{"id":1679,"date":"2019-11-12T06:00:08","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T06:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uniontrack.com\/blog\/?p=1679"},"modified":"2019-11-14T13:31:08","modified_gmt":"2019-11-14T13:31:08","slug":"unionizing-union-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/unionizing-union-drive","title":{"rendered":"Roadmap for Unionizing: How to Secure Majority Support With a Union Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ken Green
\nCEO\/Founder
\nUnionTrack, Inc.<\/a><\/p>\n

Unions give workers a voice. Their leaders, members and allies help support workers and secure victories through collective bargaining.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnions raise workers\u2019 wages and strengthen their rights at work, but they also give working people a voice in our democracy,\u201d says Lawrence Mishel<\/a>, distinguished fellow and former president of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).<\/p>\n

And more workers in traditionally nonunion workplaces are starting to organize. That\u2019s what\u2019s happening at many art and cultural institutions in the U.S., such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want a voice at the museum because working conditions have deteriorated,\u201d explains a worker to ARTnews Senior Editor Alex Greenberger<\/a>. \u201cWe want to be able to have our concerns taken seriously by management, and after raising them for several years and having them go unanswered, it feels like this is our only route. It\u2019s not one being taken out of malice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Creating that collective voice started as a conversation among 20 employees, notes Zachary Small<\/a>, senior writer at Hyperallergic. Eventually, they organized and joined the Local 30 of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE). As a result, about 90 museum workers are now collectively bargaining for better wages and working conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The unionization process isn\u2019t complicated, but it does take time, energy and dedication. The small group of workers at the Guggenheim spent two months building support for organizing, notes Small. That journey to workplace unionization will take you through five essential steps:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Building support for unionization.<\/li>\n
  2. Hosting a union drive confirming majority support for unionization.<\/li>\n
  3. Holding an election for unionization.<\/li>\n
  4. Obtaining certification from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), if needed.<\/li>\n
  5. Entering into contract negotiations with the employer.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In our previous article on the first steps to organizing your coworkers<\/a>, we discussed the essential tasks that will help you build support for unionizing your workplace. These include researching your rights as a worker, talking to coworkers about workplace issues, connecting with a union; establishing an organizing committee and building majority support.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    That majority support is crucial to the success of organization efforts. According to the National Labor Relations Board<\/a>\u2019s (NLRB) requirements, in order to hold an official election a union drive must garner the support of at least 30 percent of the workforce to move forward to an election, which then requires a majority of votes in support of the union. The union drive is the second step toward demonstrating that support to the NLRB.<\/p>\n

    \"Startup<\/p>\n

    The Union Drive Is Critical<\/h2>\n

    That path to unionization hinges on the union drive because without majority support from coworkers the process cannot move forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    The drive is conducted by the organizing committee with support from the union that workers are seeking to join. It requires employees to sign union authorization cards or a petition in support of unionizing. These signed cards are important because they demonstrate that there are enough workers to unionize, notes the workers at Boeing South Carolina<\/a> (BSC), who have faced strong employer opposition in their efforts to unionize.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Those cards are required to request state labor boards or the NLRB to hold an election. Though only 30 percent of employees need to sign, the goal of the drive should be to secure a majority support, says Kris LaGrange<\/a>, head of labor-focused communications firm UCOMM Media Group.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    The NLRB<\/a> will require a majority vote in favor of unionizing in the formal election. So, ideally, the union drive would secure majority support before moving forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Gathering Signatures on Authorization Cards<\/h2>\n

    When the organizing committee is sure it has enough support to reach 30 percent or greater, the next step is to distribute authorization cards or petitions to coworkers, asking them to sign in support of organizing. The purpose of the cards is two-fold:<\/p>\n