Documenting Labor Inside and Out
Union Democracy
Representation Challenges
Internal political battles in labor organizations can also take the
form of representation challenges. A union becomes the bargaining agent for a group of workers only after
winning the majority of votes from those workers in an election conducted and overseen by an
impartial third-party such as the National Labor Relations Board or a state labor board.
Once elected, the union has sole authority to negotiate with management on behalf of the
workers.
Nothing is permanent, however. Following applicable labor laws, another union may
challenge the incumbent's position as bargaining agent. Usually the challenger is required to
obtain a certain number of signatures from members of the current union before a new election
for bargaining agent is called. When that happens, like any political campaign, both sides
use many methods to make sure that members vote for them in the upcoming representation
election. Ribbons, flyers, and bumper stickers are just some of the tools used.
The labor collections in the Archives of Public Affairs
and Policy document three representation challenges in detail:
. the challenge by the International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (IUE) to the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) at the General Electric plant in Schenectady, New York, in the late 1940s and early 1950s; . the challenge by the National Education Association (NEA) and its New York affiliate, the New York Educators Association (NYEA), to United University Professions (UUP) in 1978; and . the challenge by The Union of Federated Corrections Officers (TUFCO) to Council 82, Security and Law Enforcement Employees, in 1984-1985. The records left behind from these challenges highlight what each organization saw as its strengths, what it saw as the weaknesses of its opponent, and how it fought to ensure that it remained (or became) sole bargaining representative.
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