Your Government Conducts an Election
For you on the job
Information for Voters in Labor Board Elections
General Information
Prior to any election conducted by the NLRB there will be posted at the place of your work a Notice of Election issued by the NLRB to inform you of:
The date, hours, and place of the election
The payroll period for voter eligibility
A description of the voting unit of employees
General rules as to conduct of elections.
There is a sample ballot on the Notice of Election which, except for color, is a reproduction of the ballot you will receive when you vote. You should read the Notice of Election so that you will be familiar with the ballot.
The Voting Place
In the voting place will be a table, a voting booth, and a ballot box. At the table there will be observers for the union and the employer and a representative of the NLRB, each of whom will be wearing an official badge. The observerâs badges will have "Observer" on them. The NLRB representative will wear an "Agent" badge.
The Agent is in charge of the election. If you have questions, talk only with the Agent.
The Voting Procedure
1 Go to the voting table, standing in line if necessary.
2 Give your name, and clock number if you have one, to the observers. The observers will find your name on the voting list and tell the Agent your name has been found. If any questions are asked, talk only with the Agent. Do not argue with the observers.
3 After your name has been checked off, go to the Agent to obtain your ballot.
4 Go into the vacant voting booth. Mark the ballot with one X only. Do not sign the ballot. Fold the ballot to hide the mark and leave the voting booth taking your ballot with you.
5 Put your ballot in the box yourself. Do not let anyone else touch it.
6 Leave the polling place.
You will notice that only the Agent handled the blank ballots and only you handled your marked ballot. Once your marked ballot is in the ballot box it becomes mixed with all other ballots in the box and cannot be identified.
No one can determine how you have voted.
Challenged Ballots
Questions sometimes arise about eligibility of certain persons. An observer or the NLRB representative can challenge an individualâs right to vote. This challenge, however, must be for good cause and not for personal reasons; for example, a name may not appear on the eligibility list because of a clerical error.
If your vote is challenged, take your ballot into the booth, mark it, fold it to keep the mark secret, and return to the voting table. The Agent will give you a challenged ballot envelope on the stub of which are written your name and clock number and the reason for the challenge. You put the ballot in the envelope. You seal the envelope, and you deposit it in the ballot box.
You will note that while your name is on the stub of the envelope it is not on the ballot.
Secrecy of your vote is maintained because if challenged ballots must be counted and if later investigation reveals challenged voters are eligible to vote, the stub containing the name and clock number of the individual voter is first torn off and discarded. All challenged ballot envelopes are then mixed together. The ballots are then removed and counted by the Board Agent. By this method secrecy is maintained.
Rights of Employees
You are entitled to vote your free choice in a fair, honest, secret-ballot election.
The National Labor Relations Board is the agency of the United States Government which protects that right as well as other important rights guaranteed by the National Labor Relations Act.
Under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, employees have the right:
To self-organization
To form, join, or assist labor organizations
To bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing
To act together for the purposes of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection
To refuse to do any or all of these things. However, the union and employer, in a State where such agreements are permitted, may enter into a lawful union-security clause requiring employees to join the union.
The National Labor Relations Board wants all eligible voters to be familiar with their rights under the law and wants both employers and unions to know what is expected of them when it holds an election.
When an election is held, the Board protects your right to a free choice under the law. Improper conduct, such as described on the next page, will not be permitted. We expect all parties to Board elections to cooperate fully with this Agency in maintaining basic principles of a fair election as expressed by law. The National Labor Relations Board as an agent of the United States Government does not endorse any choice in the election.
