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Authorization Cards

Unions are always looking for new, dues-paying members, and you and your co-workers are prime targets.

A union's first step in locking in new members is to get team members to demonstrate their support, typically by signing union authorization cards or clicking "agree" on an online solicitation.

Whatever form it takes, these expressions of team member support are legally binding on the team member!

What You Need to Know

We want you to understand the facts about union authorization cards and other solicitations so you can make a smart choice if you are ever asked to sign a physical card or online card.

A union authorization card is a legal and binding document that when signed gives the union the right to speak and bargain for you and bargain with U.S. AutoForce regarding your wages, hours, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment.

  • Union organizers are not required to explain the law to you. They don't even have to tell you that what they want you to sign is a legal document.
  • You could be asked to sign a card or online form by a union organizer (someone who is paid by the union) or a co-worker who supports unionization.
  • You have the right to refuse to sign a card or in any way support a union.
  • Union organizers have been known to make misrepresentations, false statements, empty promises, and even threats to get workers to sign cards. Threats or coercion from anyone attempting to get cards signed are unlawful.
  • Organizers have also been known to pressure and harass workers at home, at work, on their personal telephones, and via text and email messages to persuade them to support the union.
  • Your signature on this legal and binding document is final. If you change your mind, the union organizer is under no obligation to return it.

Unions can gather evidence of support using other forms of documents, such as petitions or even sign-in sheets. Another common practice is for the union to try to get team members to register support of content they see online or that they receive via social media. The National Labor Relations Board has said that a team member's electronic signature is just as binding as an actual signature, and can be obtained by team members simply clicking "agree" or "submit" in response to something they've seen online.

While a union authorization card may appear to be pretty simple at first glance, there is much more to it when you explore further. Take a look below at what this sample card really is all about.

1. Union organizers may say that signing a card is to get you more information or the opportunity for an election. But look closely, nowhere on the card does it say that. By signing, as the card states, you are giving the union the right to represent you and speak for you. Although they probably won't tell you, the union might also try to use the cards to become your representative without a secret ballot election.

2. Your signature, handwritten or electronic, on this legal and binding document basically commits you to things you may not fully be aware of. If you change your mind and want the card back, which happens in many cases, the union organizer is under no obligation to return the card. You are basically signing a blank check to the union to use as they please without any guarantee of the outcome.

3. A signed authorization card is typically valid for one (1) year from the date signed. That means the union can decide when and how they will use the card for quite a while. For instance, if they don't get the support they initially hoped for, they could reuse the card months later without asking you if you have changed your mind or still support the union.

4. By obtaining your personal contact information on the card, a union organizer would be able to communicate with you while you're at home. It might be literature in the mail, emails, or bothersome phone calls. It might be text messages at varying times or mass email distributions. Or, it might be union supporters or organizers coming to your home in person, trying to get information about U.S. AutoForce, or pressuring you to give them names and addresses of your fellow team members they could visit. These are common union tactics.

5. The union may ask for your job classification and rates of pay so the organizer can get a picture of how much U.S. AutoForce pays. No matter how much U.S. AutoForce pays team members, you can bet the organizer will promise more! Remember, the union cannot guarantee higher wages. If they make this promise, ask for it in writing.

Unions collect signed authorization cards or names on petitions in their effort to unionize a company. If a union gets enough signatures on a petition or signed cards, it could demand that U.S. AutoForce recognize it as the bargaining agent for all the team members in a certain unit or units. Under this scenario, you could become unionized without getting a chance to vote in a secret ballot election.

If a union collects signatures from at least 30% of the team members in the bargaining unit, the union can also file a petition for an election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). A secret ballot election would be held allowing team members to vote on whether or not they want to be represented by the union.