Could my employeer fire/ replace me for going on strike? If I become a “scab” and decide to keep working, would my employeer have to fire me when the strike stops because the union wouldn’t support me anymore?
First off, depends upon which country you are talking about.
Next, if you are in the US, if you go out, your employer could replace you, however this would mean replacing all the other striking workers too - this is called a lockout. This is one of the principles behind unionism, lots of individuals working together are better at fighting their cause than one alone - usually.
The idea is that replacing the entire workforce is not the easiest thing to do, most times this happens everyone loses, incuding the new workers. It is not a pretty sight, I’ve seen it and my view is that if you do get a lockout, you are probably better off looking for work elsewhere, even if you get back in the company, the working atmosphere is horribly poisoned.
Assume your strike is succesful, if its about a pay rise, then consider that most of the time the argument is over maybe a couple of percent in pay terms.
How long will it take you get make up for lost income at maybe one or two percent a week, especially if you are out for two weeks ?
If its about conditions, such as working time, or medical insurance, then you have to make a value judgment, just what is it worth to you ? This can be very personal, to some folk it is absolutely vital, to others it means very little, until they fall ill with something chronic.
If its about pensions, then it could be very significant, even a seemingly small decrease in employers payments to the pension fund can make a very large differance, many thousands, which you won’t notice until you retire possibly many years hence, but boy, you will miss it then.
If you scab, you have to think about how you will work with those who you scabbed against when they return to work, if you are lucky they will simply never speak to you again, it can get very much worse.
In a closed shop, where everyone has to be in the union, then if you scab, you might be voted out of the union, it might have employment implications, but again it really depends upon where you are.
If you’re in a union and do not wish to strike, you should resign your membership or acquiesc. This is assuming the union has followed all proper procedures. If the union hasn’t followed proper procedures, then you need to pursue this with your union leadership.
You need to speak to a Personnel person. Not one at your company!
Something occurred to me overnight: are you a foreign worker in the US? If so, then I’m guessing that you’re worried that your employer might cause your visa to be revoked if you strike, or even after you come back from strike.
Check out the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation for all kinds of information about your rights and obligations, assuming you’re in the United States.
Basically (as GFactor) quoted, you’ve got to resign from your union if you don’t want to be punished by your union for crossing the line. If you ever want to get back into the union, they have the right not to accept you.
In the United States there’s no such thing as a closed shop. You’re not required to be a member of a union to keep your job. The union can’t punish you for not being a member. The union can’t force you to be fired if you’re not a member. In many states, though (non-right-to-work states), you can be forced to pay “agency fees” in lieu of union dues, and you can be fired for not paying them if it’s so stated in the collective bargaining agreement. If you are in a union shop, even as a non-member, you still are subject to all of the union overhead – both the “good” stuff as well as a the “bad” stuff. As a non-member, though, you don’t have a right to vote in union elections or run for union positions.
None of the above should be regarded as legal opinion; it’s only such as I’ve learned in my own battles against being forcibly unionized.
I once belonged to a union at a packing plant that went on strike. I did the math, and after three days started looking for another job. I found one, but when I went back to retrieve the stuff from my locker I was assaulted by a couple of my former co-workers who would not believe that i was not crossing the picket line to be a scab. The strike lasted about a month, and the plant closed for good three months later.
I am in a closed shop in the United States. If you do not join the union, you get no hours with The Kroger Company. You don’t have a choice. You have to join.
If that’s true, then you have a valid ULP – unfair labor practice – against this illegal behavior by the union and The Kroger Company. Given that (as said above) you can be forced to pay dues to the union (actually, a reduced rate called an “agency fee”). You can’t legally be forced to be a card-carrying member of the union.