NLRB clears path for organizing smaller groups of employees

Since its enactment in 1935, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) has been interpreted and enforced by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). It isn’t any secret that the decisions interpreting the NLRA have swung back and forth as the composition of the NLRB has shifted.

You may be asking why the back and forth? Well, the NLRB is a five-member Board, and the president in office at the time gets to appoint members as the terms of others expire. When the NLRB votes, the majority rules. In other words, only three of the five members must agree to issue a binding decision.

As a result, when there’s a change in political party in the White House, the make-up and agenda at the NLRB change as well. In a recent decision, the pendulum has swung again—this time in favor of unions.

What is a bargaining unit?

When a union attempts to organize a group of employees at a business, it files a representation petition with the NLRB. In that petition, the union identifies the proposed bargaining unit, which is the group of employees the union seeks to represent and who will be eligible to vote on whether the union gets to do so.

The employer and union don’t always agree on the proposed bargaining unit, and sometimes the employer seeks to add additional employees to the union’s proposed bargaining unit. Who should be included in the bargaining unit has been an issue of contention at the NLRB for quite some time.

Previous board precedent