Mark Neuberger on Increase in Union Election Petitions – 'Cemex flipped the tables'

Foley & Lardner LLP of counsel Mark Neuberger commented on the rise of employer-filed union petitions in the Corporate Counsel article, “Employers Race to File NLRB Petitions to Gain Upper Hand in Union Organizing.”

“Cemex flipped the tables on the way things have been done forever,” Neuberger explained, tying the increase in employer-filed petitions, referred to as RM petitions, to the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) August 2023 decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC.

Neuberger noted some potential risks for employers filing an RM petition. He said that based on Cemex, the NLRB can disqualify an election if an employer commits any unfair labor practice. The board could then dismiss the RM petition and order the employer to recognize and bargain with the union. Prior to Cemex, an employer committing an unfair labor practice might simply result in a rerun of the election.

“You want to run a very clean election,” Neuberger added.

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