Tax Professionals Belong in a Union
Many tax professionals are seasonal, generally working October through April, and have unique needs. Tax professionals specifically have voiced concerns about compensation, health insurance, inability to earn overtime pay, stress on the job, intense hours during tax season and furloughs during slow periods, credentials and training, and unequal treatment. Tax preparers are largely unorganized, but seasonal professionals in other industries have been able to improve their workplaces with a union. The following examples of seasonal professions show that it is possible to make gains by joining together in union.
Union adjunct faculty
Adjunct faculty at the New Jersey Institute of Technology secured a 32% increase in minimum pay in the first year of their new union contract, and a 44.2% increase in minimum pay over the four-year lifetime of the contract.
University of California adjuncts negotiated for four weeks of 100% paid family leave for all adjuncts.
In their recent contract, University of California adjuncts secured increases of 30% on average during the five-year lifetime of the contract.
At Rutgers, adjunct faculty ratified a new union contract that raises salaries by 44% over the four-year lifetime of the contract.
Firefighters
In 2023, full-time union firefighters made 43% more weekly and part-time union firefighters made 15% more weekly than their nonunion counterparts.
Wildland firefighters in Galveston, Texas secured a $20 per month incentive for maintaining their wildland firefighter certification.
Union wildland firefighters across the country have negotiated for their employers to provide wildland field equipment and PPE. Non-union wildland firefighters are not guaranteed these crucial protections.
Political campaign staffers
Campaign staff for President Biden’s 2020 campaign negotiated for 100% employer-paid health insurance.
Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign staff negotiated a 40-hour work week with overtime pay for additional hours to help create manageable workloads.
Professional campaign employees on Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign negotiated for one guaranteed off day per week and 15 paid vacation days and paid holidays.
Resident Assistants (RAs)
RAs at Tufts University increased their compensation by 46% with their first union contract.
RAs at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute saw their compensation increase more than four-fold after ratifying their first union contract.
Tufts University RAs secured holiday pay, which they never had before, due to their union.
Wesleyan University RAs negotiated for additional compensation for RAs who work more than the 20 base shifts per semester.
Like these seasonal professionals, tax preparers who join together in union will gain a voice in their workplace to negotiate for better pay, benefits, and working conditions.
Tax Professionals’ Workplace Rights
You have the right to form or join a union.
You have the right to talk to your coworkers about joining or forming a union.
You have the right to organize a union to negotiate with your employer over your pay, benefits, and working conditions.
You have the right to join with your coworkers to address work-related issues, including by circulating a petition or refusing to work in unsafe conditions.
You can learn more about your rights in the workplace, including your right to form a union by visiting the National Labor Relations Board website.
The Union Organizing Process
To form a union in the private sector, which includes anyone who works for a business, a non-profit organization, or any other non-governmental entity, you must be a W-2 employee and you cannot be a supervisor, confidential, or managerial employee. Effectively, this means that as long as you do not have the power to hire or fire other employees, do not work in HR, and are not an independent contractor, you are able to join a union. With that said, most employees are eligible to join or form a union - in fact, over six million professionals, including doctors, lawyers, scientists, and communications professionals are union members.
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Step 1: Contact an organizer
A professional union organizer will be able to guide you through the union organizing process. Additionally, by organizing with an established union with staff, you will have the resources needed to support you and your coworkers throughout the organizing process.
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Step 2: Build coworker support
You will build support for your union by having conversations with your coworkers. Ask your coworkers about what improvements they would like to see in your workplace and how those improvements can be achieved with a union. Once there is a majority of interest in a union, you and your coworkers will sign confidential "authorization cards” to express your support for a union.
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Step 3: Union recognition or election
After you have a strong showing of support for your union through signed union authorization cards, you will either ask your employer for recognition of your union or file a petition for an election with the National Labor Relations Board. If your union files for an election, you will work with the NLRB and your employer to set the terms of the election. If your union receives 50% plus one support for your union from those who voted, you win your union.
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Step 4: Negotiate your union contract
After your union is certified through an election or recognition, you and your co-workers will sit down with management and negotiate over your pay, benefits, and working conditions.
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Step 5: Vote on your contract
You and your co-workers will vote to approve the contract you negotiated with management.
Starting Conversations with Your Coworkers
If you're a seasonal tax preparer interested in forming a union, you'll want to talk to your coworkers and connect with them about desired workplace improvements.
Starting a conversation with your coworkers is easy. Even questions as simple as "How is work going for you?" or "How are you feeling about your workload this tax season?" or "What would you change about your job to make it better?" can open up space to discuss personal experiences, common workplace issues, and desired improvements.
You can start to gauge whether your coworkers would be interested in forming a union by letting them know that you've been learning about your rights as an employee and the fact that seasonal workers can form unions too. Ask questions like, "Have you ever thought about forming a union for us tax preparers?" or "How would it be different if we had the power to collectively negotiate our working conditions?" or "How do you see these issues getting any better without a union?"
Important: Have these conversations outside of company time and through your own personal communication channels (personal phone, email, etc.). The decision to join in union with your coworkers is your own. Supervisors and managers should not be part of these discussions. Make sure your coworkers understand this too!