Convenience

How Employees Form Unions
For employees to form a new local
union, several things must occur. First,
employees must become interested in
having a union. Nonemployees who
are professional organizers employed
by a national union (such as the Team-
sters or United Auto Workers [UAW])
may
generate
interest
by
making
speeches and distributing literature out-
side the workplace. Inside, employees
who want a union try to convince
other workers of the benefits of a
union.
The second step is to collect employ-
ees’
signatures
on
authorization
cards. These cards state that the signer
wishes to vote to determine whether the
union will represent him or her. To
show the NLRB that interest is sufficient
to justify holding an election, 30 percent
of the employees in the potential
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A strike by a unionized workforce can be a debilitating event for any
organization. Chris Langness is a machinist at the Boeing plant in
Huntington Beach, California. He and 1,500 other members of the
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) went
on strike against Boeing when the two sides couldn’t reach agreement
over health insurance premiums and retirement benefits.
labor relations
The process of
dealing with
employees who are
represented by a
union
246
Part 3:
Organizing
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bargaining unit must sign these cards. Before an election can be held, however, the
bargaining unit must be defined. The bargaining unit consists of all employees who will
be eligible to vote in the election and to join and be represented by the union if one is
formed.
The election is supervised by an NLRB representative (or, if both parties agree,
the American Arbitration Association—a professional association of arbitrators) and
is conducted by secret ballot. If a simple majority of those voting (not of all those
eligible to vote) votes for the union, then the union becomes certified as the official
representative of the bargaining unit.
42
The new union then organizes itself by offi-
cially signing up members and electing officers; it will soon be ready to negotiate the
first contract. The union-organizing process is diagrammed in Figure 8.4. If workers
become disgruntled with their union or if management presents strong evidence that
the union is not representing workers appropriately, the NLRB can arrange a decer-
tification election. The results of such an election determine whether the union
remains certified.
If less than 30 percent
of bargaining
unit members sign
cards, the process ends
If union is rejected
by majority vote,
the process ends
Collect signed authorization cards
Generate interest in union among employees
Petition NLRB to hold election
Secret ballot election is held
Union signs up members and elects officers
Collective bargaining over first labor contract
Labor contract signed
Grievance procedure used to resolve disputes
during the life of the contract
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