Although neutrality agreements come
in several forms, the common denominator
for all is that employers agree to stay
neutral with regard to the union’s attempt
to organize the workforce Some agreements
simply state that the employer will
remain neutral with no other language, while
other agreements contain more specific
provisions.16 For example, under UNITE
HERE’s standard agreement employers
pledge that they “will not communicate
opposition” to the union’s efforts.17
Neutrality agreements commonly provide
the union with access to employees
in the form of a list of their names and
addresses (and, sometimes, telephone
numbers), as well as permission to come
onto company property during work hours
for the purpose of collecting signed authorization
cards. This differs from the guidelines
set up by the NLRB and the courts,
under which an employer has no obligation
to provide the union with access and may
actually be prohibited from doing so.18
Finally, most neutrality agreements also
include a “card-check” provision, which
requires the employer to recognize the
union if a majority of the bargaining-unit
employees sign authorization cards. Under
a card-check agreement, the employees do
not vote for the union in a secret ballot
election monitored by the NLRB. Instead,
the employer recognizes the union if it
presents the company with the requisite
number of signed authorization cards.