Organizing

The Organizing Department of United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters and Refrigeration Mechanics Local 525 has been organizing in it’s jurisdiction for over 12 years now and have made remarkable gains in both market share and percent organized.

Normally during times of great growth, trade unions generally loose market share as they tend to focus only in the areas their employers seek work. In Las Vegas growth is but a fantasy. Extreme growth has been the reality over recent years, with some years adding well over 100,000 new residents to our valley. Local 525 has not only held its market share but has in fact gained market share with gains in light to heavy commercial plumbing construction, HVAC, Refrigeration and Service Plumbing have all grown in recent years and Local 525 is committed to securing more of this market in order to protect our members working in these markets as well as our union employers who have helped make this possible. By organizing and expanding our union employer base, we can effectively create a more level playing field for our employers in which to bid and secure more work and become more prosperous. In that way, labor does its part to protect capitalism and the free enterprise system in which middle class America lives and our nation depends.

Local 525 has an Organizing Department dedicated only to organizing the industry’s in which we as United Association union members are sworn to protect. To do so, Local 525 has in place a fully staffed department with four full time organizers and one full time secretary. These organizers are each hired for an exclusive sector of the industry. One is for the Residential and Light Commercial market; one is for the Service and Maintenance of all Plumbing, HVAC, and Refrigeration field; another has been placed on staff for all research of market shares of the various industries and to perform a market share analysis for the department that will be a working model. Along with these duties this person is in charge of governmental affairs in helping us obtain and maintain stricter plumbing codes and licensing, gathering support for projects favorable to our beliefs and opposing those that do not and to research and monitor all construction projects upcoming for the departments use. The fourth organizer is our Lead Organizer and is encumbered with the stabilization of the Commercial and Industrial sectors of our industry. He also is in charge of the day to day operations of the Organizing Department by meeting with his staff and providing assistance where possible. He also has the ability to assign additional duties as needed.

We will continue to honor our obligations to organize the unorganized as our forefathers did over a century before us. The officers and members of United Association Local 525 are committed to doing our part to ensure the same ideologies and principals are protected, secured and passed on for future generations of union members to uphold.

Click Here to contact our Commercial Services Organizing Department

Click Here to contact our Residential Services Organizing Department

Click Here to contact our Service Organizing Department

Organizing News

A labor to labor campaign or a labor to neighbor campaign will help all members of Local 525 [9/6/2007] - Letting non-union craftsmen know about Union benefits helps you AND our contractors. more

From the Local 525 Organizing department [6/4/2007] - Take a look at what we are doing. more

Basic Organizing Information

What is Organizing?
The common term for a group of workers looking to join a union is “Organizing.” Workers organize for various reasons, be it to improve their working conditions, increase their pay or benefits, and/or to create a better working environment. We encourage you to read more about us to see if joining our union is right for you and/or your coworkers.

Introduction
The American Promise is that if we go to school, work hard, and become a productive and faithful employee, we can then expect to support a family, raise and educate our children, enjoy a healthy and fulfilling life and retire with dignity. We weren’t supposed to have to win the lottery, or be a corporate executive to enjoy the American dream.

That was the vision of middle class Americans, who once modeled the image of what it was to be an American. The middle class is disappearing in direct proportion to the demise of the American union movement. After World War II, nearly 30 percent of our work force belonged to unions. Today, barely half that are organized. Today, a few own the world’s resources while most live in poverty.

Wages of $8 per hour are common. For most of these workers there is no health insurance or retirement plans. The result? Taxpayers across the United States are making up for what employers should be paying with public assistance programs. That’s corporate welfare.

Why are wages so low? Because that’s the easiest way to increase profitability. The result? Today, the wealthiest one percent own as much of our nation as ninety percent of the rest of us. Corporate CEO’s can earn 500 times the wages paid their workers.

Why Unions?
The freedom to form unions is a basic human right. In 1935, the US Government enacted the National Labor Relations Act that said, “Employees shall have the right to form…labor organizations…to bargain collectively…(and employers may not) interfere with…the exercise of…this right.” In 1948, the US joined four-fifths of United Nations member states to ratify the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which included the right of all people to come together in unions.

Workers form unions because there is power in numbers. Where unions are strong, employers must bargain collectively to set the terms and conditions of employment. The demand for profits must then be compromised with fairness toward workers.
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How Employers Prevent Unions?
When American workers seek to exercise the right to form a union, they nearly always run into a buzz saw of employer threats, intimidation and coercion such as:
• Captive audience meetings
• One-on-one meetings with supervisors
• Threats to close or move the workplace if workers vote to unionize
• Hiring professional consultants (union-busters) to coordinate anti-worker campaigns
• Firing workers for union activity

According to Human Rights Watch, the treatment of workers by employers and the failure of the US government to prevent it constitute a serious violation of human rights. Their report says, “Many workers…are spied on, harassed, pressured, threatened, suspended, fired, deported or otherwise victimized in reprisal for their exercise of the right to choose a union.”
The consequences have been devastation for all of American society. When collective bargaining is suppressed, wages lag, inequality and poverty grow, race and gender pay gaps widen, society’s safety net is strained and civic and political participation are undermined.

What Have Unions Done for Us?
8-hour day
5-day work week
Health Insurance
Good pensions
Higher wages
Job security
Overtime pay
Job safety
Family and medical leave
Fair treatment for women, people of all ethnic backgrounds, and those with disabilities

Union members earn 28 percent more than nonunion workers. But stronger unions raise living standards and improve the quality of life for everyone. In the 10 states in which unions are the strongest, there is less poverty, higher household income, more education spending, and better public policy than in the 10 states where unions are weakest.

Unions Encourage Democracy:
Unions encourage voting and other forms of political participation by members and other social groups with common interests. Political Scientist Benjamin Radcliff has estimated that for every 1 percent decline in union membership there is a 0.4 percent decline in voter participation.
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35 Things Your Employer Cannot Do:

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