Figure 9.3
Under the terms of the National Labor Relations Act, employees have the right to strike as part of
their efforts to secure better working conditions. (Credit: Geralt/ pixabay/ License: CC0)
Organizing a Union
For a union to be formed and organized, the union must identify an appropriate bargaining unit. This term is
used to describe the group of workers that the union is looking to represent. Under the terms of the
inaccessibility exception, employees and union officials have the right to engage in union solicitation on the
firm’s property if they cannot otherwise access employees to communicate with them. The next stage is to run
an election. There are three types of elections:
•
Consent election. This election is held when there are not any substantial issues under dispute between
the union and the employer. Both parties agree to waive the pre-election hearing.
•
Contest election. This election is for a union that is contested by the employer. The NLRB is required to
supervise this kind of election.
•
A decertification election is held when employees indicate that they wish to vote out the union or join
another.
In order to try to bolster their power, elected unions often attempt to install a union security agreement. This
agreement pertains to the extent to which the union can demand that employees join the union, and whether
the employer will be required to collect fees and dues on behalf of the union. A closed shop is a workplace
where union membership is a requirement for employment. A union shop is a place of employment where the
employee is required to join the union within a specified number of days after being hired. An agency shop is
a workplace that does not require the employee to join the union, but where agency fees to the union must be
paid. Union security agreements are the outcome of collective bargaining agreements.
Collective Bargaining
Collective bargaining involves the union and the employer negotiating contract terms. The outcome is known
as a collective bargaining agreement. The types of terms that are usually negotiated are wages and salaries,
104
Chapter 9 Employment and Labor Law
This OpenStax book is available for free at http://cnx.org/content/col30149/1.5