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Sample Union Contract

1. NONDISCRIMINATION. The employers shall not discriminate against any employees covered by this agreement on the basis of disability, race, gender, religious belief, sexual preference or national origin.

2. JOB RETENTION. Both parties to this agreement will work cooperatively to retain in employment a worker who becomes disabled on or off the job. Both parties also agree to work together to facilitate the individual's return to work as soon as possible.

3. REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION. It will be the policy of (name employer) to make reasonable accommodations to the known limitations of a worker who has a disability. Such accommodations may include, but are not limited to such things as workstation modification; adaptation of work schedules and travel/transportation adjustment. The employee with a disability who is affected will be consulted on an accommodation. Any accommodation made will ensure that the work will be performed safely.

4. RETRAINING AND/OR TRANSFER OF EMPLOYEE. It shall be the policy of (name employer) that if an employee injured on or off the job is unable to return to his or her present job, the employer and the union will work together to make every effort to place the worker in another position for which he or she is qualified or can be qualified through training or accommodation.

5. PROMOTION. It will be the policy of (name employer) that promotions will be based on the ability to do the job and merit. This policy will apply to all employees, including those who have disabilities. Disability alone shall not be grounds for excluding a candidate from consideration.

6. JOINT LABOR-MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE ON WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES. A joint Labor-Management Committee on Workers with Disabilities shall be established. The Committee's functions will be to keep track of problems and recommend as well as review company policies and programs and recommend any necessary changes.

* The United Auto Workers (UAW) was a major supporter of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 and continues to advocate for comprehensive mental health benefits. UAW has continually been in the forefront of advocating a national health care program in the United States which would provide comprehensive and universal medical benefits.³⁶

 

THE IMPACT OF VIOLENCE ON THE WORKPLACE

Violence at work has been recognized as a health and safety issue by leading government agencies such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the National Institute of Mental Health, as well as by labor unions and international organizations. In 1996, the World Health Organization, at its 49^th World Health Assembly, adopted a resolution which, in recognizing the serious implications of violence for the health and psychological and social development of families, communities, and countries, declared violence to be a leading worldwide public health problem.³⁷

Today, violence in the U.S. workplace is arguably the most serious stressor for the U.S. worker. NIOSH has found that an average of 20 workers are murdered each week in the United States. In addition, an estimated 1 million workers, 18,000 per week, are victims of non-fatal workplace assaults each year.³⁸ Most non-fatal workplace assaults occur in service settings such as hospitals, nursing homes and social service agencies. For workplace homicides, the taxicab industry has the highest risk, followed by liquor stores, detective/protective services, gas service stations, and jewelry stores.³⁹ Non-fatal workplace assaults result in more than 876,000 lost