Our power comes from our unity and there are many issues employees of different status can unite around. For example, retirees, supervisors, professional and manufacturing employees may be concerned about retirement benefits, cola's, and health care. Obviously this is an issue for temps, but it also affects regular employees whose jobs are threatened by management's over-reliance on this relatively cheap alternative to regular employment. Another example of an issue which may effect anyone who sets foot in an IBM building is the availability of protective equipment, safety, ergonomic equipment, air quality, chemical use, etc. If the union is formed, negotiations will start from minimum wage.
Negotiations start from exactly where our wages and benefits are currently.
Then through the negotiation process, improvements are made. In fact, without a union, management can change, reduce, or drop our wages and benefits at any time. With a union, however, management cannot legally reduce any of our benefits, wages, or change any of our current working conditions without seeking our approval through negotiations. The tentative agreement reached through negotiations then has to be ratified by us, the employees, before management can implement any changes. The answer, of course, is that we wouldn't.