LIFE AT MAGELLAN

A union authorization card or petition is a legal document that may give a union the sole and exclusive right to speak and act on behalf of MFLC Counselors in all matters regarding wages, benefits, working conditions and other terms of your employment at Magellan.

IAM is very clear on what signing a card means in the description on its own cards:

“By clicking the submit button below, I affirm that I am an employee of the above-named employer and that I want to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.”

Signing a card does not guarantee that you will get better wages or benefits or that issues and concerns will be resolved. If the union becomes your exclusive representative, the only right the union has is to represent employees and negotiate a contract with Magellan.

Your signature is extremely valuable to the union. Getting your signature is the union’s top priority right now because it allows them to petition the government for an election that will decided whether MFLCs will be represented by the union.

The union can do several things with your signature: 

• If the union gets 30 percent of Magellan’s MFLCs at a particular installation to sign cards, the union may go to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and file a petition for an election in which MFLCs vote to determine whether or not they want to be unionized.
• If the union collects signatures from more than 50 percent of MFLCs, the union could request that we recognize the union as MFLCs’ representative without the NLRB holding a secret ballot election.
• The union may use this card to send you mail, to call you at home, text you or to visit you at home.

You have no obligation to meet or talk with union organizers. You do not have to respond to their mail, let them into your home or answer their phone calls. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects your right to refrain from any union activity, to campaign against the union and to not sign union cards or a petition.

If the IAM gets enough signatures to call for an election and wins the election, it will represent all MFLCs as their sole legal representative for all terms and conditions of employment.  You will no longer be legal allowed to discuss issues such as wages, promotions or time off with your manager.

As a result of the collective bargaining process (also called negotiations), you could end up with less than, more, or keep the same wages and benefits that you now have. There are no guarantees despite what the union may be promising you.

Collective bargaining can take months or years. And, there is no requirement that the union and Magellan ever reach a contract. An employer does not have to agree to union demands, according to federal law.

If IAM wins the right to represent you, you will be asked to pay dues and in certain states under a union security provision you could be forced to pay dues as a condition of employment.

IAM’s stated dues are $88.79 a month. Dues, in some cases, could be taken out of your paycheck automatically and given to the union.

Regardless of how you vote, if the union wins the right to represent MFLCs, then all counselors would have to comply with the contract and the rules negotiated by the union – regardless of whether you agree with them.

The union may also cost you if it forces employees to strike during negotiations or after. Employees are not paid by  Magellan, may not use PTO during a strike and the union is not required to provide strike pay. Also, if a strike is called for economic reasons, such as wages, there is no guarantee that you would automatically return to work when the strike ends. During an economic strike, the most common kind, an employer may permanently replace employees who strike.