Come Join Your Fellow Brethren

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Election process:

Key Steps in the Union Election Process under the Railway Labor Act covering those directly employed by air carriers.

1. Signing Authorization Cards / Showing of Interest
   • To move forward, a certain percentage of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit must indicate support. Under the Railway Labor Act,  at least 50% +1 of all eligible workers must sign union authorization cards as a “showing of interest” before an election petition is accepted.  At TWU we strive for at least 65% of eligible workers to create an overwhelming show of interest.
   • The cards or petitions are confidential — never shown to the employer.
   • Signing a union authorization card does not constitute a vote for the union.  The card only asks the relevant government authority, in this case, the National Mediation Board (NMB) that you are seeking a union election.
2. Filing a Petition with the NMB
   • Once the targeted % of cards are gathered, the union will hand-deliver them directly to the NMB office in Washington, DC.
   • Along with the cards, the union’s legal team submits other required documents (e.g., blank forms for statements of position, descriptions of procedures) and a “showing of interest declaration.”
   • The NMB will review the declaration and all submitted documents by opening an “investigation.”
3. Employer Notice & NMB Processing
   • Once the union authorization cards are accepted, the employer will be notified of the “investigation” and will be required to send over the list of eligible employees along with copies of each worker’s signature for verification.
   • Once the NMB verifies that there at least 50% +1 valid cards in their possession, the NMB will conclude the “investigation” and open a “dispute” whereby an election will be called.
   • The NMB will direct the employer to provide them with all the workers’ home address information in preparation for a USPS mail-in secret ballot election.
   • Any workers hired before the filing of the cards will be allowed to vote provided they are still employed up and until the closing of the vote regardless of whether they signed an authorization card or not.
   • The company will also be obligated to provide the union with the names of those who will be eligible to vote.  The union will monitor and confirm the list throughout the election.
4. Conducting the Election
   • The election is conducted by secret ballot via regular mail.  All ballots will be mailed to the address the employer has on file.  (If your address is not up to date, the NMB will NOT mail your ballot to any other address!)
   • An election voting period notification, sample ballot and other NMB documents must be posted in your workplace.
   • The NMB will usually allow up to a 45-day voting period for workers to return their postage paid, secret ballot.  Workers will be asked to sign an outer envelope for eligibility confirmation.  This outer, signed envelope will be thrown out by the NMB so that only the sealed ballot envelope will be used for the count.
   • The manual counting of the ballots will be conducted at the Washington, DC NMB office where both the union and the company observers will watch the opening of the ballots.
   • The manual counting of the ballots will start immediately after the closing of the election which is usually 2:00pm Est of the last day of voting.
   • A simple majority of ballots cast will determine the outcome of the election.  A tie will result in a union loss as a majority showing of interest was not reached.
   • Should the union not prevail, workers will be barred for one (1) year before being legally allowed to file for another election that will require new signed authorization cards.
5. Certification / Recognition and Obligation to Bargain
   • If the union wins, the NMB certifies it as the exclusive bargaining representative of the workers who sought representation within 24 hours.
   • The employer is legally obliged to bargain in good faith with the certified union.

Ever wonder what the union-busting playbook looks like from one of the nation’s most notorious union-busting law firms? These are some of the things you could likely see and hear once the company finds out you’re organizing. It’s a scheme to scare you from forming a union. Although the playbook here describes an NLRB organizing scenario, this playbook can also be used in an NMB organizing drive like yours.  Click here.

Want to hear more about union busting? Check out the video produced by APA. Click here.