Certification is empowering. Certification with any association or union gives employees rights they don’t otherwise have.

Certification obliges the employer to sit down with your representatives to negotiate your working terms. Both parties are required to negotiate in good faith with the intention of concluding a workable agreement.

Certification bars the employer from changing your negotiated terms without agreement.

Certification requires employers to consult with employees about workplace problems. Every agreement is required to have a provision requiring consultation between the parties.

Certification gives employees a means of impartially resolving disputes. Agreements must include grievance provisions. The right to file a grievance without retribution is guaranteed by law. If a grievance is not resolvable between the employer and the union, the union can take the grievance to binding arbitration.

Certification places a duty of fair representation upon the union. Union representation must be fair, unbiased, and non-discriminatory. Reasonable consideration must be given to the claims of all persons covered by the certification.

Certification gives employees more tools for negotiating with employers. Finally, certification makes it possible for employees to take job action to pressure the employer to settle an agreement, including partial or full withdrawal of services and even picketing. A union with significant resources has more room for creativity when considering how to put pressure on an employer. The employer can also lock out employees to pressure them to settle an agreement.

These are not notional advantages - they are real and substantial. But the onus to ensure that certification results in improved employment conditions remains chiefly on the members.

Like any other association or union, the GHPA will only be as strong as its members - no association or union can be effective without members who are personally committed to common objectives. Many of these benefits are useless if members aren’t involved in the work of the association and the association does not have the members’ support.