10/22/07
The National Labor Relations Board recently held that an employer may rely on evidence of an actual loss of majority support to withdraw recognition from a union after the third year of a collective bargaining agreement with a term longer than three years. The Board expressly limited its holding to those situations where the evidence that the union has lost majority support of its members is untainted by unfair labor practices and the employer did not incite the employees' disaffection with the union. In this case, the untainted evidence came in the form of an employee-initiated decertification petition accompanied by signed slips from a majority of employees.
This decision expands an employer's right to withdraw union recognition as long as the conditions described above are met. However, because this new rule applies only in limited circumstances, employers should proceed with caution and consult with an attorney before withdrawing union recognition in reliance upon this decision.
