How Decertification Works
There is no such thing as “trying out” a union.
Once a union is voted in, the process to remove it is not easy. This process is called decertification, and this is what it looks like:
STEP
1
WAIT
If team members unionize and negotiations take a long time, they would have to wait AT LEAST ONE YEAR before being legally permitted to file a petition to try to decertify the union. And, if the union alleges the employer committed any unfair labor practices, that can block any decertification process indefinitely.
STEP
2
CONTINUE WAITING
If a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) is reached, the team members would then have to wait up to an additional THREE YEARS (because most CBAs are for that period) before attempting to decertify the union—even if the team members don’t like the agreed upon contract. CBAs block decertification under what is called “contract bar” rules.
STEP
3
GATHER SIGNATURES
After all of this waiting, team members in the bargaining unit—on their own time—would then need to gather signatures from 30 percent of the team members represented by the union, indicating they want to decertify the union. This is basically the same process that was used to file a petition for an election in the first place.
STEP
4
CAMPAIGN & WIN
For a decertification vote to be successful, a simple majority of the votes cast (50 percent +1) must be in favor of removing the union, or the union will remain in place.
An employer is not allowed to assist team members in any way. That means team members would have to handle this lengthy process on their own and may need to hire a lawyer to help, which could be expensive.
The union won’t remove itself from its source of income (dues) on its own and statistically, most decertification efforts fail.
