Ask a Union Organizer: What's the upside for managers of unionized staff?

Dear Emily,

Obviously, the primary benefit of unions is to the workers. However, I have been thinking that there are likely benefits to the organization and even to managers of having a unionized staff. Maybe staff retention, financial savings from reduced turnover comes to mind. Can you share some of these to bolster the case for unionizing even further?

-- Supportive Manager

Dear Supportive Manager,

I like the way you think! This is a great question. There are a lot of company-wide benefits to unionizing. When unionizing is discussed, it’s often portrayed as a contentious disagreement between workers and managers. But that’s a reductive way of thinking about it.

I want to introduce you to one of my favorite thinkers: Zeynep Ton. She’s an MIT Economist & professor who wrote one of my favorite books, “The Good Jobs Strategy.” Over 25 years of her research has shown that ‘Good Jobs’ increase productivity, lower turnover rates, and increase profits!

Ton talks about the “false tradeoff” that capitalism has sold us: the lie that cutting our labor costs is the only way to offer affordable services or products to our customers. Ton argues that in reality, high operational standards and consistent investment in employees is the magic formula to profits and low prices.

Don't forget—your organization is still a business, even if it has non-profit status. 

The services and products your organization prices-out are legislative battles, local organizing, compiling data for innovative research, abortions, pap smears, PrEP and LARCs. We have an obligation to keep these products and services accessible and affordable. We also have an obligation to our donors and grantors to be good stewards of their investment in our vision. 

But the benefits of unionizing are much more than just dollars and cents. A unionized organization pays into the union for each hour that you work. It’s very similar to payroll tax, and this employer fee is certainly a financial burden on the organization’s budget. But your employer isn’t investing in the union for nothing in return.

Unions love to find ways to bolster the skills and knowledge of their workers. Unions send people to conferences and often cover the costs of continuing education courses or facilitator fees so your unionized staff can improve themselves and the workplace culture.

Employer fees are also used to manage the union’s operations and provide insurance plans to union members. With a union, whoever handles HR should have a lot less on their plate! A Union gives an HR manager more time to focus on other parts of their job, like annual performance reviews, examining problematic aspects of your workplaces’ internal culture, researching innovative ways of managing staff and supporting employees as whole people, as well as seeking out talented candidates for future organizational growth!

Having a collective bargaining agreement also means management no longer has to negotiate with each individual employee about wages and raises. Everyone makes whatever is outlined in the contract, so a union really streamlines payroll and annual pay-bumps. A union can help your boss cover-their-ass with regards to pay disparities and implicit bias in hiring offers or raises.

Unions formalize communication between supervisors and workers. A collective bargaining agreement establishes a very clear plan of action for addressing problems between coworkers, in calling-out a supervisor for engaging in abusive behaviors, or if workers need to directly confront discrimination at work. With an employee union, there’s no more need for “Open Door Policies,” which often lack formalized communication pathways and are regularly inaccessible to our most vulnerable employees. Honestly, telling your boss what's bugging you can be really, really intimidating. Plus, an “Open Door Policy” doesn't mean shit if there’s no formal system of accountability, reporting, or worker protections in place after a complaint or issue is brought through the Door. Besides, “Open Door Policy” becomes just a metaphor in remote working environments. 

Issues, conflicts, and complaints are more likely to be quickly handled in-house when there is a formal grievance procedure and union stewards for employees to confide in. Particularly for Q/T/BIPOC employees, bringing up issues of microaggressions or discriniation to an authority figure can be more than intimidating. It can be downright retraumatizing. More significantly, employees are less likely to need public support or media attention in order to feel heard and have their problems addressed in a way that satisfies them. 

A collective bargaining agreement puts the impetus on workers to determine the conditions of their labor. If someone doesn’t like the way things are run, how much they get paid, what the health care plan deductible is, a boss with a union can simply say, “Don’t tell me, talk to your union steward.” 

The very best return on investment for union employers is the union’s international network of support. Once you’re unionized, the Union’s International, its allies, and the entire AFL-CIO is now totally invested in making sure your doors stay open.

When union jobs are on the line, Labor shows up. And when Labor shows up, they bring a whole lot of people-power, influence, and money. As we continue to organize, we can demand that Labor shows up for Reproductive Justice, and then there’s no telling what we will accomplish.