Section 22 An Appropriate Bargaining Unit

• Library: Employer-Employee Law 2008

A difficult and common issue raised in an “R” hearing centers on the determination of an appropriate bargaining unit. NLRA § 9(a), 29 U.S.C. § 159(a), provides: “Representatives designated or selected for the purposes of collective bargaining by the majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for such purposes, shall be the exclusive representatives of all the employees in such unit . . . ” (emphasis added).

The bargaining unit may cover a craft, a department, the entire plant, several plants, or even several employers. In deciding an appropriate bargaining unit, the NLRB is obligated under NLRA § 9(b), 29 U.S.C. § 159(b), to assure employees “the fullest freedom in exercising the rights guaranteed” by NLRA § 7,
29 U.S.C. § 157. A union is required only to seek an appropriate unit; it is not required to petition for the most appropriate unit.

In making unit determinations under the NLRA, the Board’s primary concern centers on whether the employees...