Cyber-Democracy for Unionists: Your Legal Rights Online.
Democracy makes unions stronger. The key to union democracy is an educated, informed, and active membership. Fortunately, you have legal rights that protect internal union activity, including activity that takes place online. This summary describes your rights under a Federal Law: the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) as they apply to online activism.
1. The Right to Participate in Your Union
You have the right as a union member to participate in union affairs, including meetings and elections. This means you have the right to:
* participate in official union chat groups or discussion lists,
* participate in elections: run for office, vote, and observe the vote count (there are other important election rights),
* equal access to union publications -- including union e-mail lists, web sites, listserves, and e-mail publications -- in election campaigns,
* due process if you are disciplined by the union.
NOTE: It is illegal for the union or the employer to retaliate against you, or threaten you, for exercising your rights under the LMRDA. Participation in union activities is subject to reasonable rules and procedures.
2. The Right to Essential Information
As a union member, you have the right to certain types of information, much of which is available online:
* Copies of annual financial reports, including the LM-2 forms, available from the Office of Labor Management Standards--OLMS,
* Copies of union contracts and side agreements that affect your job,
* Copies of the union constitution and bylaws.
NOTE: You are free to publish and distribute, in print and electronic form, the information in the reports and documents described above.
3. The Right to Free Speech
Your right to free speech about union affairs (in the union and in public) is very broad and includes e-mail and web speech. You are free to:
* criticize (or praise) union policies, officers, staff, or candidates,
* discuss union policies and issues,
* write about, draw cartoons about, sing about, etc. union representatives,
* complain, protest, demand and advocate.
NOTE: You can be disciplined if you advocate "decertifying" -- leaving the union, or changing unions -- or for violations of the union constitution that are not otherwise protected by the law.
4. The Right to Free Assembly
Like your rights to free speech, your rights to organize with your coworkers are very broad. Among other things, you can:
* form a committee or a caucus,
* meet on or offline without official union permission or participation,
* set up a website, blog, discussion list, newsletter, chat room, or other online publication or forum,
* limit access to all or parts of your site to members of your committee,
* link to other websites, organizations, and unions (including your own),
* take collective action to influence the union (online pickets, PDF flyers, e-mail petitions, web sites, etc.).
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ARBITRATION
The rank/file painters of local ten need answers! We've been in the dark for five months about what's going on in our arbitration. There are things we can do as rank/file members under arbitration, but first we should at least know where we stand. Let's make our voices heard!
