If you run a business and receive a petition for elections by a union, run to a lawyer. New representation case procedures effective April 30 2012 may allow a union to enter the workplace within 18 days of the petition. It turns out that if 30% of the workers within a unit area wish to be represented by a union and bargain collectively, the National Labor Relations Board will hold an election for them and in the jobsite.
There is nothing new with the right to elections but now, the process is streamlined; shortening the time between the request and the election. A smaller time-frame gives employers little room to maneuver; which is precisely the idea behind the changes. Less time between the petition and the election, decreases the ability of the employer to deploy an effective anti-union campaign.
Robert Alex Fleming is a corporate and trial attorney with over 35 years of experience advising and representing clients in Puerto Rico. He leads Fleming Law Offices, LLC, where his practice is informed by decades of experience in commercial matters, litigation, governance, and dispute resolution. Mr. Fleming is admitted to practice before the courts of Puerto Rico, several federal courts, and the state courts of New York and Texas. He holds an LL.M. in Commercial Law and an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.