This list appears on many Union web sites. This copy was taken from Union Plus (http://www.unionplus.org/about/labor-unions/36-reasons-thank-union).
Did you know that labor unions made the following 36 things possible?
- Weekends without work
- All breaks at work, including your lunch breaks
- Paid vacation
- Family and Medical Leave Act
- Sick leave
- Social Security
- Minimum Wage
- Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII – prohibits employer discrimination
- Eight-hour workday
- Overtime pay
- Child labor laws
- Occupational Safety and Health Act
- 40-hour workweek
- Workers’ compensation
- Unemployment insurance
- Pensions
- Workplace safety standards and regulations
- Employer health care insurance
- Collective bargaining rights for employees
- Wrongful termination laws
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
- Whistle-blower protection laws
- Employee Polygraph Protection Act – prohibits employers from using a lie detector on an employee
- Veterans’ Employment and Training Service
- Compensation increases and evaluations (i.e., raises)
- Sexual harassment laws
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Holiday pay
- Employer dental, life and vision insurance
- Privacy rights
- Pregnancy and parental leave
- Military leave
- The right to strike
- Public education for children
- Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Fair Pay Act of 2011 – require employers to pay men and women equally for the same amount of work
- Laws ending sweatshops in the United States
Thank a union member by buying union-made in America products (http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/(tag)/1573).