I first heard about the Supreme Court case Janus vs. AFSCME early last year. The court will release it’s ruling this summer and if it is unfavorable, the case could weaken unions across the country. This case is about paying union dues and a man named Mark Janus who doesn’t want to pay them.
Mark does not want to be forced to participate in a union and says he doesn’t need the union’s help, especially when it comes to salary. According to Mark, “I’ve negotiated my own salary and benefits at plenty of jobs before I started working for the state, and I’d be more than happy to do so again.”
Negotiating for a salary might be easy for Mark who is a white man, but that is not the experience of women, especially women of color. In fact, one study has shown that all else being equal, women “not only need to negotiate to obtain a reasonable raise, but they would have to do so from the starting point of a lowball amount.”
I’ve had to negotiate for my salary when I did not work in a union job but I do not feel the same way as Mark. I was denied a raise two years in a row, even with perfect reviews from my supervisors. Since it was not a unionized job, there was no salary transparency and no structure for how pay increases were given.
First, my supervisor tried to guilt me out of asking for a raise, “What would your students do without you if you leave?” he said. I was surprised that my students were being used to manipulate me into backing down from a raise I earned. When that didn’t work I was told, “If you can find a job that will pay you more, then come back with that offer and we can talk about it.” I submitted my resignation letter the same day.
Now I am a teacher and my pay is dictated by a clear and transparent step system. My union fights for my salary to keep up with the cost of living. Additionally, the gender wage gap is smaller among union workers versus non-union workers.
I am not alone in my disagreement with Mark. Some of his colleagues disagree too, explaining that because of the union’s work in Illinois Mark’s job has not been outsourced to private company Maximus. (This private company has a history of workplace discrimination, which is problematic if you are a person of color, a woman, or a person with disabilities.) According to this colleague, Mark has benefited from $17,000 in union-negotiated raises during his tenure.
Mark is content because as a white man he feels secure that those in power will treat him fairly. But historically workers of all backgrounds have been treated poorly by their employers. To combat that, unions work to ensure safe working environments, reasonable work hours, and paid sick leave and insurance -- and they do this for ALL of their members.