The recently released BNA midyear NLRB Election Statistics show that recent National Labor Relations Board developments such as enabling unions to organize “micro” bargaining units have resulted in increased union organizing efforts and higher union win rates. These trends are expected to continue as more recent developments such as the “quickie elections” rule and the NLRB’s decision regarding joint employers take effect. Here are some of the more interesting statistics reported in the BNA report:
- There were 133 more NLRB elections in the first six months of 2015 compared to the same time period in 2014.
- Unions won 69.6% of representation elections in the first half of 2015, up from 69.0% in 2014.
- The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) won 80.8% of its representation elections.
- The Teamsters led all unions with 183 representation elections and a win rate of 56.8%.
- The smaller the voting groups the more victories for the union – unions won 72.7% of 582 elections held in voting units with fewer than 50 employees.
These statistics emphatically demonstrate that now is the time for all union-free employers to revisit their union prevention strategies before the full effect of the quickie elections rule takes hold in the coming months. Employers that wait until after they receive a notice of petition from the NLRB may find themselves doing too little, too late to stave off unionization efforts.