Being an employee at UNH for the past 25 years in the housing department, I have come to appreciate the fairness and respect I have received from UNH. I have received a decent pay raise every year, while two union worker friends of mine went four years without a pay raise and only a small pay raise in the fifth year. There is no need for a union/middleman negotiator on my behalf.
There are some big negatives to having a union/middleman here at UNH. “No cap on Earned Time Accumulation” would no longer have to be honored by UNH and “separation incentive payouts” upon retirement will likely disappear. When I was a union worker in the 1980s I received “no” paid vacations or paid holidays.
Most unions require new members to pay an “initiation Fee” (my “initiation fee” was $300 when I joined a union in the 1980s) so it’s probably around $1,000 now. Unions often require members to pay special fees during collective bargaining negotiations, and these are usually at least $100 per member. On union jobs, union stewards usually sit around all day and do nothing (while making a lot more money than regular workers), while regular workers have to work all day.
Remember that if union/middleman get into UNH, staff benefits might not be as good. I heard in a news report that most union benefit plans involve heavy employee paycheck deductions and a $5,000 deductible per individual when anything medical is involved, which is totally inferior to the medical benefits that UNH staff presently receive.
In conclusion, I think that UNH staff will be far better off if they remain non-union.
—Brent Finethy
Department of Housing
Would you like to submit a statement or testimonial about the efforts to organize UNH staff? Submit here.
