I recently wrote about decertification for SHRM, covering the technical mechanics HR needs to know. This is the practitioner’s version: what nine decertification campaigns actually taught me that a primer doesn’t cover.
I worked on nine decertification campaigns over three years. Eight were employee-driven petitions that resulted in elections. One was a withdrawal of recognition, in Chicago. That was the one that started the entire chain of events.
Bargaining Issues
Here’s the part of that story that belongs in field notes. Great legal advice and good documentation were critical in dealing the union reaction to our withdrawal of recognition of a long standing Teamster unit, and the ensuing fallout.
A renewal negotiation with a Teamsters local turned combative faster than the situation called for. The union took a very aggressive stance at the table from day one. We bargained for several weeks with little success, and eventually the contract expiration date arrived. We offered a 30-day extension, which the Teamsters refused, stating, “We want to be able to hold your feet to the fire,” and let the contract lapse.
The unit we were bargaining over was small, eight drivers making job-site deliveries in and around Chicago. The union bargaining committee consisted of the bargaining lead, our local business agent, and the shop steward for our drivers, which meant he was absorbing the hard line at the table along with everyone else.
Dave, the shop steward, was the one who finally asked me directly, out of sheer frustration, whether there was a way to get the union out. I didn’t have an answer for him on the spot. I told him I’d find one, called our labor attorney, and twenty-four hours later had an information script in hand. After explaining their rights under the process, Dave broached the topic of decertifying with his colleagues. At the end of that workday, seven of eight drivers signed a petition rejecting the union. Based on that showing, and with the contract expired, we withdrew recognition by fax to the union at 3 a.m.
At 4 a.m. that same day, we shared information about the wages and benefits available to the non-union drivers. They were ecstatic. As you might expect, the Teamsters were not. A handful of business agents and officials from the local union arrived at our office around 10 a.m., demanding to speak with employees and management, a request we declined. They left and immediately filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The eighth driver, the one who didn’t sign the petition, became the focus of the NLRB investigation that followed. He was conflicted over the decision. He also had a frozen pension from an earlier job where the same local had represented him for a different employer. That history made him genuinely conflicted rather than simply reluctant. The NLRB board agent investigating the union’s unfair labor practice charge spent about four hours interviewing him directly, and ended by asking us to provide some additional information.
What ultimately led to the charge being dismissed was good documentation and legal work.
Our attorneys collected affidavits from all the drivers after giving a Johnnie’s Poultry explanation. They presented our own contemporaneous notes, which documented that at no point had we promised or guaranteed anything to obtain those signatures. A withdrawal of recognition places the burden on the employer and draws a level of NLRB scrutiny that an employee-driven petition doesn’t.
We carried the same documentation habit into the eight campaigns that followed, but it was never as critical in petition-driven cases as it was here. Involve your labor counsel at every step if you are dealing with decertification.
What Surprised Me Across The Eight Elections
The strength of feeling, pro-union or anti-union, that employees developed once faced with the choice surprised me every time. Some of our best workers, with the best attitudes, wanted the union to stay. Some employees whose performance wasn’t as strong as others, who you might expect to rely on the union to protect their interests, were staunchly anti-union. I found that confusing at first. You have to lean into each group’s emotions because they’re all unique. Leaning in meant doing your best to answer their questions honestly, with the facts as the company saw them, and letting them make their own free choice. Not manipulation, not obfuscation. Empathy and honest answers, within what the law allowed.
Regional differences
The eight petition campaigns were spread across the country, mostly in the Midwest and along the Atlantic seaboard. The ones in the southern Midwest, Missouri, Kansas, and Kentucky, were much more anxious to get rid of the union. The ones further north, in places like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, were more conflicted about getting rid of the union. That tracked the historical reach and regional strength of labor unions in those areas.
How the process evolved
Chicago was hurrying up and get stuff done on the fly. As we moved through the nine campaigns over those next three years, we built a stronger playbook, especially around FAQs. After two or three campaigns, you start to realize employees on the floor tend to ask the same questions. We built an FAQ document and tweaked it for regional variation. Several different unions were involved across the nine- Teamsters, UFCW, others- and the questions and styles varied by union, so we learned to anticipate those differences as best we could. I can’t point to specific examples of exactly how the process changed campaign to campaign. It was evolving the whole way through.
A close call in Michigan
We were successful in all nine decertification efforts. We ran headcounts throughout each campaign, the same way you’d track sentiment in a union organizing drive. In the last one, in Michigan, our count was a bit more favorable to the company than the final election results were. The result came down to four votes, something like 65 to 61. It was the largest unit of the nine, well over a hundred people voting, and the strongest union support we faced.
That’s a lot more uncertainty and a lot more hearts and minds to win than with eight drivers and a petition. During the NLRB’s vote count, the first 14 ballots drawn from the box all favored retaining the union before the count turned in the company’s favor. There was no campaign after Michigan to apply that lesson to. It stands on its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between a withdrawal of recognition and a decertification petition?
A petition is employee-driven and requires a showing of support. A withdrawal is employer-driven, and it puts the burden of proof on the employer. In the Chicago case, the company withdrew recognition after seven of eight drivers signed a petition and the contract expired. That drew NLRB scrutiny the other eight campaigns never faced. The resulting unfair labor practice charge was dismissed only because of contemporaneous notes and affidavits proving no promises had been made.
Do internal headcounts reliably predict election outcomes?
Not always. In Michigan, the largest unit of the nine at over a hundred voters, the internal count ran more favorable to the company than the result did. The election came down to four votes, and the first fourteen ballots drawn all favored the union before the count turned. Bigger units with stronger union support carry more uncertainty, and the numbers can move late.
Does employee sentiment follow predictable patterns?
Less than expected by role, more by region. Some top performers wanted the union to stay, and some weaker performers were the most anti-union. Regional patterns held up better: the southern Midwest (Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky) leaned anxious to remove the union, while the north (Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio) stayed more conflicted, tracking each region’s labor history.
