What Labor Lawyers Do to Help with Unions, Collective Bargaining, and More
"Although it is true that only about 20 percent of American workers are in unions, that 20 percent sets the standards across the board in salaries, benefits and working conditions. If you are making a decent salary in a non-union company, you owe that to the unions. One thing that corporations do not do is give out money out of the goodness of their hearts," stated popular columnist and commentator Molly Ivins.
Unions have been and continue to be a dominant structure in the American labor force. While most people think that unions are primarily functional in the public sector (with 7.3 members), they also have a strong presence in private industry (with 7 million members). While only 7.3% of the entire workforce is unionized, the strength of that number becomes more understandable when you consider that 78,903 lawsuits have been filed from unions against employers over the past ten years. It is also a billion dollar industry when one considers that $8,595,485,222 in dues are paid annually.
Perhaps you own a company whose employees are part of a union. If so, you certainly need to have a labor lawyer on your side to help you understand and abide within the guidelines of the labor union. The three most common circumstances in which you will need to enlist the expertise of your labor attorney are when: 1) an employee has threatened you with a lawsuit, usually on the basis of mistreatment, unlawful overtime, discrimination, hazardous work conditions, or wrongful termination; 2) you want to fire an unsatisfactory union worker; or 3) your workers are threatening to go on strike.
One of the benefits to having a labor lawyer and union is that most disputes don’t end up in litigation. Instead, the lawyer usually takes the role of consultant and negotiator whose purpose is to help avoid a battle in court through arbitration. A labor lawyer’s skills will be needed for advice such as when an employer opens a new facility. Consultation with a labor law attorney will be a foundational part of the planning process to familiarize the employer with topics pertaining to local labor law and union activity. However, if there is a dispute and you end up in arbitration, an arbitrator (usually another labor law attorney) will mediate the lawyers on both sides of the table to ensure that each side's rights are protected and prerogatives respected.
During negotiations you need a lawyer ready to fight for the company’s best interests with the ability to compromise to maintain employee loyalty. Labor unions have competent and strong attorneys on their side; you absolutely should have no less.
Labor Lawyer, Labor Attorney
"Although it is true that only about 20 percent of American workers are in unions, that 20 percent sets the standards across the board in salaries, benefits and working conditions. If you are making a decent salary in a non-union company, you owe that to the unions. One thing that corporations do not do is give out money out of the goodness of their hearts," stated popular columnist and commentator Molly Ivins.
Unions have been and continue to be a dominant structure in the American labor force. While most people think that unions are primarily functional in the public sector (with 7.3 members), they also have a strong presence in private industry (with 7 million members). While only 7.3% of the entire workforce is unionized, the strength of that number becomes more understandable when you consider that 78,903 lawsuits have been filed from unions against employers over the past ten years. It is also a billion dollar industry when one considers that $8,595,485,222 in dues are paid annually.
Perhaps you own a company whose employees are part of a union. If so, you certainly need to have a labor lawyer on your side to help you understand and abide within the guidelines of the labor union. The three most common circumstances in which you will need to enlist the expertise of your labor attorney are when: 1) an employee has threatened you with a lawsuit, usually on the basis of mistreatment, unlawful overtime, discrimination, hazardous work conditions, or wrongful termination; 2) you want to fire an unsatisfactory union worker; or 3) your workers are threatening to go on strike.
One of the benefits to having a labor lawyer and union is that most disputes don’t end up in litigation. Instead, the lawyer usually takes the role of consultant and negotiator whose purpose is to help avoid a battle in court through arbitration. A labor lawyer’s skills will be needed for advice such as when an employer opens a new facility. Consultation with a labor law attorney will be a foundational part of the planning process to familiarize the employer with topics pertaining to local labor law and union activity. However, if there is a dispute and you end up in arbitration, an arbitrator (usually another labor law attorney) will mediate the lawyers on both sides of the table to ensure that each side's rights are protected and prerogatives respected.
During negotiations you need a lawyer ready to fight for the company’s best interests with the ability to compromise to maintain employee loyalty. Labor unions have competent and strong attorneys on their side; you absolutely should have no less.
Labor Lawyer, Labor Attorney