Marin Association of Public Employees

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Why Unions are Important

With unions, workers bargain with their employer about their wages, hours, and working conditions. Without unions, the employer unilaterally decides what the wages, hours, and working conditions are.
With unions, employees collectively have power to bargain with their employer. Without unions, individual employees do not have the power to bargain with their employer.
With unions, employees have protection on the job. Together, through their union, they are able to advocate for themselves.
Union workers across the country make 27% more than their non-union counterparts.
As the percentage of the work force that is unionized has declined from about 30% in 1967 to under 15% today, middle class incomes have shrunk. (From Center for American Progress)

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Download the MAPE Membership Application (PDF)

Ways to Get Involved

We are MAPE. MAPE is us!

Marin County Without MAPE

If there is no MAPE, the County will decide what the wages, hours and working conditions are. It will not have to bargain with employees.
If there is no MAPE, the County may unilaterally change your wages and benefits, your hours of work, and your working conditions.
The County tried to cut vacation several years ago. We said “NO.” The County backed down. Without a union, the County would have cut vacation.
In the fall of 2020, the Covid year, the County asked MAPE and several small unions to “rollover” their contracts with a wage freeze and no increase in what the County paid for health care. All the County offered was a one-time payment of $1000 to employees. MAPE members said "NO." We negotiated pay raises, improvements in overtime and bilingual pay, County payment for retirement for part time employees for the first time, and a much larger one-time payment. Without MAPE, the County could have imposed a wage freeze and paid employees the $1000 lump sum.

The more MAPE represented workers are union members, the stronger MAPE is. The County knows how many members we have. The fewer members we have the less power we have when we bargain.

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