BFT LOCAL 434
  • Home
  • About
  • Executive Council
  • Blog
  • Giving
  • For Members
  • How Unions Work
  • More
    • Financial
    • Insurance
    • Newsletter
    • FAQ's
    • Documents >
      • Donation Request
      • Expense Report
      • Professional Dev. Request
    • Executive Council Guide
    • Links >
      • IFT Member Benefits
      • Landrum-Griffin Act (LMRDA)
      • Facebook Group
      • AFT Member Benefits
      • Know Your Legislators
      • Board of Education
      • District Main Page
      • Contact Your Legislators

Union Works 

The Nuts and Bolts of Union Membership
Read the bold parts for the general gist. Read the rest for the nuance.

Can Unions Discipline Their Own Members?

6/30/2022

 
By L. Spriggs / Question submitted anonymously
Member Question: "I've had to explain to a number of people that the union doesn't work to discipline 'bad' teachers. Maybe you could provide an explainer of why that is and what the options are?"

For one thing, unions are legally forbidden from violating the rights of their members, so taking on the role of punishment risks complicated and expensive court cases when they get it wrong, which often means dolling out punishments is not really worth the risk unless it’s to expel a member for something particularly egregious, such as embezzlement, assault, or abuse of power.

The only other real recourse unions have besides expulsion is fining, and fines have been challenged in the courts time and again, with unions often losing those cases. Again, pursuing fines is not really worth the risk of drawn-out court cases in most situations. Either way, fines are typically reserved for crossing picket lines or other union-related issues.

Regardless, unions exist to empower workers, protect their rights, and improve working conditions, not to add additional layers of management. 

Furthermore, punishing employees is management’s responsibility, and when a union performs that role it lets management off the hook for actually managing the workplace. Instead of asking why unions don’t punish members, it might be better to ask why management isn’t using the many tools at its disposal to motivate, discipline, or fire employees who aren’t passing muster.
​

Finally, employers like to argue that they're afraid of dolling out punishments because the union is too powerful, but a well-managed workplace that follows legal precedent and doesn't violate the rights of its employees in the process really has nothing to fear from unions. The real problem is that many workplaces are simply poorly managed...

Comments are closed.

    Categories

    All
    Get Informed
    Get Organized
    Get Represented

    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    November 2021
    February 2021
    September 2020
    June 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

    RSS Feed

    ​Editor:

    ​Lucas Spriggs

    Proud alumnus, union member, and educator in District #201 since 2006.

    Contributors 

    Brandon Hentze, Ph.D.

    Dr. Hentze is the author of High Finance with Hentze, a monthly blog that provides news about District 201's current financial state.

    Lucas Spriggs

    Lucas Spriggs is the author of the Union Works newsletter, which includes posts in three series: "Get Organized," "Get Represented," and "Get Informed."

    RSS Feed

Home

     About
     Executive Council
     Blog
     Giving
​     Scholarship Information
     Scholarship Application
For Members

Insurance
Newsletter
Documents
Financial



Member Links

     Facebook Group
     IFT Member Benefits
     AFT Member Benefits
     Know Your Legislators
     Contact Your Legislators
     Board of Education
     District Main Page
     Landrum-Griffin Act
     
Site maintained by the Public Relations Committee.
​
Icons by Freepik: ​http://www.freepik.com/ 
Website born on January 29, 2015
Photo used under Creative Commons from MicroAssist
  • Home
  • About
  • Executive Council
  • Blog
  • Giving
  • For Members
  • How Unions Work
  • More
    • Financial
    • Insurance
    • Newsletter
    • FAQ's
    • Documents >
      • Donation Request
      • Expense Report
      • Professional Dev. Request
    • Executive Council Guide
    • Links >
      • IFT Member Benefits
      • Landrum-Griffin Act (LMRDA)
      • Facebook Group
      • AFT Member Benefits
      • Know Your Legislators
      • Board of Education
      • District Main Page
      • Contact Your Legislators