Our Mission Statement

To organize workers into collective bargaining groups in order to promote justice, protect moral and material interests and develop cooperative workplace relationships through the application of Christian principles.

What's News:

Weingarten Rights
As a CLA member, you have the right to have union representation at any meeting between you and management. If you want to do this, you need to inform the employer that you want a union representative present at the meeting.

How your union dues are spent:
● Negotiation Mtgs
● Office Expenses – Rent, Supplies and Equipment
● National Organization to cover wage and salary expenses of full time representatives and employees
● Scholarships
● Organizing Campaigns
● Grievance and Arbitration expenses.

What does the CLA do for you?
● Negotiates your contract
● Settles Work disputes
● Provides health and retirement benefits
● Conducts membership meetings

About Us

What is the Christian Labor Association?

Bonafide trade union
Cooperative and Mutual Respect
Service

How is it different?

We're a union not a church organization
Were not associated with political organizations
The CLA believes a strike is like an economic declaration of war. The consequences are disastrous for everyone. There are no winners in a war, only victims, and typically it's you the worker who is hurt most. Sometimes it's inevitable, but a strike should always be used as a last resort, after all other attempts at settlement have failed.

How was the CLA formed?

The CLA might sound like an upstart union, but the fact is it's been around for a long time. Since 1931 to be exact. Immigrants from Europe brought with them a different view of what labor relations should be all about. They were appalled by what they saw here, a union movement that was unabashedly hostile.

Knowing there was another way to do things, they established the Christian Labor Association of the United States of America. The main difference between the new union and the older established ones was philosophical. But it's a huge important difference, one that all workers should be aware of.

The new union was based on Christian social principles of dignity and respect for all people. The older unions came from a long established philosophy that viewed owners and management as the enemy, foes of the working man to be fought tooth and nail at every turn. The CLA's philosophy means pursuing, where possible, a cooperative approach to labor-management relations.

Because of the philosophical differences, it's not surprising that the CLA met with resistance from the established unions which felt threatened, if not embarrassed, by this upstart. That mistrust continues to exist today, particularly in the construction industry, where the CLA's progressive policies stand in contrast to the restrictive practices of the AFL-CIO construction unions.

The CLA's growth has been slow but steady as word gradually spread that there was an alternative labor movement offering a cooperative approach to workplace relations. Along the way, the established unions challenged and harassed the fledgling union. Although initially viewed as a pesky thorn in their sides, today the hard-line labor movement makes no bones about using its considerable financial clout to try to create difficulties for the CLA at every opportunity.

But the CLA has continued to be not only a viable option for workers, but a better option.