http://www.labornotes.org/2010/10/hospital-unions-make-inroads-through-neutrality-deals
Unions Participate in More NLRB Elections, But Win Smaller Share in First Half of 2010 Daily Labor Report By Michelle Amber Oct. 29, 2010
Unions participated in 221 more resolved representation elections conducted by the National Labor Relations Board during the first half of 2010 than the same period in 2009, but the percentage of elections won by unions decreased somewhat, according to NLRB data analyzed by BNA PLUS, BNA's research division.
Unions won 69.2 percent of the 812 private sector elections held in the first six months of 2010, compared to 72.8 percent of 591 elections held in the same time period last year. The BNA PLUS survey only tracks elections conducted by NLRB, not organizing outside of NLRB processes.
The number of workers eligible to vote in board-supervised representation elections increased from 32,019 in the first six months of 2009 to 50,801 during the first half of 2010. The number of workers organized by unions through NLRB elections also increased from 23,561 in the first half of 2009 to 32,725 in the same period of 2010. The number of decertification elections held during the first half of 2010 totaled 103, down from 121 in the same period of 2009. Unions won 36 decertification elections (35 percent), retaining bargaining rights for 2,618 workers in the first half of 2010. In the same period of 2009, unions won 48 decertification elections (39.7 percent), retaining bargaining rights for 4,914 workers.
More Workers Organized by CTW Than AFL-CIO Although unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO participated in and won a greater percentage of elections than unions in the Change to Win federation, the CTW affiliates organized more workers.
Unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO won 71.2 percent of 372 elections in which they participated in the first half of 2010, while CTW-affiliated unions won 60.5 percent of the 352 elections in which they participated. In the first six months of 2009, AFL-CIO affiliates won 70.2 percent of the 258 elections in which they participated, while CTW affiliates won 66.3 percent of 264 elections.
AFL-CIO unions organized 11,875 workers in the first half of 2010, up from 7,998 they organized in the same period of 2009. CTW affiliates gained bargaining rights for 13,415 workers in the first six months of 2010, up from the 10,559 organized in the first six months of 2009.
Teamsters Most Active Union Of the 10 most active unions, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters led all unions, participating in 217 representation elections through June 2010. IBT won 59.9 percent of the elections (130 election wins) in the first half of 2010, down from 68.3 percent of 167 elections (114 election wins) in the same period of 2009. The Teamsters organized fewer workers (5,594) in the first half of 2010 than in the same time period of 2009, when it organized 6,605 workers.
The Service Employees International Union organized the most workers of any union-5,833-winning 68.1 percent of 69 elections in which it participated. The number of workers organized and the number of elections the union participated in were higher than the first half of 2009 when SEIUwon 33 of 44 elections (75 percent), organizing 3,312 workers.
The International Association of Machinists organized the third highest number of workers-1,018 in 38 elections it won (out of 49 held). The Laborers International Union had the highest win rate among major unions, winning 80 percent of the 15 elections in which it participated.
The NLRB statistics do not reflect the full extent of private sector union organizing, however. Many unions organize outside the NLRB process through neutrality and card-check authorization agreements.
Most Elections Held in Service Sector In the first half of 2010, the services sector, including health care, led all other industries in the number of NLRB elections held (336), with unions winning 72 percent of those elections.
Unions won 50 percent or more of the NLRB elections in which they participated in every industry except wholesale, where unions only won 37.5 percent of eight elections. The industry that had the highest win rate was mining, where unions won 86.7 percent of the 15 elections in which they participated.
Other industries where unions won 50 percent or more of the NLRB elections in which they participated included construction (80 percent of 65 elections); finance, insurance, and real estate (75 percent of eight elections); health care services only (71.2 percent of 132 elections); retail (69.2 percent of 39 elections); transportation, communications, and utilities (64.7 percent of 218 elections); manufacturing (57.6 percent of 92 elections); and communications only (53.3 percent of 15 elections).
Percentage of Union Wins in Manufacturing Rises This is only the third time since 1990, when BNA PLUS began analyzing NLRB data for elections held in the first six months of a year, that unions have won more than 50 percent of the elections in which they participated in the manufacturing sector. In the first half of 2009, unions won 50.7 percent of 71 elections in that industry, and in 2006 they won 50.8 percent of 128 elections held in the first six months.
By unit size, approximately two-thirds of the elections occurred in very small units. In units of fewer than 50 workers, unions won 73 percent of 551 elections; in units of 50-99 employees, the win rate was 64.4 percent of 132 elections; in units of 100-499 employees, the win rate was 57.5 percent of 120 elections; and in units of 500 employees or more unions won 66.7 percent of nine elections.
Unions continued to do well in elections involving white collar workers, winning 70.9 percent of 55 elections held in the first six months of 2010. In the same period of 2009, unions won 70 percent of 40 elections in which they participated.
By state, unions won 100 percent of the elections in which they participated in nine states and the District of Columbia: D.C. and Georgia (5 elections); Maine (4 elections); Vermont (3 elections); North Dakota (2 elections); Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Utah (1 election).
The two states where the most elections were held were new York (107) and California (102). The only state where no elections were held in the first six months of 2010 was Idaho.
BNA PLUS statistics are based on resolved NLRB elections, where a union either has been certified to represent the employees or the results of the vote were certified as final. The number of resolved elections can change over time for various reasons, including the resolution of challenges and objections, cancellations, and rerun elections. All historical statistics in this report have been revised from previous reports.