Does anyone have knowledge and or experience with forming a union in the US? After doing some mild research I failed to find a union that represents telework / work from home employees, specifically those who are facing return to office mandates from their corporate overlords.
Unions tend to target a specific industry, and “work from home” encompasses a lot of different kinds of work, in a lot of different kinds of industries.
Work from home can range from anything from an IT worker who spends most of their day in SSH to a Customer Service Representative who spends all day on the phone with customers.
I don’t think there are necessarily any rules stating that a union has to be people in the same industry… that’s just generally how it’s done. It’s definitely likely possible, since people who work from home have similar needs in terms of union representation., however it might be confusing to have all those different types of work under one union representation. I don’t know, someone else probably knows more.
Organizing people who are by their very nature, separated from one another, seems like a tall order, but one worth exploring.
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In my light research I noticed what you said how unions are industry specific but also didn’t see any rules that it had to be. In the wake of covid and the great work from home experiment I think the new working world needs a new type of union to represent all of us who experienced first hand how much better wfh is for life balance and are equally upset about that rug being pulled out from under us because some executives say so.
I think the reason unions tend to be industry-specific is because the execs for a certain industry tend either to collude or snipe at eachother depending on the situation. So if an entire industry goes on strike it means that one company can’t capitalize on the opportunity of another company going on strike. In theory, if the widget-maker’s union goes on strike, it means the entire supply chain of things made with widgets gets choked, which exerts a lot of financial pressure on management.
This is a really good point, with WFH workers being diffused among the workforce, having just your work-from-home employees on strike might not actually put enough of a dent in your operations for you to care, as an executive.
But on the other hand being part of that single digit percentage of wfh employees might put you in a disadvantage in every company, union and policy.
Funny, just like being of any other minority.
I agree, it’s just going to be tricky, and asking a lot of union representatives to represent different types of work with different needs.
IWW comes to mind. They’re not aligned with any particular trade etc, unlike most unions.
Also…. See “You Deserve a Tech Union” recently published. If cost is an issue there is an arrangement that can be made, see author’s masto acct.
Personally, I was hired fully remote, and would fight like hell right beside you any attempt to drag me back. I’m fortunate to be four plus hours from the office I’d likely work in otherwise, so I do t expect to need to fight - I lived here when they hired me.
Whatever you learn and whatever options you find, please come back and post as it will help others.
Communication Workers of America is probably the closest to what you’re looking for. You’re definitely better off working with an established union instead of trying to build one from scratch, they have a lot of valuable experience and resources that you’ll need to pull off a unionization attempt. If you reach out directly to CWA, or any other union, they’ll work with you to help organize your workplace.
If you are serious about unionizing: first, see if you can get a few of your coworkers on-board by talking to them outside of work. Do this in-person or on voice calls that aren’t recorded, it’s crucial to keep the company unaware as long as possible so they have less time and ability to oppose you.
I can try reaching out to them but I am not optimistic since when I reached out to OPEIU they weren’t able to help. I might inquire with the NLRB about it but again not optimistic if they will even give me the time of day
Generally unions are per place or per trade at least. An employer of any decent size would likely just shrug it off if 10% of their staff went on strike and replace them under the guise of layoffs and cutbacks. The other big factor with remote work being that it’s super easy to just grab some people from places like India or the Philippines where they have sizable outsourcing industries set up and far less employee protections.
It will probably be better to search based on what your position and industry are. I’m fairly certain there isn’t any kind of blanket union that covers remote employees in general. If you’re an office worker, the OPEIU might be a good place to start.
I tried reaching out to them a couple weeks ago but they were less than helpful unfortunately, this was their response:
I’m sorry that at this time we aren’t able to assist you.
Well that’s exceptionally lame.
I find it strange to get such a response.
“We’ll look into it” would be more sensible…
I have been thinking about the possibility of an international screen workers’ union. My own job is in translating, but there’s millions of people doing data entry, AI-related stuff, graphic design, devloping etc. on a kind of semi-freelancing basis, often via job platforms that keep part of our earnings. I’ve often thought a union to bring all this workforce together would be great.
Hit me up if you form one. I‘m in.
I know nothing about how an international union could work - need some smart people to help.
I‘m smart but I need peeps to coordinate for me… :)
Me too
We just organized a full remote /hybrid workplace. But in the EU. But basics is the same and we got a bit of resistance (US company)
Keep info away from company as much as possible as long as possible. Get help from an established union.
And as said it needs to cover as much as possible for your workplace, to cover everyone working remote in different areas or companies will not work.
