home | join seiu | misc

Form A Union Where You Work

Working people from ALL walks of life join together in unions to gain a voice at work. Union members have a say about pay, benefits, working conditions and how their jobs get done. Having that say gives them a "union advantage."    

A union is an organization of working people who join together in order to have a unified voice in improving their jobs and the quality of life.

Many people are still under the misperception that unions are intended only for "blue collar" workers. That may have been true at one point in time in labor history, but it is completely untrue in this day and age. 

Local 7 is the one of the oldest public union in Illinois. Our goals are to achieve better care for our patients and better lives for the workers we are privileged to represent and their families.

The Service Employees International Union alone represents workers from such diverse backgrounds as professional, including physicians, nurses, social workers and more; clerical and support staff,  secretaries, administrative assistants/associates, clerks, phone technicians, and more; computer programmers, web workers and designers, graphic designers and much more. We represent workers in various industries such as health care, public works, social service, and security. No matter what you do for a living, no matter what the company you work for does or produces, there is a union for you. 

If you do not have a union at your job, we'd like to help you learn more about how to form one. Today, more people are taking the step to form unions on the job than at any time in recent history. You can be one of them! Here are three steps that will get you started:

STEP ONE: Know Your Rights

• "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States to ...encourage the practice and procedure of collective bargaining and [to] protect ... the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self-organization and designation of representatives of their own choosing, for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment or other mutual aid or protection." The National Labor Relations Act Federal and state laws guarantee the right to form unions! Eligible employees have the right to express their views on unions, to talk with their co-workers about their interest in forming a union, to wear union buttons, attend union meetings and in many other ways to exercise their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association. 
• Despite these laws, many employers strongly resist their employees' efforts to gain a voice at work through unionization. So, before you start talking union where you work, get in touch with a union that will help you organize.
• Supervisors and a few other kinds of employees customarily are excluded from coverage. For more information, see specific laws covering your position or contact a union organizer. 
  
    

STEP TWO: Find Out Which Union is Correct for You

While we at Local 7 would welcome new members from all occupations and professions, we might not be the right union for you. However we would be happy to talk to you and if we're not, we'll help you find the union that is. We, as union brothers and sisters work together toward common goals. One of the most important goals is to see that everyone has a union. 

To form a union on the job, you need the knowledge of those experienced in organizing union members and hands-on help from the union. Our staff members and organizers at our various offices can help you with an organizing campaign at your workplace. We welcome new members. There is strength in numbers!

STEP THREE: Get to know your Union Organizer 

Union organizers assist employees in forming unions on the job to give them the same opportunity for dignity and respect, good wages and decent working conditions that union members already have. They also will lead you through the various transitions of an organizing campaign, from setting up a committee and phone tree all the way through preparing to negotiate your first contract.

To learn more information about organizing, or to get in touch with our union organizers, please contact our office by phone 312-372-7915, or

We look forward to hearing from you and welcoming you into our union.