A common question union stewards are asked is “What do I get for becoming a union member?” The right question is “What can I do as a union member?”
It’s important to remember that the question “what do I get?” is often pushed as the starting point of the conversation by people who want to defund unions and weaken our power as workers. They want the conversation to start this way because it makes it easy to confuse things from the beginning.
It’s not about what you receive, it’s what you’re able to do when you’re a member of a well-resourced union. As a union member, you will receive contractual benefits, noncontractual benefits, and you will “get” a return on your investment, but you will also be able to decide what your union does, how it goes about doing it, and what your workplace will look like in the future. What you “get” is empowerment, and a lot of very rich people don’t want you to have that.
People who want to defund unions know that strong unions are the most effective way for workers to save money and determine their own futures through better wages, benefits, and protections. Yet, they want us to start conversations with “How can I save money?” and “What do I get for being in the union?” If they really wanted you to save money and control your own future, they would use their wealth to help your union become fully resourced. Instead, they would rather control the conversation and undermine you and your fellow workers. Yes, it’s true that you will “get” many things as a union member, but you will be able to do so much more.
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