Union construction workers — members of LIUNA (Laborers International), Ironworkers, United Brotherhood of Carpenters, IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers), Operating Engineers, Plumbers (UA), Sheet Metal Workers (SMWIA), and the Sandhogs (Local 147 in New York) — have rights and resources after a job site injury that non-union workers may not have access to. Understanding your rights as a union member is critical to protecting your workers' comp claim, preserving your civil lawsuit rights, and accessing all available benefits.

Your Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) — What It Means for Injured Workers

Your collective bargaining agreement may provide rights beyond state workers' comp law, including extended disability benefits through the union's benefit fund, supplemental income replacement, access to union-sponsored medical care, and job reinstatement rights after injury leave. Many union CBAs also include safety provisions that exceed OSHA minimums — violations of these CBA safety provisions can be used as additional evidence of negligence in a civil lawsuit. Review your CBA with a union representative and a construction accident attorney to identify all available benefits.

Union Benefit Funds — Medical, Disability, and Death Benefits

Most construction unions maintain multi-employer benefit funds that provide health insurance, disability income replacement, and death benefits for members and their families. The Laborers' National Health and Welfare Fund, the Ironworkers' District Council of New England Health Fund, and comparable funds for other trades provide benefits that supplement — and do not reduce — workers' comp and civil lawsuit recovery. Union disability benefits paid from the fund may or may not be subject to lien rights (most union benefit fund plans do not assert liens against civil lawsuit recoveries), meaning union workers may keep both their fund benefits and their civil lawsuit recovery in full.

Safety Steward Witness Evidence — A Critical Union-Specific Resource

Union job sites have safety stewards — union members designated to monitor job site safety and document violations. A safety steward who observed and documented the unsafe condition that caused your accident — an unlocked scaffold, missing guardrails, an unprotected trench, a faulty electrical lockout — is a powerful witness in your civil lawsuit. The steward's safety log entries and any formal safety violation reports filed with the union or contractor are admissible evidence of the pre-existing hazard. Obtain your union's safety records for the job site through your business agent or safety committee as quickly as possible after your accident.