U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

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National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Union Representation Elections,

1997-2009

by Drew M. Simmons

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Originally Posted: June 30, 2010

One of the principal functions of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is to determine, through secret-ballot elections,

whether employees wish to be represented by a union in dealing with their employers, and if so, by which union. This article

summarizes Union Representation Elections (UREs) involving the NLRB over the 13-year period from 1997 to 2009.

Table 1 shows that the total number of elections declined 60 percent over the 1997-2009 period, from 3,261 to 1,304. The

number of elections won in favor of union representation during that time declined 48 percent, from 1,656 to 864. This is a

slower rate than the decline in the total number of elections, resulting in an overall increase in the percent of elections won in

favor of union representation, from 51 percent in 1997 to 66 percent in 2009.

Table 1. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Union Representation Elections, 1997-2009

Year

Total number of

elections for union

representation

Number of elections

won in favor of union

representation

Percent of elections

won in favor of union

representation

Total number of

employees eligible to

vote for union

representation

Number of

employees involved

in elections won by

unions

1997 3,261 1,656 50.8 224,262 90,333

1998 3,296 1,711 51.9 227,116 97,661

1999 3,012 1,576 52.3 234,182 108,420

2000 2,896 1,513 52.2 210,757 87,907

2001 2,571 1,395 54.3 203,616 77,884

2002 2,675 1,506 56.3 175,885 79,065

2003 2,352 1,340 57.0 155,070 75,661

2004 2,293 1,312 57.2 159,461 77,450

2005 2,099 1,248 59.5 141,467 68,638

2006 1,650 988 59.9 113,480 60,137

2007 1,510 890 58.9 95,916 52,365

2008 1,588 1,028 64.7 110,903 71,791

2009 1,304 864 66.3 69,832 44,033

Total,

1997 to

2009

30,507 17,027 N/A 2,121,947 991,345

Total

change

from

1997 to

2009

-1957 -792 N/A -154,430 -46,300

Note: These data represent closed cases resulting from petitions filed by a union or employees seeking an election to determine a collective

bargaining representative, or petitions from employers seeking an election to determine a collective bargaining representative. Data are

presented by calendar year. The number of elections and the number of employees is without regard to AFL-CIO affiliation.

Source: National Labor Relations Board.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

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Year

Total number of

elections for union

representation

Number of elections

won in favor of union

representation

Percent of elections

won in favor of union

representation

Total number of

employees eligible to

vote for union

representation

Number of

employees involved

in elections won by

unions

Percent

change

from

1997 to

2009

60.0 47.8 N/A 68.9 51.3

Note: These data represent closed cases resulting from petitions filed by a union or employees seeking an election to determine a collective

bargaining representative, or petitions from employers seeking an election to determine a collective bargaining representative. Data are

presented by calendar year. The number of elections and the number of employees is without regard to AFL-CIO affiliation.

Source: National Labor Relations Board.

Table 1 also shows that the number of employees eligible to vote in elections decreased 69 percent, from 224,262 in 1997 to

69,832 in 2009. While the number of employees eligible to vote in elections won by unions has fluctuated from year to year,

overall it declined by 51 percent. Despite the decrease, the data show that, if an employee was involved in a union

representation election, the employee was more likely to gain union representation in 2009 than in 1997. In addition, there is

a greater tendency for employees to choose union representation when two or more unions are seeking certification than

when only one union is seeking certification.

The NLRB holds a certification election for one of two reasons: (1) to conduct a single union vote to certify or grant the right

to represent a group of employees; or (2) to conduct a multiple union election either to certify or to grant the right to represent

a group of employees to one union or to change which union is representing the employees. In multiple union elections, one

union may be attempting to decertify another union and become the union of choice. The data presented in this article

exclude decertification elections, which are elections that remove all union representation from the employees.

Table 2 shows that, in 1997, barely 50 percent of elections to certify one union were won in favor of union representation; this

percentage increased to over 64 percent in 2009. The average over the period was approximately 54 percent.

Table 2. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Union Representation Elections, elections with choice of one union,

1997-2009

Year Total number of elections

to certify one union

Number of elections to certify one union that

won in favor of union representation

Percent of elections to certify one union that

won in favor of union representation

1997 3,165 1,580 49.9

1998 3,195 1,626 50.9

1999 2,901 1,473 50.8

2000 2,784 1,421 51

2001 2,455 1,309 53.3

2002 2,528 1,367 54.1

2003 2,261 1,263 55.9

2004 2,161 1,203 55.7

2005 1,963 1,127 57.4

2006 1,533 893 58.3

Note: These data do not include decertification elections, which are elections that remove all union representation from the employees.

Source: National Labor Relations Board.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

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Year Total number of elections

to certify one union

Number of elections to certify one union that

won in favor of union representation

Percent of elections to certify one union that

won in favor of union representation

2007 1,397 793 56.8

2008 1,482 936 63.2

2009 1,199 769 64.1

Total,

1997

to

2009

29,024 15,760 54.3

Note: These data do not include decertification elections, which are elections that remove all union representation from the employees.

Source: National Labor Relations Board.

Table 3 shows that, in 1997, when given a choice of two or more unions, less than 80 percent of elections resulted in favor of

union representation. This percentage increased to a little more than 90 percent in 2009. The average over the period was

about 85 percent--significantly more than the approximately 54 percent averaged over the period for elections won in favor of

union representation with only a single union seeking certification.

Table 3. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Union Representation Elections, elections with choice of two or more

unions, 1997-2009

Year

Total number of elections

with choice of two or more

unions

Number of elections won in favor of union

representation with choice of two or more

unions

Percent of elections won in favor of union

representation with choice of two or more

unions

1997 96 76 79.2

1998 101 85 84.2

1999 111 103 92.8

2000 112 92 82.1

2001 116 86 74.1

2002 147 139 94.6

2003 91 77 84.6

2004 132 109 82.6

2005 136 121 89

2006 117 95 81.2

2007 113 97 85.8

2008 106 92 86.8

2009 105 95 90.5

Total,

1997

to

2009

1,483 1,267 85.4

Note: These data do not include decertification elections, which are elections that remove all union representation from the employees.

Source: National Labor Relations Board.

In about 5 percent of all union representation elections held from 1997 to 2009 (regardless of outcome), employees had the

choice of two or more unions. In about 7 percent of all elections that were won in favor of union representation over the

1997-2009 period, employees had a choice of two or more unions for their representation.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

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Drew M. Simmons

Economist, Division of Compensation Data Estimation, Office of Compensation and Working Conditions, Bureau of Labor

Statistics.

Telephone: (202) 691-6127; E-mail: Simmons.Drew@bls.gov. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Division of Information and Marketing Services, PSB Suite 2850, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE Washington, DC

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