There are a lot of things that we may disagree on. That’s healthy. That’s freedom of opinion.
One common belief that I think most of us do agree on is that if you work hard at your job, and play by the rules, you should be able to make a decent living and take care of your family. Unfortunately, in many places, including parts of Southwest Washington, this is more a wish than a reality.
The question for me is, what can you do about it? How can you change the system so it is not so out-of-whack?
I want to focus on workers in our economy. We are the ones who drive trucks, teach school children and work in retail shops, grocery stores, hospitality, health care, tech and so many other industries.
We make America work.
Across the board, there is one thing that could make a difference for just about all of us, and that’s having a union. And if we already have a union, making our union stronger.
Personally, I work in environmental services at Providence Centralia Hospital. Years ago, workers who came before us decided to vote to have a union in our workplace. And then workers put in the time and effort to make our union stronger. I am a steward at my job, helping to educate coworkers and enforce our contract.
Recently, me and four others represented our coworkers as we sat down across from our employer and negotiated the actual terms of our employment: how much are we paid, what our working conditions are, what health benefits we receive, adding parts of company policy that we like, such as bereavement leave, so they can't be changed on company whims, and what the process is for resolving disagreements, along with making sure we are treated fairly and not unjustly fired.
This new contract was almost unanimously agreed upon.
While far from perfect, the contract that we negotiate, and everyone gets to vote on it, allows us to have a far better workplace than without these protections and benefits. And every few years, we get to work at renegotiating the contract. It is also legally binding, meaning we can make the employer follow the rules instead of most places where the boss just changes the rules whenever they want, or only applies them when they want to for employees they like or don’t like.
I agree that having a union will not solve all your problems and that not all unions are equal, but it is also a fact that workers who have a union at work and who make their union active and stand together with coworkers are far better off than workers in the same industries who do not have a union.
So, if you are one of the tens of millions of workers across the country who do not have a union, but think you might want one, now is a good time to act.
The laws and safeguards for workers are under attack. The best way to protect yourself at work is to start to organize for a union today or, if you already have a union at work, to get more involved and make it stronger. I’m not saying any of this is easy by any means, but it will just get harder during the next couple of years.
As I work in Centralia, it's good to take a look back at the history of unions in Lewis County, which has had a very long history of being mostly union workers. The rights we enjoy were fought for, and in some cases died for, by those of our grandparents’ generation. They cared about improving their wages, workplace conditions, meal and rest breaks and our eight-hour days.
So why not now? At the end of the day, if there are a majority of people at a workplace who want a union, they should have one. And getting a union is just the first step. Then you negotiate your contract. Patience and pressure are both needed in heavy doses to overcome what most bosses put up against unionization efforts. But what real value in our life comes easily or quickly?
There are many unions out there you can call. My union is UFCW 3000 — the state’s largest local union with over 50,000 workers in health care, grocery, retail, food processing, cannabis and more. And there are so many other unions, as well.
The difference could be to get a more secure job with better pay and benefits — a more secure future.
Steven Tifft is a union health care worker at Providence Centralia Hospital who lives in Centralia. He is a steward and on his union’s bargaining team. He is a member of UFCW 3000. For more information, go to www.UFCW3000.org.
