Until this week, the Michigan AFL-CIO's own workers were not unionized
As surprising as it might seem, workers employed by the AFL-CIO in Michigan did not have a collective bargaining agreement…and, in fact, were not even unionized until this week.
According to the Teamsters:
Teamsters Local 243 is proud to announce that the Michigan AFL-CIO has voluntarily recognized Local 243 as the exclusive bargaining agent for their staff in three key departments. Local 243 will represent workers in the campaigns, communications, and legislative departments.
“We commend the Michigan AFL-CIO for voluntarily recognizing their staff’s desire to become Teamsters,” said Bill Black, Business Agent at Local 243. “As these workers know, the path to higher wages, better benefits, and a voice on the job requires a strong union contract – that’s why they joined the strongest union in America. We look forward to working with our new members and getting them their first Teamster contract.”
“We started organizing for the same reasons most workers do – we wanted democracy in the workplace,” said Carly Rose Hammond, an organizing specialist at the Michigan AFL-CIO. “As workers in the labor movement, we know that getting a union contract will be the best thing we can do to ensure we have a voice on the job and strong workplace protections. We are excited to be Teamsters and to finally have union representation.”
The newly-unionized AFL-CIO workers still do not have a collective bargaining agreement yet.
As first contracts often take longer than successor agreements, unless the Teamsters and AFL-CIO agree to interest or binding arbitration, a first contract may take some time to reach.