Stand up for what is right
Many times workers feel added pressures besides the everyday needs of living (food, clothes, and shelter). Many times they must decide to be loyal to the boss or take a stand and voice all of the wrongs happening on the job. This is something workers have struggled with before Unions ever existed. Everyday workers ask themselves, “Should I go along to get along, or should I risk standing up for dignity and respect with the possibility of being fired?”

In the organizing campaigns that I am involved with here at Local 39 which are the four Mercy hospitals, UC Davis Medical Center/Campus, two Hyatt hotels and the Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, the two questions mentioned above are alive and well.

I have found two main reasons workers will put up with abuse on the job. One, workers don’t know or understand their policies and procedures (employee rights). Two, workers feel that if they keep their mouths shut, they can move into a position after someone retires or can stay around long enough to hopefully take it easy.

That is why organizing is a very important part of getting workers to become Members of the Union. They simply must be educated about who the Union is and what the Union can do for them on the job. The Union is the Members, not the President of a Local or a Business Representative. The Union can provide a contract for the workers so that they can have solid policies, wages, and benefits that both management and the workers agree on for a period of time.

Before a contract can be won, workers must be willing to attend meetings, help educate their co-workers, form a committee, get the majority of workers to sign Union authorization cards, file for an election, win the election, and start the process of negotiating a contract. Once the contract has been ratified by the Members, they can exercise all of the rights and benefits that go along with the contract. This is a message that we keep consistent in each campaign that we work and each worker that we come into contact with, because if the message is not the same everytime workers are talked to, we at Local 39 lose credibility with those workers we are trying to organize.

Should workers follow policy and procedures, or stand up for what is right at the workplace? Workers should band together and always challenge the mistreatment of one worker or all workers.

Our Organizing Mission
Stationary Engineers, Local 39 is striving to improve the lives of its members by increasing Union membership and density. In order to complete this mission, Local 39 Business Manager, Jerry Kalmar has committed resources to organizing and strategically planning the manner in which Local 39 approaches organizing.

The most demanding, stimulating challenge facing Local 39 is sustaining and increasing our economic strength and political power by growing the Union. In order to best serve its members, retain its power at the bargaining table and achieve its political goals, the Union has taken significant steps in its organizing program.

Just as important as committing additional resources to organizing, Local 39 has taken the steps necessary to ensure Organizers and Business Representatives are properly trained. They must be "worthy opponents " to management consultants and Union busting lawyers. They must possess the ability to overcome various "dirty tricks " the employers throw at them and exploit the vulnerabilities of employers until the playing field becomes decidedly in favor of the Union. By providing ample training, Organizers and Business Representatives will be prepared to carry out this critical work.

Recognizing that traditional methods of organizing are not always useful as technology changes and employers increase their power, we are designing new strategies that minimize the advantages employers have over Unions.

There are a large number of unorganized workers in the industries where Local 39 is the major or lead Union, and the task of organizing the unorganized may seem overwhelming. The first step takes the wisdom of experience and the strength of solidarity to be successful. With complete commitment and a unified effort, our mission to organize the unorganized will not only be possible, it will succeed.