NUMBER OF TEXAS UNION PETITIONS
EFFORTS IN HOUSTON
Fueled by the pandemic, union trends nationally are taking off. In June, four of the wins were Starbucks, two in San Antonio and two in Austin, while in July, one was a Starbucks in Denton. TRENDS UNIONIZATION
Win Loss
Terms to know
FY 2018-19
Fiscal year 2018-19 elections:
RC : A “representation certification” petition is filed by a union seeking to be certified as the bargaining representative for employees at a business or organization. RD : A “representation decertification” petition is filed by employees who seek to remove the currently recognized union as the bargaining representative. workers contact a union organizer or start their own union. However, 30% of co-workers must sign union authorization cards to file a petition for a union election with the NLRB. If a majority of employees vote to sup- port the union in an elec- tion held later on, the union becomes recognized, and an employer must bargain in “good faith” regarding work- ing conditions. Labor and employment lawyer Eric Nelson said the employer has opportuni- ties that can be perceived by workers as a “threat or unlaw- ful intimidation and prom- ises” under the current law. After the authorization card is signed, an employer can require employees to attend a meeting in which an employer can express hostil- ity or objections to the orga- nizer, Nelson said. However, a union does not have access to workers for a meeting to counteract this. Intimidation tactics will often cause workers to vote against becoming a union
United Security Forces of America (RC)
26
12
1 RD
3 RD
FY 2019-20
Fiscal year 2019-20 elections:
MDS Boring & Drilling (RC)
17
13
1 RD
3 RD
FY 2020-21
Fiscal year 2020-21 elections:
Univar Solutions Inc. (RC)
27
9
4 RD
2 RD
SOURCE: NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ELECTION REPORTS/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
FY 2021-22
Fiscal year 2021-22 elections:
Magris Talc USA (RC) Paragon Systems Inc. (RC)
MDS Boring & Drilling (RD)
21
7
1 RD
3 RD
In an emailed statement from Starbucks, a spokesper- son said the company is “lis- tening and learning from the partners” in these stores and across the country. “We’ve been clear that we respect all our partners’ voices and their legal right to organize,” Starbucks said in a statement. “From the begin- ning, we’ve also been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed.” Steps to unionization There are a couple of ways workers of an establishment can begin the process for unionization: a voluntary rec- ognition or an election with the NLRB. A voluntary recog- nition is where workers con- tact a union organizer or start their own with a majority of signatures for union autho- rization cards. The employer recognizes the establishment as a union, allowing for a bar- gaining process to begin. When creating a union through an NLRB election,
0 5
10 15
20 25
30 35
40
with more support from a company level, DeLeon said. Green pointed to a number of factors he said are leading to a renewed interest in union- ization both in Houston and across the state. The coronavi- rus pandemic put a spotlight on so-called “essential work- ers” that made people realize their value, he said. There is also a generational element, which Green said could play a role in driving unionization for the foreseeable future. “Generationally you see more people now who are ... driving workers issues,” he said. “Companies that might have older or stale thinking, ... they are not realizing or reading the room and under- standing that this may be a new day.” Shawn Arrajj contributed to this report.
during the election process, causing a case to lose, Nel- son said. Data from the NLRB elections shows one of the five companies that have hosted union representation elections in Houston since 2019 lost: Univar Solutions Inc., a global chemical and ingredients distributor. “The current deficiency is
the inability of the union to communicate why unioniza- tion would be a good thing for them,” Nelson said. Green said it can be hard to predict whether any given unionization effort will suc- ceed due to the wide range of factors involved, includ- ing the work climate, the industry and the size of the business. However, he said it will always come back to the question of how employees are being treated. “Are there concerns that are not being addressed?” he said. “It could be safety, employee benefits [or] wage increases. If they are not being addressed, has that galvanized a majority of the
Companies that might have older or stale thinking, … they are not realizing or reading the room and understanding
that this may be a new day. MICHAEL GREEN, DIRECTOR OF THE WORKPLACE LAW PROGRAM, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
workers?” The future
The goals of the unioniza- tion effort at the Upper Kirby Starbucks include better com- pensation and a better work environment for employees
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