HOW TO KICK THE UNION OUT METHOD TWO: HAVING YOUR EMPLOYER WITHDRAW RECOGNITION OF THE UNION
ATTENTION: THIS SECTION IS FOR EMPLOYEES ONLY. EMPLOYERS MAY NOT ASSIST EMPLOYEES IN THEIR EFFORTS TO KICK A UNION OUT OF THE WORKPLACE.
While many union-represented workers are dissatisfied with their union and would love to be union-free, few have the stomach to withstand decertifying the union through an NLRB-conducted election.
There is, however, another process in which you can kick the union out of your workplace without having to face the complicated nature of a NLRB-conducted election, constant union harrassment, as well as the union likely 'blocking' your right to vote through frivolous unfair labor practice charges—the process is known as a Withdrawal of Employer Recognition.
STEP ONE: DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT TO HAVE YOUR EMPLOYER WITHDRAW RECOGNITION In order to start the process of kicking the union out of your workplace, you must have enough employees interested in doing so. In other words, do a large majority of employees want to kick the union out or just a few? In order to be successful in kicking the union out of your worklife, you need to have a majority of your co-workers committed to ridding themselves of the union. STEP TWO: IS THE TIMING RIGHT? If you have been newly unionized, you may not decertify the union for at least one year following certification. However, if you have been unionized for some time, you can kick the union out at the expiration of your current contract. A notice of your (a majority of employees) intent to have your employer withdrawal of recogntion cannot occur until 90 days prior to the expiration of the current contract (or at the end of the third year if it is a longer agreement). For health care workers, a notice of intent can be served on your employer 120 days prrior to the expiration of your current contract (or at the end of the third year if it is a longer agreement). In both cases, however, the contract will be valid until its expiration date if it is a three-year agreement.
STEP THREE: THE EMPLOYER MUST BE SERVED WITH "OBJECTIVE EVIDENCE" The National Labor Relations Board considers a union to automatically have a majority of employees' support unless there is objective evidence to the contrary. This means that it is illegal for an employer to unilaterally withdraw recognition from a union. Therefore, if you and a majority of your co-workers wish to kick the union out of your workplace, you must present your employer with objective evidence that you (and the majority) with to have your employer withdraw recognition. Typically, this form of objective evidence comes from a majority of employees signing a petition instructing an employer withdrawal of recognition.
STEP FOUR: GATHERING SIGNATURES As stated above, you can instruct your employer to withdraw recognition through a majority of employees signing a petition demanding a withdrawal of recognition.
A sample decertification signature form is available below:
STEP FIVE: INSTRUCTING YOUR EMPLOYER TO WITHDRAW RECOGNITION Once you have gathered a majority of your co-workers signatures, you should make two copies, sending one to your employer via certified mail, another to the National Labor Relations Board, while keeping the original in your own possession.
STEP SIX: THE EMPLOYER'S WITHDRAWAL OF RECOGNITION As long as the employer has obtained "objective evidence" of a majority of the employees' desire to have the union removed as your collective bargaining agent, the employer must abide by the your wishes. As stated above, however, you may have to await the expiration of your current contract before you and your co-workers can deal with your employer directly.
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