In the first quarter of 2022, unions filed over 550 election petitions in the United States, compared with only 290 in the first quarter of 2021. It is the largest first-quarter number filed in the past seven years. While part of the increase can be attributed to the SEIU (Service Employee International Union), which has filed dozens of petitions at Starbucks facilities throughout the United States, many believe that pandemic-induced labor market issues and the rise of worker autonomy have created an opportunity for organized labor.
As these union successes become more publicized, your employees may be more willing to listen to the union sales pitch, and online and social media activities make listening easier and more secretive. While some consider employers that educate their employees on the risks of union representation to be pariahs and law breakers, the bottom line is that an employer has an obligation during any union organizing drive to give employees all the facts and risks associated with union representation. More importantly, employers should engage in regular employee relations maintenance to help prevent union organizing from occurring at all.
Remember, a union only needs to sign up 30% of the employees in the bargaining unit it seeks to represent in order to force an election. Unions have had success carving out smaller units within larger facilities, arguing that these smaller groups have a unique community of interest, separate and apart from other...
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