Compensation and Working Conditions Online

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Union Representation Elections, 1997-2009

by Drew M. Simmons
Bureau of Labor Statistics

Originally Posted: June 30, 2010

One of the principal functions of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is to determine, through secret-ballot elections, whether employees wish to be represented by a union in dealing with their employers, and if so, by which union. This article summarizes Union Representation Elections (UREs) involving the NLRB over the 13-year period from 1997 to 2009.

Table 1 shows that the total number of elections declined 60 percent over the 1997-2009 period, from 3,261 to 1,304. The number of elections won in favor of union representation during that time declined 48 percent, from 1,656 to 864. This is a slower rate than the decline in the total number of elections, resulting in an overall increase in the percent of elections won in favor of union representation, from 51 percent in 1997 to 66 percent in 2009.

Table 1. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Union Representation Elections, 1997-2009
Year Total number of elections for union representation Number of elections won in favor of union representation Percent of elections won in favor of union representation Total number of employees eligible to vote for union representation Number of employees involved in elections won by unions

1997

 3,261 1,656 50.8 224,262 90,333

1998

 3,296 1,711 51.9 227,116 97,661

1999

 3,012 1,576 52.3 234,182 108,420

2000

 2,896 1,513 52.2 210,757 87,907

2001

 2,571 1,395 54.3 203,616 77,884

2002

 2,675 1,506 56.3 175,885 79,065

2003

 2,352 1,340 57.0 155,070 75,661

2004

 2,293 1,312 57.2 159,461 77,450

2005

 2,099 1,248 59.5 141,467 68,638

2006

 1,650 988 59.9 113,480 60,137

2007

 1,510 890 58.9 95,916 52,365

2008

 1,588 1,028 64.7 110,903 71,791

2009

 1,304 864 66.3 69,832 44,033

Total, 1997 to 2009

 30,507 17,027 N/A 2,121,947 991,345

Total change from 1997 to 2009

 -1957 -792 N/A -154,430 -46,300

Percent change from 1997 to 2009

 60.0 47.8 N/A 68.9 51.3

Note: These data represent closed cases resulting from petitions filed by a union or employees seeking an election to determine a collective bargaining representative, or petitions from employers seeking an election to determine a collective bargaining representative. Data are presented by calendar year. The number of elections and the number of employees is without regard to AFL-CIO affiliation.

Source: National Labor Relations Board.

Table 1 also shows that the number of employees eligible to vote in elections decreased 69 percent, from 224,262 in 1997 to 69,832 in 2009. While the number of employees eligible to vote in elections won by unions has fluctuated from year to year, overall it declined by 51 percent. Despite the decrease, the data show that, if an employee was involved in a union representation election, the employee was more likely to gain union representation in 2009 than in 1997. In addition, there is a greater tendency for employees to choose union representation when two or more unions are seeking certification than when only one union is seeking certification.

The NLRB holds a certification election for one of two reasons: (1) to conduct a single union vote to certify or grant the right to represent a group of employees; or (2) to conduct a multiple union election either to certify or to grant the right to represent a group of employees to one union or to change which union is representing the employees. In multiple union elections, one union may be attempting to decertify another union and become the union of choice. The data presented in this article exclude decertification elections, which are elections that remove all union representation from the employees.

Table 2 shows that, in 1997, barely 50 percent of elections to certify one union were won in favor of union representation; this percentage increased to over 64 percent in 2009. The average over the period was approximately 54 percent.

Table 2. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Union Representation Elections, elections with choice of one union, 1997-2009
Year Total number of elections to certify one union Number of elections to certify one union that won in favor of union representation Percent of elections to certify one union that won in favor of union representation

1997

 3,165 1,580 49.9

1998

 3,195 1,626 50.9

1999

 2,901 1,473 50.8

2000

 2,784 1,421 51

2001

 2,455 1,309 53.3

2002

 2,528 1,367 54.1

2003

 2,261 1,263 55.9

2004

 2,161 1,203 55.7

2005

 1,963 1,127 57.4

2006

 1,533 893 58.3

2007

 1,397 793 56.8

2008

 1,482 936 63.2

2009

 1,199 769 64.1

Total, 1997 to 2009

 29,024 15,760 54.3

Note: These data do not include decertification elections, which are elections that remove all union representation from the employees.

Source: National Labor Relations Board.

Table 3 shows that, in 1997, when given a choice of two or more unions, less than 80 percent of elections resulted in favor of union representation. This percentage increased to a little more than 90 percent in 2009. The average over the period was about 85 percent--significantly more than the approximately 54 percent averaged over the period for elections won in favor of union representation with only a single union seeking certification.

Table 3. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Union Representation Elections, elections with choice of two or more unions, 1997-2009
Year Total number of elections with choice of two or more unions Number of elections won in favor of union representation with choice of two or more unions Percent of elections won in favor of union representation with choice of two or more unions

1997

 96 76 79.2

1998

 101 85 84.2

1999

 111 103 92.8

2000

 112 92 82.1

2001

 116 86 74.1

2002

 147 139 94.6

2003

 91 77 84.6

2004

 132 109 82.6

2005

 136 121 89

2006

 117 95 81.2

2007

 113 97 85.8

2008

 106 92 86.8

2009

 105 95 90.5

Total, 1997 to 2009

 1,483 1,267 85.4

Note: These data do not include decertification elections, which are elections that remove all union representation from the employees.

Source: National Labor Relations Board.

In about 5 percent of all union representation elections held from 1997 to 2009 (regardless of outcome), employees had the choice of two or more unions. In about 7 percent of all elections that were won in favor of union representation over the 1997-2009 period, employees had a choice of two or more unions for their representation.

 

Drew M. Simmons
Economist, Division of Compensation Data Estimation, Office of Compensation and Working Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Telephone: (202) 691-6127; E-mail: Simmons.Drew@bls.gov.