In the first quarter of 2022, unions filed over 550 election petitions in the United States, compared with only 290 in the first quarter of 2021. It is the largest first-quarter number filed in the past seven years. While part of the increase can be attributed to the SEIU (Service Employee International Union), which has filed dozens of petitions at Starbucks facilities throughout the United States, many believe that pandemic-induced labor market issues and the rise of worker autonomy have created an opportunity for organized labor.

As these union successes become more publicized, your employees may be more willing to listen to the union sales pitch, and online and social media activities make listening easier and more secretive. While some consider employers that educate their employees on the risks of union representation to be pariahs and law breakers, the bottom line is that an employer has an obligation during any union organizing drive to give employees all the facts and risks associated with union representation. More importantly, employers should engage in regular employee relations maintenance to help prevent union organizing from occurring at all.

Remember, a union only needs to sign up 30% of the employees in the bargaining unit it seeks to represent in order to force an election. Unions have had success carving out smaller units within larger facilities, arguing that these smaller groups have a unique community of interest, separate and apart from other employees in the facility. The saying that you are only as strong as your weakest link definitely applies here.

If the Biden Administration’s PRO (Protecting the Right to Organize) Act ever passes, employers will be further hampered in their ability to get employees enough information during an election campaign. The PRO Act would, among other things: 1) ban group meetings during a campaign; 2) allow union access to company property; 3) shorten the timeline for elections; and 4) limit the use of outside counsel or consultants.

Employers should have no-solicitation and bulletin board policies in place, as well as a union-free statement included in a new hire packet or handbook. Moreover, of course, an employer’s main defense against union organizing is its frontline supervisors. Supervisors must understand: 1) the importance of continuous and positive employee relations; 2) the danger signs with regard to potential union organizing; and 3) what can and cannot be said year-round with regard to union representation. Supervisor education is one of the keys to a solid defense system. It is important to have your ducks in a row with regard to policies, supervisor training, and employee communications. A contented workforce is usually not interested in what a union has to sell.