Get Petition For Withdrawal Of Union Shop Authority

The procedure to deauthorize a union is similar – but not identical – to a decertification or representation election. To deauthorize a union, employees must present the National Labor Relations Board with a petition signed by at least 30% of the employees in the bargaining unit indicating their desire.

The procedure to deauthorize a union is similar – but not identical – to a decertification or representation election. To deauthorize a union, employees must present the National Labor Relations Board with a petition signed by at least 30% of the employees in the bargaining unit indicating their desire.

Under the National Labor Relations Act, employees can call for a special election to get rid of the “union security clause,” and thereby rid their workplace of forced unionism. This is called a Deauthorization Election, because employees “deauthorize” the forced-unionism clause and remove it from the contract. (

Employees or a union may file a petition for a representation election (RC) after collecting signatures from at least 30% of workers in the potential bargaining unit. Petitions that are not withdrawn or dismissed result in an NLRB-conducted election. A majority of votes decides the outcome.

Employees may file a petition for decertification (RD) if they believe support for a union has diminished, after collecting signatures from at least 30% of workers in a unit. A majority of votes decides the outcome.

Decertification requires a petition signed by at least 30% of your coworkers. It must then be submitted to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to qualify for a decertification election. If a majority of workers vote in favor, the union will be decertified.

It takes three years for the National Labor Relations Board to consider decertification. While in the first three years of a union contract's existence, employees can only file for a decertification petition during a 30-day window between 60 and 90 days before the contract is set to expire.