Notes on Labor Data

Improving Success of Individual Certification Petitions at the NLRB

August 24, 2021

0k2k4k6k8k10k12k↑ Certification petitions2000 →
0k2k4k6k8k10k12k↑ Elections2000 →
0k2k4k6k8k10k12k↑ Union certifications2000 →
0%20%40%60%80%100%↑ Petition to elections2000 →
0%20%40%60%80%100%↑ Election to certifications2000 →
0%20%40%60%80%100%↑ Petition to certifications2000 →
0k100k200k300k400k↑ Single-union eligible voters2000 →
0k100k200k300k400k↑ Single-union workers in certified units2000 →

Increasing Unit Size

The relatively favorable number of workers is not only due to rising success rates, but also to the fact that the average size of single-union bargaining units that win a certification election is also increasing.

406080100↑ Average unit size for elections2000 →
406080100↑ Average unit size of certified units2000 →

Farber’s data also show the same overall pattern of rising average unit size in elections from 1965 to 2000 and subsequent decline, though our absolute numbers are larger than the data he reports.

Data

Data from the current NLRB case management system, the CATS system (1999-2010), and the CHIPS system (1984-2000), data on representation elections from 1965-1998 compiled by the AFL-CIO c/o JP Ferguson. The year 1999 is excluded because of data artifacts due to the transition between data systems.

The number of RC cases filed from 1965-1998 is compiled from NLRB Annual reports and use a July to June fiscal years; the rest of the data uses a calendar year.

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