Union members in Arkansas and across the country earn significantly more than non- union workers. "Over the four-year period between 2004 and 2007, unionized workers' wages in Arkansas were on average 7.7 percent higher than non-union workers with similar characteristics.2 That means that, all else equal, Arkansas workers that join a union will earn 7.7 percent more--or $1.26 more per hour in 2008 dollars--than their otherwise identical non-union counterparts." [Unions are Good for Arkansas' Economy, 2/18/09]

Unionization rewards workers for productivity growth. "Slow wage growth has squeezed the middle class and contributed to rising inequality. But increasing union coverage rates could likely reverse these trends as more Americans would benefit from the union wage premium and receive higher wages. If unionization rates were the same now as they were in 1983 and the current union wage premium remained constant, new union workers in Arkansas would earn an estimated $166 million more in wages and salaries per year. If union coverage rates increased by just 5 percentage points over current levels, Arkansas' newly unionized workers would earn an estimated $127 million more in wages and salaries per year. Non-union workers would also benefit as employers would likely raise wages to match what unions would win in order to avoid unionization." [Unions are Good for Arkansas' Economy, 2/18/09]

• Higher Wages & Benefits Help U.S. Economy by Giving Workers the Ability to Purchase More Goods & Services: According to the Center for American Progress Action Fund report, unionization is good for the economy overall and "putting more money in workers' pockets would provide a needed boost for the U.S. economy." Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich stated that higher wages and higher benefits would give workers the purchasing power they need to buy more of the goods and services that this economy produces. [Center for American Progress Action Fund, "Unions Are Good for Workers and the Economy," 2/18/09]

It Took Over Three Years - And Multiple NLRB Rulings - For Nurses At St. Vincent Health System to Get Their First Contract.

• Nurses Voted to Join a Union in 2000, After NLRB Found That the Hospital Had Threatened Some Nurses. Nurses at St. Vincent Health System "began their unionization drive in 1999, winning a vote in 2000, after an earlier defeat was overturned by the National Labor Relations Board amid charges that St. Vincent officials improperly tried to influence staff." [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 2/18/06]

• There Were Numerous Charges of Unfair Labor Practices Against Hospital Management Filed in 2002. In May 2002, St. Vincent Nurse Dana Downes asked for an election to decertify the union, "but the petition was dismissed by the National Labor Relations Board in Memphis over claims of unfair labor practices by St. Vincent. By the end of 2002, the regional director in Memphis agreed with union members about several charges against the system, including that management had illegally lobbied nurses to end union representation. The nurses settled the charges with St. Vincent in January 2003, a day before the two sides were to meet before an administrative law judge." [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 4/24/07]

• Management and Nurses Finally Ratified First Contract in 2003. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that the 2000 vote by nurses to join the union "set the stage for contract talks that dragged on for nearly three years. The union rejected St. Vincent's contract offer in August 2001. The labor board found in November 2001 and December 2002 that the health system had violated labor laws. Nurses threatened a strike in February 2002." Finally, in March 2003, nurses at St. Vincent Health System ratified a first contract, "ending years of tumultuous contract talks, strike threats, legal challenges and demonstrations." [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 2/18/06, 3/23/03]

• In 2007, Nurses Killed an Effort to Decertify Their Union. In April 2007, nurses at St. Vincent Health System voted 334-224 to remain in the Office and Professional Employees International Union. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 4/24/07]

NLRB and Appeals Court Found that the Hardesty Company Violated Multiple Labor Laws, Including "Surface Bargaining."

• Employees of Hardesty Company Voted to Join a Union in 1995. "The Hardesty Company distributes ready-mix concrete to its customers through 27 facilities throughout Arkansas and Oklahoma. On August 21, 1995, following an organizing campaign and an election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Teamsters Local 373 was certified as the collective bargaining representative for the drivers, batchmen, mechanics, and front-end loaders of the company's Fort Smith and Van Buren facilities. In October 1995, the union and the company began negotiations on a collective bargaining agreement (CBA)." [Arkansas Employment Law Letter, December 2002]

• Hardesty Proposed Freezing Wages and Changed Health Insurance Provider Without Consulting Union. In February and March 1996, "Hardesty introduced a series of proposals that would have frozen wages, eliminated overtime, bonuses, and the 401(k) plan, and reduced the amount of vacation time. Also, effective June 1, 1996, the company switched health insurance providers without consulting with the union. The parties met for their last bargaining session in September 1996 and never signed a CBA." [Arkansas Employment Law Letter, December 2002]

• Judge, NLRB, and Appeals Court Found Numerous Labor Law Violations at Hardesty Company. The union filed a number of unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, and an NLRB judge ruled against the Hardesty Company "on nearly all of the counts." The judge's decision was upheld by the full NLRB and years later by the U.S. Court of Appeals For The Eighth Circuit. [Arkansas Employment Law Letter, December 2002]

• Among Other Violations, Appeals Court Found That Management Wasn't Bargaining in Good Faith. "The NLRA makes it an unfair labor practice for an employer to refuse to bargain collectively with its employees' representatives. The Act defines "collective bargaining" as meeting at reasonable times and conferring in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. The Act clearly notes that the obligation to negotiate in good faith doesn't compel either party to agree to a proposal or make any concession. But it does prohibit negotiations conducted as a sham, in which the real intent is to never reach an agreement -- i.e., 'surface bargaining.' The Eighth Circuit noted that determining whether good faith was used is based on an examination of all the circumstances. Clearly, a court looks at not only the bargaining behavior at the table but also the behavior away from the table. In this case, the court affirmed the NLRB's determination that Hardesty's behavior at the table was lacking." [Arkansas Employment Law Letter, December 2002]

Kimberly-Clark Employees Waited A Year and a Half To Get a First Contract After Joining a Union. In January 2003, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported, "Kimberly-Clark Corp. and about 100 unionized employees in Conway ended a year and a half of labor discord this week when the workers agreed to a contract that gives them small raises, a cash payment and a panel made up primarily of their peers to settle labor grievances. The 102 maintenance employees at the plant have worked without a contract since they joined the Arkansas Regional Council of Carpenters in July 2001." [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 1/25/03]