In unity, there is strength. By coming together, skilled workers are able to speak with one strong voice to ensure their interests are represented in public and political forums.
Union membership also provides the power of collective bargaining. Through collective bargaining, union and management can work together to ensure employers achieve fair profitability while employees earn decent wages and receive fair treatment. Orderly procedures for determining wages, hours, rates of production and policies for promotion and layoffs can also be established.
Joining the union is the only way you can gain the power to work with your employer on an equal basis to create strength and security for all in the industry.
Of course, union membership also offers many more benefits, listed below.
Health Services
Since 1955, Plumbers Union has been proud to offer the very best healthcare benefits to our members. In fact, our current package of services is one of the most comprehensive available. Benefits include dental and optical coverage, a prescription drug program and major medical coverage including hospital services, organ transplant and routine physical examinations. Best of all, these services are not only available to you but also to your entire immediate family. But our commitment to your health extends beyond mere hospital and doctor visits. We also offer a wide variety of preventive care and wellness programs, including weight loss treatment, health promotion, cancer screening, family services and more.
Pension Fund
With our Pension Fund, the benefits you receive from union membership won’t stop even when your working years end. To provide you with the peace of mind in your retirement, we offer a comprehensive, secure pension plan. It’s based on a simple formula: the more hours you work, the higher your monthly benefit throughout your retirement. Also, because our resources are pooled with other building trades, our Pension Fund offers combined strength and security you can count on when you decide to call it a career.
401(k) Savings
In conjunction with our Pension Plan, participation in a 401(k) program is an excellent way to ensure a comfortable, worry-free retirement. Because the money you contribute to your 401(k) is completely tax deferred, this plan represents one of the very best investment opportunities available. As you watch your money grow in your 401(k) account, you can take comfort in knowing your nest egg is safe because the plan is managed according to sound investment strategies. Members are eligible to participate in the plan upon joining, although participation in our 401(k) is strictly voluntary.
Advanced Training
In today’s competitive environment, if you’re not keeping up with the latest developments in the industry, you’re falling behind. That’s why Plumbers Union
offers the education and resources you need to stay current.
To help you advance your career and promote quality within our membership, requires members to complete a minimum of 10 hours of continuing education classes per year. After all, when you’re a union member, your success reflects well on all of us.
Legislative Advocacy
Your interests are our interests. That’s why Plumbers Union Local 75 employs registered lobbyists to represent us in Wisconsin and Washington DC. Their job is to ensure that our members are protected as both plumbers and working people in general. Our legislative activism has strengthened Wisconsin’s plumbing license law. We have also fought against low-quality plumbing products that endanger our public health and reduce the quality of construction around our state