Protection of Your Rights
The Board applies rules to keep its elections fair and honest. If agents of either unions or employers interfere with your right to a free, fair, and honest election, the election can be set aside by the Board. Where appropriate the Board provides other remedies, such as reinstatement for employees and may result in the setting aside of the election:
Threatening loss of jobs or benefits by an employer or a union
Promising or granting promotions, pay raises, or other benefits, to influence an employeeâs vote by a party capable of carrying out such promises
An employer firing employees to discourage or encourage union activity or a union causing them to be fired to encourage union activity
Making campaign speeches to assembled groups of employees on company time within the 24 hour period before the election
Incitement by either an employer or a union of racial or religious prejudice by inflammatory appeals
Threatening physical force or violence to employees by a union or an employer to influence their votes
The National Labor Relations Board protects your right to a fair election and a free choice
The National Labor Relations Board
is a public service agency and welcomes visits to its offices for information. Addresses and telephone numbers are:
MAIN OFFICE: Washington, DC 20570-0001
1717 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Telephone (202) 655-4000
FIELD OFFICES OF THE NLRB
Albany, NY 12207 Jacksonville, FL 32202 San Francisco, CA 94102
Clinton Ave, at N. Pearl St.; 400 West Bay St., 901 Market Street;
Telephone (518) 472-2215 Telephone (904) 7913768 Telephone (415)995-5300
Albuquerque, NM 87110 Kansas City, KS 66101 Seattle, WA 98174
5000 Marble Ave. NE., Two Gateway Centre, 4th at State; 915 Second Avenue;
Telephone (505) 262-6395 Telephone (913)236-3846 Telephone (206)442-4532
Anchorage. AK 99513 Las Vegas, NV 89101 Tampa, FL 33672-0068
701 C Street; 720 S. 7th Street, 700 Twiggs Street;
Telephone (907)271-5015 Telephone (702)388-6416 Telephone (813) 228-2641
Atlanta, GA 30323 Little Rock, AR 72201 Tulsa, OK 74127
101 Marietta St., NW., 300 W. Capitol Street, 440 S. Houston Avenue,
Telephone(404) 331-2896 Telephone (501) 378-6311 Telephone (918) 581-7951
Baltimore, MD 21202 Los Angeles, CA 90014 Washington D.C. 20037
109 Market Place, 4th Floor; 615 S. Flower Street, 2120 L Street, NW.;
Telephone (301) 962-2822 Telephone (213) 688-5200 Telephone (202) 254-7612
Birmingham, AL 35203 Memphis, TN 38174 Winston-Salem, NC 27101
1919 Morris Avenue; 1407 Union Ave., U.S. Courthouse, 521 N. Main St.;
Telephone (205) 254-1062 Telephone (901) 521-2725 Telephone (919) 761-3201
Boston, MA 02222-1072 Miami, FL 33130
10 Causeway St.; 51 Southwest 1st Ave.;
Telephone (718) 330-7713 Telephone (305)350-5391
Brooklyn, NY 11241 Milwaukee, WI 53203
16 Court Street; 310 W. Wisconsin Ave.;
Telephone (718) 330-7713 Telephone (414) 291-3861
Buffalo, NY 14202 Minneapolis, MN 55401
111 West Huron Street, 110 South Fourth St.;
Telephone (716) 846-4931 Telephone (612) 348-1757
Chicago, IL 60604 Nashville, TN 37203
219 South Dearborn Street; 801 Broadway;
Telephone (312) 353-7570 Telephone (615) 736-5922
Cincinnati, OH 45202 Newark, NJ 07102-2570
550 Main Street 970 Broad Street,
Telephone (216) 522-3715 Telephone (201)645-2100
Denver, CO 80202 New Orleans, LA 70130
600 17th St. 3rd Fl. South Tower; 600 South Maestri Place,
Telephone (303)844-3551 Telephone (504) 589-6361
Des Moines, IA 50309 New York, NY 10278
210 Walnut Street 26 Federal Plaza;
Telephone (515) 284-4391 Telephone (212)264-0300
Detroit, MI 48226 Oakland, CA 94604
477 Michigan Ave; 2201 Broadway;
Telephone (313) 226-3200 Telephone (415) 273-7200
El Paso, TX 79901 Peoria, IL 61602
700 E. San Antonio Ave.; 411 Hamilton Blvd.;
Telephone (915) 541-7737 Telephone (309) 671-7080
Fort Worth, TX 76102 Philadelphia, PA 19106
819 Taylor St.; 615 Chestnut Street,
Telephone (817) 334-2941 Telephone (215)597-7601
Grand Rapids, MI 49503 Phoenix, AZ 85004
3rd Floor, 82 Ionia NW., 234 N. Central Ave.;
Telephone (616) 456-2679 Telephone (602)261-3361
Hartford, CT 06103 Pittsburgh, PA 15222
One Commercial Plaza, 21st Floor 1000 Liberty Ave.,
Telephone (203) 240-3522 Telephone (412)644-2977
Hato Rey, PR 00918 Portland, OR 97205
Carlos E. Chardon Ave.; 1120 SW 5th Ave.;
Telephone (809) 753-4347 Telephone (503)221-3085
Honolulu, HI 96850 St. Louis, MO 63101
300 Ala Moana Blvd.; 210 Tucker Blvd.; North;
Telephone (808) 551-2814 Telephone (314)425-4167
Houston, TX 77002 San Antonio, TX 78206
515 Rusk St.; 727 Edurango Blvd.;
Telephone (713) 229-3748 Telephone (512)229-6140
Indianapolis, IN 46204 San Diego, CA 92101
575 N. Pennsylvania St.â 555 W. Beech St.;
Telephone (317) 269-7430 Telephone (619)293-6184