Jeff Bains, an organizer with Council 14, says he anticipates adding pharmacists, medical technologists and occupational, physical and recreation therapists to the unit. It s a piece of cake, Bains says of organizing supported by card check. I would have loved to have done this five years ago, but I knew my co-workers weren t ready for that then, says Brian McNeill, a social worker in the hospital who volunteered to talk to his fellow employees. He says workers finally voiced their displeasure against working conditions and voted for change. I think people saw the writing on the wall and decided they needed to do something.
Card checks can ease the anxieties of other professionals.
When I talk to the workers, I tell them, It s important to realize that you re part of a labor movement, McNeill adds. And in the long run, you really have nothing to lose. But non-union employers have a habit of violating the law to delay, or even halt, union representation. Sometimes employers blatantly ignore the NLRA because penalties aren t severe enough and administrative procedures are too slow. Any sanctions that are imposed come too little and too late.