Local 1102 - RWDSU

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Home > About Us > President's Message

by Frank S. Bail, President

Frank S. Bail Welcome to the official Local 1102 web site. Our goal is to inform you of matters of general interest, as a member of Local 1102 and as a working person. I hope that by visiting this site, you can better understand how being a Union member helps you on the job both directly and indirectly in many ways which may not always be so apparent.

Your Union has many different functions. Its most obvious function is to service the membership through the handling of grievances and arbitrations and by negotiating, interpreting and enforcing collective bargaining agreements. Additionally, Union officers act as Trustees and are charged with the responsibility of managing and administering the Local 1102 Health and Welfare and Pension funds. But the Union also has a larger and broader role in the scheme of worker issues and in society in general.

For example, the Union is actively involved in politics. By influencing political representatives on issues that affect all workers, our own members benefit. Each day, new bills are introduced at the state and federal levels that directly affect you. Unions are currently fighting on behalf of workers for equal pay laws, against the dismantling of OSHA (which bears the responsibility of enforcing workplace health and safety), for improvements in the nation's child care system, the preservation of our Social Security and Medicare system, universal health care coverage and many other issues that affect the daily lives of working Americans. The Union is actively involved in community affairs and charities. We help raise money to aid battered women, to fund scholarships and educational programs, youth activity programs, cancer research, and many other charities that benefit the communities where our members live and work.

It is also vitally important that Union membership grow the number of organized workers in the United States is currently 16.5 million, or approximately 13.9% of our workforce. As workers are organized and union membership grows, working conditions improve for all workers both union and non-union. Unions have historically fought and are responsible for, many benefits that today's workers often take for granted unemployment insurance, disability insurance, medical and pension benefits, OSHA laws, overtime and minimum wage laws, to name a few. The more Union members there are, the more clout Unions have in the political arena and at the bargaining table. Unfortunately, many states have passed anti-Union legislation, such as the so-called "right to work" laws, which make it nearly impossible to organize and retain Union members in those states. Unions are having a tough time fighting to prevent more states from passing such laws.

Today, labor unions remain the strongest advocate for worker rights. Without them, we all lose.

Thank you again for visiting our website and for being a Union member.

If you are not registered to vote, now is the time to register.

REMEMBER - EVERY VOTE COUNTS!!

RWDSU Action Center

Find out what Congress is doing and to let your representative know how you feel on the issues.

1587 Stewart Ave | Westbury, NY 11590 | Tel: (516) 683-1102