CHANGES IN THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD RULES WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT UNION ELECTIONS
Unions initially keep their attempts to organize employees confidential, by talking to them in secret, instructing them not to notify supervisors that a union is on the scene, having clandestine meetings and visiting employees in their homes. Companies are therefore at a disadvantage since unions have a head start in the organization game. In all too many cases, management does not become aware of a union drive until a petition is filed.
When a petition is filed, however, a company now generally has an average of six weeks in order to get its message across to employees, to educate them on the disadvantages of unions and to conduct workplace informational sessions on one of the most important decisions they will ever have to make at work.
The National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB’”) proposed regulations, however, are intended to change this system. The time period within which management has to campaign will be significantly curtailed, and the campaign period may be cut to anywhere between ten days and three weeks. This is precious little time for the company to organize, develop information on the union, its history, collective bargaining agreements, fringe benefit plans, strike history and a volume of information needed to conduct an intelligent and persuasive campaign to convince employees to vote against the union. Experience tells us that three weeks is insufficient time to educate employees about the union, the potential adverse consequences, and the long-term implications for a change in the relationship between the company and its employees, a change from a direct communication model, to where a third party speaks for the unionized group as a whole. These changes are summarized in the table below:
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Now |
That the NLRB Proposed |
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The NLRB schedules hearings within 16 days after the petition is filed. |
The NLRB will have discretion not to hold a hearing on any outstanding issues until after the election is held |
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Management is obligated to give only the names and addresses of voters, after an election is scheduled. |
Companies will now have to add employee telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, if any, work classifications, shifts and work locations, all of which will make it easier for the union to contact employees. |
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If the union files objections to the election, the hearing must take place at a time mutually scheduled between the employer, the union and the NLRB, which could be several weeks after the election. |
Hearings and objections must take place within 7 days giving management precious little time to investigate the case and present its defense to the Board. |
Meaning for Management
It can be seen from the above changes, management, which is already at a disadvantage because the union has a head start in terms of communication with employees, will now have precious little time to react. This reaction involves rebutting the union promises, showing employees how unions cannot guarantee increases, exposing weaknesses in the union’s benefits plans, publicizing the company’s benefits and advantages of union-free employment, collecting and publicizing the union’s strike history, its seniority policies which could be disadvantageous to younger employees and how union work rules can restrict the company’s profitability. The new, proposed rules distort the existing system and give unions an extreme advantage since it has the advantage of deciding when to file the petition. A hurried vote favors unions considerably. The end result is that employees will go into the voting booth without all of the knowledge needed to make a considered choice to what voting the union in could mean to them in terms of dues, strikes, and other disadvantages of unionization.
Employers need to take action now to reduce the risk in the event your company becomes a target. Some of these actions include:
- Training supervisors to detect the first signs of union activity
- Audit company policies
- Evaluate corporate wages and benefits to see if they are comparable with prevailing rates, and in particular, prevailing union rates
- Strengthen employee relations programs, open door policies and complaint procedures
- Train supervisors on how legally to react to card-signing campaigns
- Conduct attitude surveys and/or other methods of developing feedback on employee sentiments, complaints and propensity for unionization
If the new rules go into effect, waiting for visible signs of union activity, may be too late.
To contact a Clifton Budd & DeMaria attorney regarding this subject please email labor@cbdm.com.
This Update is not intended to be legal advice, but rather is intended to inform the reader of problem areas and recent developments in labor and employment law. If legal advice is required concerning a particular matter, your attorney should be consulted.