Your Rights
Know Your Rights
You may …
Refuse to sign a union card or petition either online or in-person
Campaign against the union
Work without interruption or interference from union organizers and supporters when you are in patient care and other work areas
Refuse to talk with a union organizer or supporter at work, home, on the phone, over text message or social media
Have you changed your mind about District 1199J?
Why is my signature important to the union?
Union organizers make many promises when they are campaigning for your support but they offer few guarantees. The union wants your signature so that it can ask the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election. The union might attempt to take away your right to vote if it gets enough cards signed with a demand for voluntary recognition as your exclusive representative.
If a union represents you, it wins the authority to attempt to negotiate a labor contract on your behalf.
- There is no way to know what the contract will provide until it is reached. You could get more, less or the same as you have today and you will be expected to pay dues.
- A first contract in health care takes an average of 528 days to negotiate. During that time, JFK EMS may not be able to unilaterally change your pay or benefits.
- Union organizers may say signing an authorization card is just so that you can get more information but that’s not true. Your signature is very valuable to the union. You should never have to sign anything just to get more information.
