Rights vs. Privileges: Why the CBA Matters to Everyone

Many of us at YVL are fortunate to work with supervisors we trust and respect. If you feel supported by your manager, that is a win for everyone. However, it is important to understand the difference between a Privilege and a Right.

Managers change, directors change, and board members change. A manager's “promise” is a kindness; a CBA is a right.

Before our contract, many of the “good things” we experienced were Privileges.

• A privilege can be granted—but it can also be taken away at any time, for any reason, by a change in leadership or policy. It can be overridden on a whim by someone you have never met before who has never seen you work or that knows little or nothing about what you do.

With our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), those privileges have become Legal Rights.

• A right is a permanent floor that stays in place regardless of who is in the Director’s office or who your immediate supervisor is.

A clear contract actually helps good managers do their jobs better.

• Consistency: It removes the “guesswork” for them. They know exactly what the rules are, which prevents them from accidentally treating one employee differently than another.
• Protection for Them, Too: Clear rules prevent supervisors from being pressured by upper management to act unfairly. These rules will protect someone stuck in the middle who feels endangered or frightened about their future at YVL. We all have a vested interest to take care of ourselves and the good people around us we have trusted in our professional lives.

It is natural to feel nervous about a new union structure. But remember:

• The Union is not a “Third Party”: The union is just us—coworkers looking out for each other. The new people we have met represent other public workers just like us, it seems scary to have new people involved in our worker-employer relations but think of this as a labor focused attorney who has a new set of legal rights at their helm, their only directive is written in the CBA.
• You Haven't Lost Anything: You still have your relationship with your manager. The CBA simply adds a “safety net” underneath that relationship protecting you, protecting them.
• Legal Backbone: If a “strange thing” happens—a sudden policy change or a budget cut—you aren't standing alone. You have the full weight of a signed legal contract and the support of Local 848.

We don't buy fire insurance because we plan to start a fire; we buy it because we value our home. The CBA is our collective insurance. It ensures that the dignity and respect you receive today will be there for you tomorrow, and the year after that.

Your new fire insurance is like Bimart, employee-owned and you get to to help if you want to, flex that librarian muscle of knowledge, maybe even protect someone you care about. Sounds like your kinda club? yeah mine too, forget backpacking and cookies, i want to improve our lives to make more time for that without a 2nd and 3rd job, just sayin

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