The recent strike by the grocery workers at King Soopers, and the subsequent favorable agreement, has brought to mind the importance of workers’ ability to participate in a union. The truth is that most workers in a union never go on strike, but it is an important tool to have to leverage a genuine partnership in the workplace.
Essentially, the main purpose of a union, in my mind, is to bring democracy to our working environment. I have always found it ironic that people fight so hard to defend democracy in every aspect of their lives, except at work. Organizing a union as representation is the easiest way to bring these democratic processes to the workplace. The idea that workers get a voice on who represents them in workplace decisions through elections mirrors the way we elect representatives for government. The process of collective bargaining brings an orderly process for workers to be heard (and management to be heard as well, by the way). Most importantly, collective bargaining establishes a process for workplace decision-making that is generally trusted by workers and management alike. So that even if the outcome is not particularly what an individual may want, the parties both trust that the decision was fairly discussed and decided, and everyone’s concerns were heard.
Winston Churchill once said that, “Democracy is the worst form of Government, except for all of the others.” Collective bargaining is not a perfect system, but is the only one that gives everyone in a workplace a chance to be heard, just like democracy.
Kevin Vick is a high school social studies teacher and vice president of the CEA.