What would you do if you were presented with union cards signed by a majority of your employees? If you've been taught well, you'd know to not look at the cards and to demand that an election be held. But if National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo has her way, employers will lose this right. In fact, employers will be forced to recognize the union and begin bargaining without ever letting their employees vote for or against the union.

Abruzzo is seeking to convince the NLRB to resurrect a board standard that was rejected more than 50 years ago: the Joy Silk doctrine. The Joy Silk doctrine would drastically alter 21st century unionization efforts, enabling unions to bypass union elections in nearly all cases.

What Is the Joy Silk Doctrine?

The Joy Silk doctrine is an antiquated NLRB rule that forces employers to bargain with the union once they receive union cards signed by a majority of their employees. The only exception is if the employer can demonstrate good-faith doubt as to majority status of the union. Currently, employees have a right to determine union representation by a secret-ballot election, which is waived only if employers commit gross unfair labor practices serious enough to make a fair election impossible. Reviving the Joy Silk doctrine would be a monumental shift that would decimate employers' rights.

If Joy Silk is reinstated, employers cannot insist on elections unless they have good-faith doubt about the majority status...

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