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ONE Grove City
We are fully committed...We are in this together.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is currently engaged in a campaign to represent our Grove City employees by urging them to sign union authorization cards.
We don't think the IAM is needed in Grove City ... here is why ->
Union membership can affect almost everything in your work life. When making an important decision like this - one that will profoundly impact your wages, your benefits, and your work environment for years to come – facts matter.
Get the Facts
The truth about union organizing
Based on U.S. Department of Labor statistics, only 6.0% of employees in the private sector were members of a labor union in 2023 (Exhibit 1.0). In general, union membership numbers have been dropping steadily for years. As a result, they need more dues-paying members to survive. Why do you think they are interested in you?
The IAM is no exception to this trend - its number of active members has declined by 25% since 2000 (Exhibit 2.0).
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The decision to sign or not to sign a union authorization card is entirely up to you. However, we do not believe the IAM is needed here.
Before you sign anything, you should understand the following FACTS about union cards.
Employees represented by labor unions are bound by the same policies and work rules as other employees. Sections 1 and 2 of Wabtec’s Employee Handbook and Code of Business Conduct apply to everyone.
The TRUTH is that Grove City employees are already protected by non discrimination policies and peer review procedures, which protect them from unfair treatment and provide the legal right to appeal through a peer review and arbitration procedure .
The IAM thinks having a direct relationship is “comical”. Grove City employees have direct access to Wabtec leaders to address any issues through our Open Door Policy without any fear of retaliation. We know from years of experience that we can accomplish more through cooperation than confrontation.
Union representation is no guarantee of job security. That’s because representation cannot provide job security if the company does not remain competitive in the marketplace.
Grove City employees have been receiving a lot of INFORMATION from the IAM and the Company. But how are you supposed to know what is TRUE and what is not?
FAQs
The union can promise you everything, but can guarantee nothing. All the union can do is ask. The Company has the right to say NO to any proposal or demand that the union makes.
If the union tells you that what you have now is guaranteed, it is not telling you the truth. The truth is that you can lose wages and benefits in collective bargaining. If the union were to get a contract, your wages, benefits, hours and other working conditions could be reduced, stay the same or be improved. It ultimately depends on what the Company is willing to agree to.
If an election is held and a union is certified, the Company has an obligation to negotiate in good faith with the newly elected bargaining representative of the employees. Any final agreement would be the outcome of these negotiations. But first contracts can take a long time. On average, a first contract takes 465 days.
As we have previously clarified, Wabtec has not, and will not, provide personal information about Grove City employees to the IAM or anyone else outside the Wabtec organization without your consent. Hourly employees have informed us that IAM representatives disclosed to them that other Wabtec employees supplied the union with a copy of a Grove City seniority list and the union is cross referencing the seniority list with signed authorization cards.
Wabtec did not authorize the release of this information and we certainly do not believe that union representatives should be visiting employees’ houses. While we understand that many employees find these union home visits objectionable, unfortunately there is nothing Wabtec can do to prevent these activities.