US employers step up anti-unionization efforts as pandemic spurs activism

The coronavirus crisis is making organization efforts difficult for unions and bosses seem keen to take advantage

Michael Sainato Published on Thu 18 Jun 2020 06.45 EDT

During the coronavirus pandemic, employers have opposed unionization elections even as workers’ activism over safety protections, job security and wages has increased in the face of an economic shutdown and health fears.

But the pandemic has created difficult conditions for workers to organize elections in – something many employers appear to have taken advantage of, despite the wave of labor activism sweeping the US.

The number of resolved union election cases at the National Labor Relations Board dropped from 84 in March 2020 to 13 in April 2020 as the pandemic raged. Several of the delayed union elections then had petitions withdrawn or have yet to be scheduled. During the pandemic, union election petitions have declined significantly. According to the NLRB, union representation case intake in April 2020 decreased by 67.6% compared with April 2019.

The NLRB initially froze all union elections, while permitting mail-in ballot elections if employers and workers agreed to proceed. The board lifted the freeze on 6 April, after 116 union elections were delayed, and several other groups of workers had petition hearings postponed.

FULL story: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/18/us-employers-unions-pandemic-activism