If you are unionized and are being forced to pay a union to keep your job, you can do something about it.
Even if it is impossible to decertify the union because you are in the middle of a contract, you can petition the National Labor Relations Board at any time to conduct an election to "deauthorize" the union's ability to get you fired under a "union (income) security clause" for refusing to pay union dues. This is called a deauthorization election. [To read more about union (income) security clauses, go here.]
A deauthorization election is NOT the same as kicking the union out of your workplace which is called decertification. A "deauthorization election" only serves one purpose—to remove the union's "union (income) security clause" from the contract. If you deauthorize the union's ability to extort money from you by having you fired for refusing to pay the union, the union will still be in your workplace. It is the union security clause that enables the union to have you fired for not paying the union. If you would like more information about decertification, go here.
For Employees Only: In order to deauthorize the union from forcing you to pay dues, you should follow these steps:
STEP ONE-GATHERING SIGNATURES In order to have a deauthorization petition, you must gather signatures from at least 30% of your co-workers. To download a sample petition form, see below.
STEP TWO: FILING WITH THE NLRB After you have gathered at least 30% of your co-workers' signatures, you must file a 'UD' Petition with the National Labor Relations Board. To download the NLRB's petition form, go here. [Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat to download this PDF.] Once the petition form is filled out, you must file it with the NLRB office that covers where you work. For a listing of NLRB offices, go here.
STEP THREE: MAINTAINING 50% + 1 In order to deauthorize a union from taking your money, you must have 50% + 1 of you and your co-workers vote in an NLRB election. However, the union may attempt to thwart your vote using a variety of tactics. To insulate you and your co-workers, be prepared for the union tactics by going here.
All information and materials on 1-888-NO-UNION.COM are free. The information and materials on this site are for informational purposes only. Nothing on this website constitutes, nor should it be viewed as legal advice or advice to either employees or employers. Moreover, the information provided on this site should NOT be construed as advice for employees on how to exercise your NLRA Section Seven Rights. If you have a legal question, you are strongly encouraged to consult with your attorney (as an employer) or contact us should you need a referral to legal counsel. Further, should you request an answer to a question, you agree that any answer to any question does not constitute legal advice, or advice of any nature, but is purely for informational purposes.
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