Case Study #3: IS IT A UNION OR NOT? Acme Electronics is located in Minnesota. The local SEIU union wanted to organize the secretaries at the company. There are 100 secretaries at the company. The company wanted to fight the union election, but realized that this would be difficult. For the election the company insisted that the election take place on December 31, 2011 at the company headquarters. The union felt that this was not fair as this was a holiday in the middle of winter. Also, they argued that requiring all secretaries to go to the corporate headquarters would be burdensome on many who never actually work at the location. Many of the secretaries work at branch offices closer to their homes. They argued that the drive would be dangerous and limit the number of people who could vote. The local NLRB said that the votes could take place at different but that the December 31 date was acceptable. There was a very bad winter storm on the day of voting. Out of 100 secretaries included in this proposed bargaining unit only five could make it to the voting booth. Three of the secretaries voted in favor of the union. Two of the secretaries voted against the union. The union declared victory. The company demanded more time so that more employees could vote. They brought to the NLRB 10 letters from secretaries who said that they would vote against the union but couldnt vote because of the weather. The company declared that the vote was not valid because only 3 out of 100 secretaries wanted the union, not a majority of the proposed bargaining unit. The union argued that the NLRB rules specifically state that all they need is a majority of those who ACTUALLY VOTE, not a majority of those in the bargaining unit. The companys own lawyer recommended that they file an RM petition. This petition challenges the majority status of a bargaining unit. That is, it is possible that over time a group of employees represented by a union do not want the union. Thus, if you were to revote the union would lose. The RM petition is one way to challenge the validity of a union The union stated that the original vote was valid and that the company was acting like children. They countered by saying that the companys insistence on voting on December 31 was a dumb idea and that they must now live with their decision.

Questions to be answered: You are the NLRB. If you certify the union you officially put a stamp of approval on the union vote and you have a formal union of secretaries. Do you certify the election? Explain your reasoning You now have an RM petition before you challenging the validity of this union If you approve the petition you say that the union is not really supported by the majority of the employees and that you will require a new vote. If you deny the RM petition you hold that the union is the valid representative of the secretaries. Do you approve or deny the RM petition? Explain your reasoning Why do you feel that the NLRB now requires a vote be majority of those who actually vote versus majority of the total bargaining unit? What tactic could a company use if the vote rules were that the union needed a majority of the entire bargaining unit?