They threw the full weight of the world’s largest bottling corporation, a team of expensive lawyers who will seemingly do anything for money and which included Jack Toner, the soldout former Executive Secretary of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and the professional liars of Cruz & Associates at us and still we won our union election at Refresco in Wharton! The results will soon be certified by the NLRB. Now, it’s on us now to make the most of this newfound power and fight for the changes that we and our families deserve.
This is a rank-and-file union. That means we, the workers, run it. All of us together. During the next few weeks, whether you voted YES or NO, you can participate in building our union in the following ways:
- Join Us! If you haven’t signed a union card yet, you can go to this website (https://organize.ueunion.org/refresco/), ask a member of the organizing committee for a card, or call us at 312-686-0096. It doesn’t matter how you voted in the election, now is the time for all of us to come together and make our voices heard.
- Fill out a bargaining survey. Most of us have workplace issues we’d like to see addressed and resolved. Express yourself on a survey and help set the agenda for our worker representatives when they arrive at the negotiating table with management. That way our contract will reflect your current concerns and hopes.
- Join the Contract Support Committee (CSC). Strength at the negotiating table requires strength at the workplace and beyond. Members of the CSC will keep workers, our families, and the community at large informed and mobilized in support of the just demands of Refresco employees. The CSC will include subcommittees for those especially interested in one or more aspects of the campaign to build support for the cause.
- Nominate yourself or a co-worker to represent your worksite at the negotiating table. The bargaining committee is made up almost exclusively of workers. While UE staff will be helping us every step of the way, we will be choosing our own worker representatives to negotiate on our behalf. You have the power to decide who they will be.
- Attend a membership meeting next month and vote. This will be our opportunity to elect the members of our bargaining committee from among the nominees. We will also ratify bargaining priorities.