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Glossary of Terms

If you are new to labor unions, there are some important terms that you may come across during your quest for information about unions.

Bylaws & Union Constitution
A labor union's set of rules and regulations. All members of the union must follow these rules.

Collective Bargaining
A complex legal process of negotiating a contract between a company and a labor union which has representation rights over a designated group of employees in a "bargaining unit."

Contract or Collective Bargaining Agreement
The agreement that a labor union has with a company by which all employees are bound. This typically includes clauses like: Super Seniority, Management Rights, Dues Check Off, and Union Recognition. (Note: There is NO legal requirement that a contract ever be reached).

Dues
Money each union member pays to be in the union every month. Dues are typically deducted from your paycheck to ensure payment.

Dues Check Off
A contract clause which enables the union to automatically receive your member dues through a paycheck deduction (just like taxes). Actual example from a real union contract: "The Company agrees that during the period of this Agreement, it will deduct from the pay of each employee in the bargaining unit such Union initiation fees and membership dues as may be duly levied."

Labor Union
An organization formed under the National Labor Relations Act that is certified as the legal representative for a group of employees in a "bargaining unit." Labor unions collect dues from their members.

LM-2
A financial statement that labor unions are required to file annually with the U.S. Department of Labor.

Management Rights
A contract clause that expressly identifies a company’s power to allocate its resources, manage its facilities, and direct its workforce. Management rights clauses often include the right to hire, promote, transfer, demote, and lay off employees, as well as the right to adopt and modify policies, rules, and regulations governing safety, performance, procedures and the right to subcontract or contract out work.

National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
The NLRA was established in 1935 and was adopted to protect "the legitimate rights of both employees and employers in their relations affecting commerce, to provide orderly and peaceful procedures for preventing the interference by either with the legitimate rights of the other, to protect the rights of individual employees in their relations with labor organizations ... and to protect the rights of the public in connection with labor disputes affecting commerce." - NLRB Rules and Regulations

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
The independent federal agency established to enforce the NLRA and conduct union elections.

Unfair Labor Practices (ULP)
A labor law violation, committed by either the company or the union. A ULP charge may also be filed if either the union or the company interferes with the rights each has been given under the statute.

Union Penalties
Most labor union bylaws contain clauses that allow a union to put its members on trial and penalize them if they violate the union’s rules or regulations. If found guilty, union members may be obligated to pay a fine or fee to the union. The Union Constitution has pages and pages of rules that members must abide by.