; long working hours without proper compensation, and disagreements regarding strenuous agency policies which conflict with what the state guidelines reflect. A final decision on whether a union needs to be formed to improve working conditions or whether a union is not needed will be made by the end of this written. In addition, mission, purpose, and an objective statement for a strategic plan to organize a union will be created for the group of employees willing to join a union. All employees in the group will decide on a timeline for the execution of the union. In the event that management has any objections, the union will address the management with counter arguments to their objections to prove a point that a union is needed to improve the safety of employees.
Foster Care workers complete “home visits” alone in low income and crime infested neighborhoods frequently. “On January 19 in Newport News, Virginia, 26-year-old Jamile Wilson stabbed St. Vincent’s Hospital-Westchester case manager Frances Mortenson, 47, during a home visit (http://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/exc_032511.shtml). Mortenson suffered multiple stab wounds to her face and the back of her head, neck, and abdomen; she was in critical condition before undergoing surgery (http://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/exc_032511.shtml). After this incident and the reporting of other severe and deadly attacks in other states, a worker decided that enough was enough and decided to gather up other employees to discuss creating a union. Sheila Whitaker, shared incidents from article “The Urgency of Social Worker Safety,” which read In the past few years alone, we have witnessed the fatal stabbing of a clinical social worker in Boston, the deadly beating of a social service aide in Kentucky, the sexual assault and murder of a social worker in West Virginia, the shooting of a clinical social worker and Navy Commander at a mental health clinic in Baghdad, and the brutal slaying of social worker Teri Zenner in Kansas These are only a few of the murders of our colleagues, which, along with numerous assaults and threats of violence, paint a troubling picture for the profession ((http://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/exc_032511.shtml).” The information shared from Sheila Whitaker sparked a concern amongst other foster care workers who were now concerned with their safety. Not to mention the long hours that foster care workers would have to complete at times but would still have to return to work at normal working hours. The decision to form a union was made and the workers decided to come together to make this happen as quickly as possible.
Outline of major benefits of organizing a union for the City of Newport News Department of Human Services is as follows: 1. By forming unions, foster care workers can work collectively to improve working conditions, including wages and benefits, hours and job safety, to resolve disagreements of employees and employers and to find the best ways to get the work done (http://www.aflcio.org/Learn-About-Unions). 2. Through forming a union and negotiating a contract, foster care workers can secure the things they like about their job, and can make changes in areas that need improvement (http://www.afscme31.org/organize/why-form-a-union#sthash.cERgr1Kj.dpuf ). 3. Policies can be negotiated to ensure fairness (http://www.afscme31.org/organize/why-form-a-union#sthash.cERgr1Kj.dpuf). 4. Long working hours can be compensated by either monetary pay or time off without affecting leave.
The group who now called themselves “Safe Seekers” created a “mission’, “purpose”, and objective statement for a strategic plan to organize a union for their group. Below you will read what results came about after the meeting.
Mission: We’re in the business to protect all Social Workers from harm and danger by pairing workers and supplying them with policy approved safety tools to utilize.

Purpose: Empower our Foster Care workers to feel safe and confident in their work.

Objective: Each month a survey will be conducted amongst foster care workers on the level of safety during their home visits and if more trainings on safety or more equipment will be purchased to ensure safety of all foster care workers.

