SpaceX’s constitutional challenges to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) got a boost from a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. Earlier this year, SpaceX—a spacecraft manufacturer, defense contractor, and satellite communications company—earlier this year challenged the NLRB’s structure as unconstitutional because its administrative law judges (ALJs) and members can only be fired for cause.

While some management lawyers are predicting victory on the merits of the case for SpaceX, they also say it will be a long fight, so employers should continue to focus on proactively resolving problems in the workplace that might otherwise result in unionization.

Union election petitions have doubled since fiscal year (FY) 2021—up from 1,638 petitions in FY 2021 to 3,286 union election petitions from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024. This “signals that the historic, renewed enthusiasm we’ve seen around unions that started in 2021 is still in full swing,” said David Pryzbylski, an attorney with Barnes & Thornburg in Indianapolis.

However, despite the rise in union petitions, the overall percentage of private-sector workers belonging to unions has remained at or around 6%—a historic low—for the last 10 years, Pryzbylski added.

“This may be attributable to the fact [that] many union factories/sites have been shuttered in recent years as well as other factors. So, it’s not yet clear if the new petitions will more than offset labor’s other losses.”

Meanwhile, the constitutional...

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