The Empirical Case for Streamlining the NLRB Certification Process: The Role of Date of Unfair Labor Practice Occurrence

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has long advocated reducing the time period between the filing of a petition to form a union and union certification elections. This paper shows that despite this objective there have been virtually no elections in the first 20 days after a petition is filed, while in the past two years there has been a slight increase in the number of elections held within 21 to 30 days of the petition. The study demonstrates the relationship between the petition date, election date and when the most serious employer opposition and intimidation occurs and concludes that the NLRB should streamline the certification process to reduce the number of days between petition and election