I don't know, but I believe that belonging to a union is against the Lord. No Christian ever honors the Lord on a picket line.
[Exhort] servants to be obedient unto their own masters, [and] to please [them] well in all [things]; not answering again;
Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things
For what glory [is it], if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer [for it], ye take it patiently, this [is] acceptable with God.
Unfortunately, some jobs require you to be in a union.
A century ago, unions were necessary as management took advantage of workers.
Now the pendulum has swung the other direction.
My wife is in the union - but I doubt she would ever walk the picket line.
Some unions do great things for their workers, some do great things for workers that don't deserve it.
As far as I know if you work for companies such as AT&T, UPS etc.
require you to be in a union.
So if your employer required you to work 18 hours a day, seven days a week for 52 weeks, with only a 15 minute lunch - would you abide by his decision?
No, but I would not rebel.
would humbly quit.
In fact when i hire in a company I let them know up front that i am a Christian and Sunday is the Lord's day for me to attend church. I have been turned down for jobs because of this. if a company started that practice after i was hired i would quit. A year ago I was working about 65 to 70 hours a week, but left. I would work the long hours, but not at the expense of weekly worship and in Texas an employer is not required to give breaks or lunch. I actually worked for one company with 10 hour days 6 days a week and no lunch break several years ago. I stayed 6 months and left but I did not rebel and dishonor the Lord. I know this next part is hard to believe but it is true. God will provide if we are faithful.
So you get the employees together and whether you form a formal union or not - a rep of the people sit down with the boss and recommend they give a paid lunch - you explain why it would be good for the employees and good for the business,
Suppose you ask for a hour lunch - they counter offer for 1/2 hour - you agree on 3/4 of an hour.
Note- nothing ever said about striking - but if they don't compromise, then you can quit.
You say you don't want to rebel against your employer, but your employer should not rebel against you either.
Believe it or not - it works the same way with govt - you sit down with your Representatives to change govt fort the better.
In the state of New Jersey, everyone but state workers are considered "At Will Contractors" ie independents & the employer can fire you at will for almost an infraction ...or if he doesnt like the side of your head you parted your hair on that day. You have got almost 0 rightsto refute them except perhaps a sexual oviture case.
In the original question the idea was with an organized union. Not like what you are saying now. First no company that I know of has ever sought out a union. It is forced on them either by the government directly or indirectly and that is rebellion against the master (ultimately God). By being forced directly or indirectly I mean that some states are open shop and some are closed but even the close do not forbid unions and they do require the employer to allow one if the employees seek to form one.
Second every union discussion is premised on the idea that if we do not get some sort of change we will strike. They NEVER enter into talks with an attitude of let us propose some things and we will accept what ever you decide without any actions from us.
Again rebellion against the master (ultimately God). [SIZE=+0]Now to your scenario. Let's say that the employees want some representation and they choose someone to speak for them. No organized union, just a representative to go to management. IF management is in agreement with this without any pressure of a strike or any rebellion then that would be acceptable under scripture. In other words being able to point out beneficial ideas that benefit the company and benefit the people would be acceptable under scripture IF the company agreed to allow it, but if they reject the offering then the workers need to work as unto the Lord. By the way we are speaking of Christian workers, not the lost, and a non Christian employer. With a Christian employer Christian workers have another way to handle this and that is through the church discipline laid out in scripture.[/SIZE] [SIZE=+0]Your argument of we should not rebel against our employer, BUT our employer should not rebel against us is the same old dual argument of I will obey God when they obey God. [/SIZE] [SIZE=+0]So while you may have worked out a method in your own mind to skirt the word of God you can be sure that God has not changed His word and will not be mocked.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]I pointed that out with Texas in another thread and someone else pointed out that this is the case in every state. I looked it up and they are correct. My point is that it is not limited to one or a few states. However what is also true is that even if an employer fires someone, for instance they smoke at home, that person can go and collect un-employment benefits even though they cannot sue because of the existing laws. The only exception is religion, race, and sexual orientation or gender.[/SIZE]
I see that you now need to lift out of context my statement to hold to your un-biblical view. If that is not enough now you change the parameters to confuse the issue so as to also hope to support your un-biblical view. To answer your wildly corrupted response a car dealer has no authority over you. They are not your employer (master).