Employees become interested in unions for many reasons, and money isn’t the most important one, says attorney Mark Ricciardi.
Ricciardi is a partner in the Las Vegas office of law firm Fisher & Phillips, LLP. His remarks came at BLR®‘s recent National Employment Law Update in Las Vegas. Ricciardi offers the following as the most common reasons employees are attracted to unions:
- Failure to solve employee problems
- Poor communications (up and down)
- Inattention to safety concerns
- Perceptions of unfair treatment
- Broken promises
- Lack of courtesy, respect and recognition
- Feelings of job in-security
- Not keeping pay & benefits competitive
In addition, Ricciardi says, there are several particular issues that may cause employees to consider unions:
- Rapid changes
- Staffing shortages
- Workload/work pace
- Overtime/scheduling
- Multiplicity of projects
- Loss of jobs
When Do Unions Win?
According to a union-sponsored study, says Ricciardi, their success rate in elections depends on what the number one issue in the campaign is. The study noted the following win rates:
| Win Rate | Issue | |
| 69% | Safety & health | |
| 68% | Problem solving | |
| 32% | Wages & benefits |
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Maintaining Your Union-Free Status
Clearly, the issue isn’t always about money. In fact, says Ricciardi, the simplest measure in retaining our union-free status is consistently practicing good, solid, fair employee relations.
The Significance of Authorization Cards
There is confusion surrounding the use of authorization cards in union organizing, Ricciardi notes, on the part of employers and employees. Authorization cards, he says:
- Are generally required for unions to take over employee rights
- Are the focus of the organizing drive
- Indicate that employees want the union to represent them in all matters related to wages, hours and working conditions
- Act like a “blank check” or a “power of attorney”
- Are good for one year from the date signed
- Once signed, are not easily revoked
- Under current law, can be used to file a petition for an election with the Labor Board
Generally, if the union gets 30% of the potential bargaining unit to sign cards, it can call for an election, and if it gets 50% +1 cards signed, the union will generally be recognized. Unions prefer to have 65-70% to start process, Ricciardi says.
Ricciardi’s offers the following pointers concerning authorization cards:
- A union can and will tell employees almost anything to get them to sign a card.
- Even now, cards can be used to certify a union without an election.
- Card signing may occur without the employer knowing anything about it.
- In fact, unions frequently tell employees to keep the card-signing activity secret.
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Here is what organizers often tell employees to encourage them to sign authorization cards:
- “It’s so you can get more information.”
- “The card is confidential.”
- “Authorization cards do not commit you!”
- “It’s not binding.”
- “Everyone else signed one!”
- “It doesn’t mean anything because you can always revoke it!”
Organizers will often make promises such as:
- Higher wages
- Better healthcare
- More time off work
- Child care
- Company can’t make changes without your input or OK
They will even promise a “better economy,” Ricciardi says.
In tomorrow’s Advisor, signs of union organizing, what to do about it, and an introduction to a unique training system that will keep your managers and supervisors on the right track.
My understanding is that unions can make any promises, however employers are held to a different standard we can only tell the truth when asked by our employees considering a union.
As a former Union organizer I can tell you any incidents of union supporters possibly exaggerating the benefits of unionization is drawfed by the threats of doom and gloom given by highly paid management consultants (aka union busters). The union supporters I’ve had the privilege to work with always made clear that unionization did not necessarily mean you would get higher wages, benefits, or anything else. It was a means to have more of a voice in the employment relationship and hold management to it’s promises – because there is power in numbers. I guess I don’t understand the aversion to treating employees more like equal partners in a company.