In order to start a union, the “Safe Seekers” brainstormed some ideas for each step of the process. Four phases of “Union Forming” was assessed and analyzed.
Phase 1: Forming a Union
There are two ways that the foster care workers can come together to form a union in their workplace.
The easiest and usually quickest way to gain union representation is through a "card check agreement." This is where the employer agrees not to interfere with workers' choice to join a union. Once a majority of the employees fill out and sign authorization cards, they gain union representation.
If the employer doesn't agree to a card check and a majority of foster care workers have signed authorization cards, then workers must hold a union election. Filling out an authorization card at this point does not make you a member of the union, or require you to pay any dues; it just shows that you would like to have an election so you and your co-workers can decide whether or not to form a union.
Phase 2: Election
If your employer refuses a card check agreement, the union will send a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to conduct an election. The foster care workers shouldn't have to wait longer than 5 to 8 weeks once the NLRB has been contacted.
Since it is a secret ballot election, the employer will not know how you voted – just how many employees voted for union representation.
Phase 3: Negotiations
We will elect a few foster care workers to a negotiating committee.
The purpose of the negotiating committee is to assist professional union negotiators in getting a fair deal while negotiating the contract. The negotiating committee will survey out wants and needs to find out what the major concerns are and how best they could be solved through the contract.
Collective bargaining takes place between two groups – one composed of the negotiating committee and out union representative, and the other composed of representatives from management.
Usually after each collective bargaining session, the contract is returned to us for discussion. Once the negotiating committee agrees that they have a good contract, they will bring it to their fellow co-workers for a final decision. Should the workers reject the contract, it will go back to the bargaining table for further negotiations until a contract is agreed upon. However, if a majority of employees approves the contract, the contract then goes into effect.
Phase 4: Membership
Since we are in Virginia, which is one of the states listed as a “Right to Work” state, we may not automatically enjoy the benefits of being a union member after a contract has been agreed on.
'Right-to-Work' States
Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming. (http://www.ufcw540.org/organize4.html )
Based on the plan drafted above, the time to execute a Union could take several weeks to execute. Timeline below displays the amount of time for execution of a union:
January 1, 2016 Card Check Agreement/ Meeting January 10, 2016 Send petition to NLRB if Employer refuses check card agreement February 8, 2016 Should hear back from NLRB

February 15, 2016 Elect a few foster care workers to create a “negotiating committee” February 29, 2016

Unions face objections from companies often when trying to form a union of employees. “Pro Company” is one of the objections bound to come against a union by management.
Pro company—Rather than run against the union’s record, management sometimes chooses to run on its own record. In one company, a manager wrote a letter to employees stating how much better their benefits were at the company without the union than they would be if they worked at a nearby company organized by the same union. The letter contained a comparison of 24 benefits, ranging from wages to cafeteria service. (https://hbr.org/1981/07/step-by-step-through-a-union-campaign )
If management attempts to argue down why foster care workers should not form a union by trying to negotiate benefits and why it’s better to stay a nonunionized company then the “negotiating” committee will provide a counter response by sharing that benefits and pay is much less important than the safety of foster care workers on home visits. There is no sense in being concerned about having better benefits if a foster care worker is harmed or even killed due to the lack of protection from management. Second, objection that the union could face from management would be to state that unions are corrupt and abusive. Management has been known to provide examples of negative behavior from unions on a union member. For example:
Some companies point out union rules and punishments that appear autocratic or threatening to personal liberties. In one campaign, management cited a case in which a union member had been fined for going to church instead of union meetings. The union meetings had been on Sunday morning, and the bylaws had required any member missing three out of five meetings to be fined $5. (https://hbr.org/1981/07/step-by-step-through-a-union-campaign )
A way to counter the response of management would be to share that the most important issue at hand is the safety of foster care workers and the decision to carefully form a union is in the best interest of foster care workers. Include, that meetings will take place once a month on Sundays and that any religious member has the right to attend church but to miss one Sunday out of the month in order to participate in union meetings. If any meetings are missed, then there will be a fine of $5.00 and if there are more than 4 missed meetings then the member is fined and voted out of the union.
The forming of unions is all around a must needed thing in the workforce today due to companies being greedier than caring of their employees. Yes, the economy has become tough on companies and everyone as a whole; however, when there are clear cut issues that can cause more money for the company then it’s imperative that either the company acts on it or employees utilized their right to form a union. In today’s society, employees feel unappreciated and uncared for. The dangers of working in the foster care field seem to be increasing and it’s time for foster care workers to take action against management. Management either needs to get serious about protecting foster care workers or do some research on the positive side of unions and how it can work for them and not against them. As long as management and unions are fair regarding what they want for the employees then there is no harm in allowing unions to be a part of the employer’s workplace.

Reference
American’s Unions (2016). Learn About Unions. Retrieved January 26, 2016, http://www.aflcio.org/Learn-About-Unions
Council 31 AFSCME (2016). Why Form A Union. Retrieved January 25, 2016, http://www.afscme31.org/organize/why-form-a-union#sthash.cERgr1Kj.dpuf
Saturno, Sherry (2015). Violent Crime And Social Worker Safety. Retrieved January 26, 2016, http://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/exc_032511.shtml.
UFCW A Voice for Working America (2007-2012). Organizing 101 Scare Tactics. Retrieved January 23, 2016, http://www.ufcw540.org/organize4.html
Fulmer, William E (1981). Step by Step Through Union Campaign. Retrieved January 26, 2016, https://hbr.org/1981/07/step-by-step-through-a-union-campaign