Decertification elections in health care: some recent evidence

This article examines union decertification elections conducted by the National Labor Relations Board between January 1999 and February 2002 in hospitals and nursing and residential care facilities. Employees petitioned 92% of all decertification elections. Service Employees International Union was involved in nearly 43% of all decertification elections and won 57%. Forty-three percent of all decertification elections involved bargaining units with 50 employees or less. Unions lost 66% of decertification elections in departments, but won 75% in bargaining units consisting of both professional and clerical employees. The union win rate in non-right-to-work states was 52% compared with 37% in right-to-work states.