The story goes that the Call to Safety Workers Union (CTSWU) was born in 2007-2008 when there was a high level of tumult in the organization. When Call to Safety recovered, both staff & management felt it was a good idea to add formal protections for workers to prevent previous practices of workplace misconduct. The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was chosen to be the larger union that CTSWU is a part of — an historic member-run union open to workers from all industries.

Aligned with the IWW’s values that all workers can come together for common concerns and causes, we see CTSWU as a place to deepen the feminist values of Call to Safety, and build a democratic, safe, and caring workplace for all workers.

At our union we as workers make decisions collectively and always represent ourselves in negotiations and workplace actions.

Through Labor Relations Committee (LRC) meetings, lots of shop-floor organizing & mobilization, and bargaining our union contract every two years, we are capable of making Call to Safety an organization that lives up to its values, as well as a sustainable place to work.

Issues we’ve worked on collectively to address include:

• Wage increases
• Benefits for on-call and part-time staff
• Health care benefits
• Paid Time Off
• Scheduling
• Combating workplace problems, including issues of racism and workplace discrimination

But the union is only as strong as we are involved. Day to day. Week to week. Identifying workplace problems, making concrete union demands, planning union actions, and defending our hard earned gains. Join the union and become active today, send us an email at: [email protected]