For press inquiries, please reach out to Communications Director Erin Bzymek at ebzymek@uwua.net or 202-702-9655.
The utility industry is in the midst of upheaval. A new report by the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO examined the impact the upheaval had on the utility industry from 2003 to 2015 and identified potential organizing opportunities. The report found that industry changes affected all aspects of the industry, including utility companies, the workforce,…
The right of employees to have union representation at investigatory interviews was announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1975 case (NLRB vs. Weingarten, Inc.). These rights are known as the Weingarten rights. Employees have Weingarten rights only during investigative interviews. An investigative interview occurs when a supervisor questions an employee to obtain information…
DOL/NLRB decisions help workers For instance, the US Department of Labor under President Obama has taken strong action to expand overtime rights, improve safety rules, require union busters to report their activities, increase the minimum wage for federal contractor employees, crack down on employers that misclassify employees as independent contractors, and expand and improve support for union-sponsored apprenticeship…
The regional conferences are an opportunity for the Women’s Caucus to provide a guide for all locals to gain momentum and resurrect their local women’s committee. We have a charge to empower women, and mentor them to take on more leadership roles. We are looking for “Game Changers” to take the baton and pave the…
With one region left to go, Region IV, I feel good about where we are as a union. Our members are interested in doing whatever they can to protect the quality of their jobs, act in solidarity with other workers, and bring the benefits of collective bargaining to more people. That is the only way…
As the utility industry becomes increasingly multinational, the UWUA is strengthening its bonds with global unions, both to advance international solidarity and to defend the interests of UWUA members working for overseas companies. One case in point involves Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, which employs 28,000 workers in nearly 40 countries, including Spain, the U.S., the…
The UWUA Human Rights Committee was formed in 1971 and is dedicated to its mission statement: “To provide advocacy, training and support to UWUA local unions and committee members in the areas of human rights, civil rights, and matters of discrimination in the workplace. The committee’s priority is to help ensure and support diversity and…
Since joining the UWUA in 2009, Lakeland, Florida Local 604 members have made tremendous advances in a state that is not known for being worker-friendly. With a trend of taking away public sector workers’ defined benefit pensions — Naples, Haines City, Orlando, and now Winter Haven — newly elected 604 President Mike Stewart has made his…
As I travel around the country talking to utility workers, labor and industry leaders, I am finding that our call to Rebuild America is hitting the mark. Most recently, I spoke at the City Club of Cleveland Roundtable. My message was clear: in order to have a thriving economy that works for everyone, be a world leader, and good environmental stewards,…
Nonmembers’ Right to Object. Any employee who is not a member of the UWUA, and who pays fees to the UWUA and/or a Local Union pursuant to a collectively-bargained union-security provision, will have the right to object to expenditures paid for activities which are not reasonably related to collective bargaining. Such activities are referred to…