Rapid Response Info Alert: Balancing the Scales: Collective Bargaining

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USW Locals should have begun receiving petition materials as part of an effort to defend the right to collective bargaining and demand that elected officials put working people – not corporations – at the center of the policies they create.

Collective bargaining gives workers a voice in the workplace to fight for fair wages, ensure workplace safety, and defend dignity on the job. However, recent federal actions are eroding one of the most fundamental rights that workers rely on to protect themselves and improve their working conditions: the right to collective bargaining.

Across the country, systems that protect and support workers in bargaining are being dismantled:

• The unlawful firing of a Board Member at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has left the agency unable to hear critical cases involving employers violating labor laws. Without a functioning NLRB, corporations can sidestep accountability and undermine the power of unions at the bargaining table.
• A sweeping executive order has eliminated collective bargaining rights for nearly one million federal workers. This unprecedented action sends a dangerous message: long-standing collective bargaining rights can be stripped away overnight.
• The closure of field offices within the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) will delay labor negotiations. These offices provided trained mediators who played a critical role in helping unions and employers resolve disputes and reach agreements.

These actions taken by our elected officials are deliberate steps that make it harder for workers to stand together, speak up, and win fair contracts. And they come at a time when working people are already facing rising costs and unsafe working conditions.

Collective bargaining is how we fight for fairness, dignity, and economic justice. When that right is under attack, we must stand together most.

The petition arriving at your Local is a call to our elected officials to protect our right to collective bargaining. It’s part of an effort to demand that our elected leaders stop weakening labor protections and start standing up for working people