Workers’ rights A complex mix of state and federal laws govern North Carolina unions: The state’s right-to-work law prohibits mandatory union membership. But according to the National Labor Relations Board, federal law gives employees the right to: Organize a union to negotiate wages, hours and other employment terms. Form, join or assist a union. Bargain collectively. Discuss wages, benefits, other employment conditions and/ or union organizing with coworkers or a union. Collectively raise work-related complaints with an employer or government agency and seek help from a union.
aD Facility. o r e l il v n o s r e D n e itel’s h the entrance to s rs in 25 coUntries, the coMpany With call cente revenUes last year. Despite soMe haD $1.3 billion inints, sitel says it strives to treat Workers’ coMpla Fairly at all its Facilities. eMployees
Strike and picket, with certain restrictions.
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employees said 57 of them had signed a petition requesting better bathroom conditions. After several weeks of silence, they report, management instructed them to bring any future complaints to them privately. Soon afterward, Ashworth, who’d never considered himself pro-union, contacted Local 238 through the website callcenterunion.org. “There was a lot of problems. ... They felt like they were getting swept under the rug,” Murphy explains. The women’s bathroom has since been reopened, but the union drive continues, focusing on wages and other concerns. Sitel, a global corporation with offices in 25 countries and 29 U.S. call centers, had revenues of $1.3 billion in 2011,
according to Onex, a private equity firm. Sitel’s website says the company “is committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment that is free from harassment, discrimination and acts or threats of violence. It is our goal to promote an environment that encourages open communication, promotes mutual respect and teamwork, and develops leaders.” Employees start at $8 an hour; except for managers, the top pay is $9.50, workers report. Just Economics, a local nonprofit, pegs the living wage for the Asheville area at $9.85 an hour with employer-provided health insurance, $11.35 without. Nationwide, call center workers average $13.30 an hour, according to federal labor data. Low wages, of course, aren’t unusual in Asheville: Although
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