How to start a Union

Who can employees contact about possibly starting up a union where they work in the Health Insurance Industry?

Employees in the health insurance industry working for private-sector companies can contact the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) for free, confidential guidance, or reach out directly to an established labor union or the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). *

Please see the many hyperlinks to websites and YouTube videos, which provide an abundance of helpful information on how to get a Union started in your workplace.

Even health insurance corporations can be unionized, although they would have you to believe not. A union is way overdue and much needed in the Health Insurance industry, particularly ones that administrate Medicare Advantage and Medicaid, in behalf of the Federal Government & CMS, using Tax Payer’s hard earned dollars.

Who to Contact

Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC): Provides free, confidential advice and connects workers with experienced organizers to build a campaign.
Existing Labor Unions: You can reach out to established unions that represent office, professional, or service workers (such as OPEIU - Office and Professional Employees International Union, or local service-sector and healthcare unions) to ask about affiliation.
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB): The federal agency that oversees private-sector union elections, protects organizing rights under the National Labor Relations Act, and processes election petitions.

Key Steps to Start the Process

Talk to Coworkers: Discreetly build support among trusted colleagues to see if a majority share common concerns.
Form an Organizing Committee: Gather a small, representative group of coworkers from different departments to lead the effort.
Collect Authorization Cards: Have coworkers sign union-authorization cards or a petition. If at least 30% to 50%+. sign, you can request an election or voluntary recognition.
File for Recognition or an Election: Ask your employer for voluntary recognition based on a majority card sign-up, or file a petition for a secret-ballot election with the NLRB.

Hyperlink for National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/employees/your-right-to-form-a-union

AFL-CIO Form a Union Hub
https://aflcio.org/what-unions-do

You want to unionize your workplace, start by contacting the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC).
https://workerorganizing.org/support/

EWOC will follow up within 48 hours to connect you with resources and an organizer who can provide free, confidential advice.

How do I start organizing a union? [1 minute video, EWOC]
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo8fQc3yR1I&pp=0gcJCY8Co7VqN5tD&ra=m

How to Start A Union: Step By Step [12 minute video, More Perfect Union]
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tok00IDVTz4&ra=m

How to Start a Union at Work [short article, EWOC]
https://workerorganizing.org/how-to-start-a-union-at-work/

#Advocacy #EmployeeRelations #Healthcare #Union

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21 replies (most recent on top)

@jg Oh, you didn’t need to tell us that. We were already aware. Enjoy your soak! Don’t forget to put on some body lotion afterwards so your skin doesn’t dry out.

Honestly a lot of middle leader envy on this sub. We get paid amazing to do nothing but lay people off. Off to the hot tub!

@f4 Middle Level Leader Post Slop, attempting to intimidate employees from empowering themselves.

Just ignore.

@f4 I am DEFINITELY pro-UNION!!!

BRING IT! Whatcha got?!

You guys are gonna get sooo fired. If anything this is a Humana psyop to out anyone who might be pro union. Good luck tho

@es Just watch! Something WILL happen.

Please ignore @es Middle Level Leader Post Slop designed to discourage employee empowerment.

Ok Ken, I'll take "Things that will never happen" for $500

Like every other company before they had a union had done, Humana will do everything they can to oppose and prevent it. But the employees will just need to not be easily scared nor deterred from persevering to make a union happen. Good things do not come easy.

A perfect example to lift up as to why we can and why we should seek out a union.

UPS has every type of role just about that Elevance has. They have professional IT, Engineers, Human Resources, Logistical Personnel, Directors, Vice Presidents, you name it. And probably every rile gets paid more at UPS for the same role as Elevance.

UPS had a union. And employees are happy with their union, have more job security, have better working conditions, better more fair leaders, have better health insurance, get more time off, and get paid better.

UPS and their union give to PAC. Political candidates love the monies they receive from both UPS and their union.

@b4 Great, thank you! I will see the links and contact information in the thread below and get involved.

@b3 There are links below in the thread with contact information. I am not going to give my contact information here.

@ay
is there a way to get involved?

I personally am working on this and at this time I know of two others working on it as well. Two more may also but still on the fence.

I will keep everyone apprised of any updates as they occur. Or shortly afterwards so as to not tip hat until things are in place. Be patient as these things take time, to do in a clandestine way so as to not get squashed.

@ar You know, I bet you are a middle level leader that in any other way, praises and lauds and sells what great things AI can do for the company, with the exception as to when AI is used to simply gather facts from the internet, which came from human beings to start with, simply because the information is not agreeable to you or puts the company in a bad light.

So, you are fine for AI some of the time but only when it fits your personal agenda and views.

Just bots arguing with bots

@an White-collar unionization has grown within the technology sector, alongside specialized health insurance and benefit programs tailored for unionized workforces.

Health Insurance Providers Serving Unions & White-Collar Labor Plans

Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS): Operates a dedicated National Labor Office that covers more than 18 million unionized workers, retirees, and families.
Anthem: Provides specialized Labor & Trust health plans covering over 2.4 million union members and employers.
UnitedHealthcare: Manages Taft-Hartley and multi-employer health trust funds serving over 1 million union members nationwide.
American Income Life: Offers customized insurance and protection packages built explicitly in coordination with international labor unions and the AFL-CIO.

Tech Companies with White-Collar Unions

Kickstarter: Became the first white-collar tech workforce in the U.S. to unionize (OPEIU Local 153) in February 2020.
Alphabet (Google, YouTube, Waymo): Over 1,400 engineers, analysts, and corporate workers formed the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU-CWA Local 7800). (Note: This is a minority/associate union rather than a formally certified collective bargaining unit).
ZeniMax Studios (Microsoft): Quality assurance testers and game developers unionized with the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
Outten & Golden: A prominent white-collar law and tech-adjacent firm with organized staff representation.

Groups like Insurance Professionals United, affiliated with the Office and
So there is ALREADY a union.

Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), represent workers across insurance agencies, administrative offices, and related healthcare fields.

SEVERAL factors explain why large-scale unionization WILL NEVER HAPPEN among corporate health insurance employees COMPARED to manual trades or frontline healthcare providers:

White-Collar and Corporate Culture. A large share of health insurance employees work in office, remote, or corporate settings (claims processing, underwriting, customer service, sales, and IT). Traditionally, white-collar service and tech workers have lower historical unionization rates than manufacturing, transport, or public sector workers.
Geographical and Operational Decentralization. Major private health insurers (such as UnitedHealth, Anthem, Aetna/CVS, and Cigna) employ tens of thousands of workers spread across massive remote workforces, call centers, and regional hubs, making traditional brick-and-mortar workplace organizing logistically difficult.
Anti-Union Strategies. Large corporate entities in the finance and insurance sectors frequently invest heavily in management consulting and anti-union campaigns to discourage organizing drives among clerical and administrative staff.
Misconception vs. Integrated Systems: While typical corporate health insurance workers are often non-union, many healthcare delivery employees who work inside large integrated systems, such as Kaiser Permanente, are HEAVILY unionized through coalitions representing nurses, technicians, and support staff. In those models, the employer functions as both care provider and health plan.

@ak I don’t know, it very well might.

Not sure that I would be placing bets against it.

It will never happen.

@a4 Agree.

Corporations acting as a vendor for administrating government programs such as Medicare & Medicaid, that are funded using tax payer monies, should keep jobs for American citizens AND the work should remain on American soil.

This will be the only way things will ever change for the betterment of employees.

And it will protect American Citizen’s jobs.

Thread regarding Humana Inc. layoffs

How to start a Union

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