NLRB sets Aside Decertification vote Where Union Promised to Waive Unpaid Dues

An employer was required under its union contract to deduct monthly union dues from employees’ paychecks. The employer failed to deduct the dues for several consecutive months. Realizing the mistake, the union sent an e-mail to the employer, and the employer immediately resumed the deductions without collecting the back dues. The union neither attempted to collect the delinquent dues nor notified members about the error. Six months later, a new employer took over the union contract and filed a petition to decertify the union. During the decertification campaign, the union distributed a flyer notifying employees about the delinquent dues and promising that the dues would never be collected if the employees voted to retain the union. The employees subsequently voted in favor of the union. The employer objected to the outcome, arguing that the union’s promise to waive dues violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Under the NLRA, neither a union nor an employer may make or promise to make a “gift of tangible economic value” as an inducement to win support during a decertification campaign. The National Labor Relations Board reasoned that employees reasonably would infer under the circumstances that the purpose of the union’s promise was to induce them to support the union, and that the promise therefore “constituted an objectionable grant of a tangible financial benefit.” As a result, the Board ordered that the election should be set aside and a second election held. Employers should keep a close watch during decertification campaigns to ensure that unions do not promise any financial benefit to union members, but must also remain aware that employers themselves are subject to the same requirement.