US union organizing, and unions' election win rate, is surging, NLRB says
By Daniel Wiessner
July 17 (Reuters) -Unions are filing petitions to hold elections and winning them at rates not seen in decades, according to data released by the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday, likely a reflection of the agency's adoption of policies favored by unions during the Biden administration.
The board in a release said it has already received more than 2,600 union election petitions during the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, surpassing the total for the full previous fiscal year. NLRB regional offices have seen a 32% increase in the number of petitions filed compared with this time last year, the agency said.
In most cases, unions are required to seek and then win elections overseen by the NLRB in order to represent groups of workers known as bargaining units.
And unions are winning more elections - 79% this year in cases where they petitioned for an election, up from 76% last year, according to the NLRB. Until a few years ago, unions had routinely won about two-thirds, and as few as 60%, of elections held each year.
The board, which normally releases annual data later in the year, did not provide an explanation for the increases.
Despite the recent surge in union elections, the percentage of U.S. workers represented by unions has remained roughly steady at the lowest levels in the country's modern history. Only about 11% of American workers overall and 6% of private-sector employees have union jobs, compared with more than 30% of all workers in the 1940s and 1950s.
Many experts have said the nationwide surge in union organizing likely stems from the COVID-19 pandemic making people more concerned about their working conditions, and represents a backlash against efforts to rein in unions during the administration of Republican former President Donald Trump.
During the Biden administration, the board has resurrected Obama-era policies designed to speed up the election process, which is generally seen as favoring unions, while also creating a new path for unions to organize workers and expanding the type of worker conduct protected by federal labor law.
The board's general counsel and five members are appointed by the president, but the agency operates independently from the executive branch. The board is generally comprised of three members from the president's party and two from the opposing party, and their five-year terms are staggered.
Catherine Fisk, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, said public support for unions is at its highest levels since the 1960s. Coupled with recent actions by the NLRB that boost union organizing, those positive attitudes about unions embolden workers to form them, whether on their own as thousands of Starbucks workers have since 2021 or by teaming up with established unions like Volkswagen employees in Tennessee who recently voted to join the United Auto Workers, she said.
“It’s a phenomenon that feeds on itself,” Fisk said.
Glenn Spencer, senior vice president of employment policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the country's largest business lobby, said the new numbers are not surprising given the NLRB's various efforts in recent years to promote unionizing rather than act as a neutral arbiter of labor disputes.
"In fact, the entire (Biden) administration has pushed unionization at all costs regardless of its negative impact on our economy and workers' rights," Spencer said in an email.
One of the board's most recent changes that has drawn the most ire from business groups was a 2023 ruling involving building materials company Cemex that allows the NLRB to order companies that commit labor law violations during organizing campaigns to bargain with unions, even when workers vote against unionizing.
The Cemex ruling also requires employers presented with proof of majority support for a union, such as signed authorization cards, to either recognize the union or seek an election. The board on Wednesday said that as a result of that change, it has seen a 20-fold increase this year in petitions filed by employers rather than unions.
Read more:
NLRB restores Obama-era rule speeding up union election process
Starbucks and US workers' union meet for contract negotiations
UAW wins big in historic union vote at Volkswagen Tennessee factory
NLRB paves way for workers to unionize without formal elections
NLRB issues first order requiring bargaining despite union election loss
Unions poised to capitalize on U.S. labor board rulings that bolstered organizing
Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York
Ähnliche Finanzinstrumente
Neueste News
Rechtlicher Hinweis: Die Unternehmen der XM Group bieten Dienstleistungen ausschließlich zur Ausführung an sowie Zugang zu unserer Online-Handelsplattform. Durch diese können Personen die verfügbaren Inhalte auf oder über die Internetseite betrachten und/oder nutzen. Eine Änderung oder Erweiterung dieser Regelung ist nicht vorgesehen und findet nicht statt. Der Zugang wird stets geregelt durch folgende Vorschriften: (i) Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen; (ii) Risikowarnungen und (iii) Vollständiger rechtlicher Hinweis. Die bereitgestellten Inhalte sind somit lediglich als allgemeine Informationen zu verstehen. Bitte beachten Sie, dass die Inhalte auf unserer Online-Handelsplattform keine Aufforderung und kein Angebot zum Abschluss von Transaktionen auf den Finanzmärkten darstellen. Der Handel auf Finanzmärkten birgt ein hohes Risiko für Ihr eingesetztes Kapital.
Sämtliche Materialien, die auf unserer Online-Handelsplattform veröffentlicht sind, dienen ausschließlich dem Zweck der Weiterbildung und Information. Die Materialien beinhalten keine Beratung und Empfehlung im Hinblick auf Finanzen, Anlagesteuer oder Handel und sollten nicht als eine dahingehende Beratung und Empfehlung aufgefasst werden. Zudem enthalten die Materialien keine Aufzeichnungen unserer Handelspreise sowie kein Angebot und keine Aufforderung für jegliche Transaktionen mit Finanzinstrumenten oder unverlangte Werbemaßnahmen für Sie zum Thema Finanzen. Die Materialien sollten auch nicht dahingehend aufgefasst werden.
Alle Inhalte von Dritten und die von XM bereitgestellten Inhalte sowie die auf dieser Internetseite zur Verfügung gestellten Meinungen, Nachrichten, Forschungsergebnisse, Analysen, Kurse, sonstigen Informationen oder Links zu Seiten von Dritten werden ohne Gewähr bereitgestellt. Sie sind als allgemeine Kommentare zum Marktgeschehen zu verstehen und stellen keine Anlageberatung dar. Soweit ein Inhalt als Anlageforschung aufgefasst wird, müssen Sie beachten und akzeptieren, dass der Inhalt nicht in Übereinstimmung mit gesetzlichen Bestimmungen zur Förderung der Unabhängigkeit der Anlageforschung erstellt wurde. Somit ist der Inhalt als Werbemitteilung unter Beachtung der geltenden Gesetze und Vorschriften anzusehen. Bitte stellen Sie sicher, dass Sie unseren Hinweis auf die nicht unabhängige Anlageforschung und die Risikowarnung im Hinblick auf die vorstehenden Informationen gelesen und zur Kenntnis genommen haben, die Sie hier finden.
