Decertification

HRinLA · August 2007

Can someone tell me how decertification is done? An employee asked me if there was a way for the Union to get kicked out. I told him that as an employer I shouldn't even engage in the conversation, but that it is not up to the employer to decertify a Union. I advised the employee to research his own options if he wanted.

However, I'm genuinely curious. Can a person just go to a meeting and request that a vote happen? What percentage of people is required to actually disolve the CBA?

Bridget1 · August 2007

You are right, it is up to dissatisfied employees to petition the represented employees and either ask NLRB to hold a decertification election, or ask the employer to withdraw recognition, depending on the outcome of the peition. Employees who want to decertify the union have to first circulate a petition (see http://www.unionfacts.com/articles/memberDecertification.cfm for an example). If 30% or more (and less than 50%) of the represented employees sign the petition, they can ask the NLRB to hold a decertification election. If 50% of the represented employees sign the peition, and request that the employer withdraw recognition from the union, the employer may do so.

GoPatsNH · August 2007

Not sure if this is directly on point, but the National Labor Relations Board recently issued a decision on when an employer can withdraw union recognition. The case name is Shaw's Supermarkets. Check out this article: http://www.littler.com/presspublications/index.cfm?event=pubItem&pubItemID=17170&childViewID=255&type=all&section=Press%20&%20Publications&subject=ASAPs&title=Balancing%20Employee%20Free%20Choice:%20Withdrawal%20of%20Union%20Recognition%20During%20the%20Life%20of%20the%20Contract. Here's a link to the decision: http://www.nlrb.gov/shared_files/Board%20Decisions/350/v35055.pdf.

An employer can't unilaterally withdraw recognition because it has doubts about a union's majority. Instead, the employer has to petition for a Recognition Method (RM) election. At the same time, though, an employer can unilaterally withdraw recognition if it can prove that the union has really lost the support of the majoriyt of bargaining unit employees (Levitz Furniture, 333 NLRB 717 (2001)). Shaw's deals with when this second kind of decertification can happen.

Traditionally, collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) that exceeded three years barred an employer's right to petition for a RM election during the life of the contract. But, in Shaw's, the Board found that employers can unilaterally withdraw union recognition if evidence of an actual loss of majority status exists after three years has passed.

It's probably a good idea to talk with your lawyer, who can sort all of this out for you.

Decertification

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