A Tale of Two Union Elections

It is not news that union density in the private sector has declined from 25% in 1975 to 7.2% in 2009. At the same time, union density in the public sector increased from approximately 24% to 37% in 2009. There are many reasons for this, but one of the reasons is that union elections are (or were) rarely contested in the public sector. When employers let employees decide for themselves, rather than making threats of plant closure, not to mention threatening or actually firing employees, employees most of the time choose to unionize.

Two recent union drives illustrate the point. UFCW Local 1776 recently had two election drives that featured similar workforce demographics, similar size of bargaining unit, and similar geographics. In one campaign, the employer threatened to close the plant if the union won, hinted at deportation of immigrants, and ran a hard campaign. The union still won the election, though by a slim margin – and the employer is challenging the election through meritless challenges.

The other election took place at JBS meatpacking plant in Souderton. For this campaign, the union secured the employer’s agreement to be neutral during the election, and agree to a quick election. Employees voted overwhelmingly for the union by a margin of ten to one. As Local 1776 President Wendell Young, IV, pointed out, the outcome of the election “shows that when workers get a free and fair process, they choose union representation.”

Employers argue that they have to run anti-union campaigns so that workers have all the information they need to make an informed choice. I’ve always found this somewhat offensive and patronizing. Employees are perfectly capable, particularly in this day and age of the internet, to make their own choice; additionally, there are always at least some employees opposed to unions who make their views known.

I have more respect for employers who are at least honest and say the reason they want to defeat a union is because they don’t want a union interfering with the way they run a business.

In this era of declining union density, organizing more than a thousand workers at a plant counts as a major win. And the win is not only for the workers, it is also, as Mr. Young said, “better for everyone, workers, the company, and the larger community.”