The goal of workers seeking to form a union is to sit at the table with the employer
and bargain an agreement on their wages, benefits, and working conditions. Gaining
union representation can be a long and arduous process for workers. Even when workers
are able to form a union, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) fails them because so many are denied the right to collectively bargain with their employer.
A recent study document that only 38% of new unions are able to negotiate a first contract within one year of NLRB certification and only 56% are able to achieve a contract after two years. That means that under the NLRA, 44% of new unions still don't have contracts two years after they are certified, and many newly-unionized workers never achieve a first contract.
We broke down what these delays mean for several states. Download the individual reports here.
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Indiana
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Montana
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania
- Virginia
Sources
1. John-Paul Ferguson, The Eyes of the Needles: A Sequential Model of Union Organizing Drives, 62 Industrial Relations Review No. 1, (Oct. 2008).
