Dive Brief:
- For nonunion employers—quickie union elections probably just got quicker, according to HR.BLR.com.
- That's because the NLRB General Counsel issued a guidance memorandum explaining that unions can now use electronic signatures to support a showing of interest related to a union election petition, reports HR.BLR.
- The e-signature issue is a part of the NLRB's so-called new “quickie” election procedures, which became effective April 14, 2015.
Dive Insight:
As with all petitions, the union must provide evidence that at least 30% of the bargaining unit supports its petition before the NLRB will schedule an election.
Before the NLRB memorandum, unions collected dated signatures either through authorization cards or signature lists, writes Jasmin Rojas, legal editor at BLR. But not any more, as unions can easily reach out to hundreds of employees with one click, and can use the employer's email system to do it.
In light of all of the changes in facilitating unionization, employers should make sure that they review their unionization campaign strategies, reports Rojas, adding that employers develop a strategy to respond to election petitions.
