Number of employer union election requests sees huge increase

The number of employer requests for union elections has exploded since the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adopted a new framework for representation last summer. In the six months following the NLRB’s release of its decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC, in August 2023, employers have submitted 254 union election petitions. In the six months before the decision was issued, employers only filed nine petitions. That’s an astounding 2,700% increase and, without a doubt, a direct result of the Cemex decision.

What does this mean for employers?

In Cemex, the NLRB found that the employer engaged in more than 20 instances of objectionable or unlawful misconduct during the “critical period” between the signing of union authorization cards by employees or the filing of an election petition by the union, and the union election itself.

For example, the NLRB found that the employer threatened employees with closures of certain company locations, job loss, and other reprisals if they voted in the union. What makes the decision so significant is that the NLRB took the opportunity to transform the union election process.