Right to Organize
Since 1935, most employees, including immigrant workers, who work for private sector employers are protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRA provides the right to organize and form a union at the workplace. The agency in charge of enforcing this worker protection is the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB is an independent federal agency that ensures that employees are not barred by their employers from engaging in collective efforts to improve working conditions, determining whether to have unions as their bargaining representative, and engaging in collective bargaining negotiations.
You have the right to share information, sign petitions, and seek to improve working conditions by forming a union. Employers cannot retaliate against you for seeking to form a union.
Employers and unions may not restrain or coerce employees who are exercising their rights under the NLRA. In a unionized workplace, where a majority of workers at some point voted to form a union, the employer and the union are obligated by law to bargain in good faith with each other over terms and conditions of employment in order to reach an agreement.
How does it work?
The NLRB has regional offices that you can approach for questions. In New York City there are two regional offices. Regional offices conduct elections, investigate charges of unfair labor practices, and protect the rights of workers to act together. Regional Office 02 covers Manhattan and the Bronx, while the Regional Office 29 covers Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island:
Basic Steps to Forming a Union (NLRB.gov)
- Regional Office 02, Manhattan, NY
26 Federal Plaza, Ste 41-120
New York, NY 10278-0104
Tel: (212) 264-0300
Fax: (212) 264-2450
8:45am – 5:15pm ET - Regional Office 29 – Brooklyn, NY
One Metrotech Center, 20th Floor
Suite 2000, Brooklyn, NY 11201-3948
Tel: (718) 330-7713
Fax: (718) 330-7579
9:00am – 5:30pm ET
To start the process of forming a union, you can contact a union organizer to help guide you. Employees must gather union authorization cards/petitions from their co-workers to show majority support for forming a union.
Then, you can ask your employer to recognize the union. If the employer acknowledges the union, then you can start a bargaining process to improve working conditions. However, if your employer refuses to acknowledge the union, you can strike for recognition, or you can file a petition with the nearest NLRB Regional Office. The petition must show interest in the union from at least 30% of employees.
NLRB agents will then investigate to make sure the Board has jurisdiction and there are no existing labor contracts that would bar an election.
If you proceed with a petition for election with the NLRB, then 50% of workers, plus one worker, must vote in agreement to form a union. Once this voting succeeds, you can start bargaining for better working conditions at your workplace. See Steps to forming a union flyer (nlrb.gov). You can contact the NLRB regional offices listed above for more questions.
In the event that employers are not adhering to organizing rights protected under the NLRA, you can contact the corresponding Regional Office to file an Unfair Labor Practice charge (ULP). You can find more information in the NLRB website: Regional Offices | National Labor Relations Board (nlrb.gov).