Members
MEMBERS HOMEPAGE
Why Join Operating Engineers Local 324?
It's the hallmark of a true professional to advance his or her chosen career. Membership in Operating Engineers Local 324 enables heavy equipment operators in the construction industry to do that through the collective bargaining process.
You have a right under federal law to form a union, select representatives of your choice, and bargain collectively with your employer. This helps balance the power that an employer has over individual employees but it's not intended as a confrontation. Instead, Labor and Management come together around the bargaining table to work out agreements that benefit all parties, enabling contractors to be effective competitors in the construction marketplace while providing for an appropriately compensated, highly trained, highly productive workforce.
As a union member, your benefits include good wage rates, pension benefits, and health care. You're given sickness and accident benefits. Your job security is enhanced. With the union's assistance, you can get problems identified and solved on the job before they escalate into real trouble. And you have a right to vote on your contract, giving you a voice your employer can't ignore.
A union is a democratic organization. By joining together, workers have a greater ability to improve worksite conditions.
Union officers are nominated and elected from among the members of a local union. Any member who meets the qualifications for office may be nominated and elected to office within a local union.
Membership in Operating Engineers Local 324 is supported by dues. But they're a small price to pay, considering the benefits you'll receive. According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, the difference between union and non-union pay averages $123 per week, or $6,217 per year.
Organizing a union in the U.S. involves the use of an authorization card and election process. When a majority of the workers in a bargaining unit have signed the cards and have elected to be represented by the union, then the union can demand recognition from your employer. Then it can start the bargaining process.