Predicting Union Certification Elections in the Hospitality Industry

Abstract

A study of the variables that are associated with the success of union organizing efforts for hotel workers found that certain factors are associated with greater union success. The study examined 190 certification elections between January 1999 and December 2001, nearly half of which involved either Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees or the Teamsters. The average bargaining-unit size was fifty-six. Unions won just over half of the elections, and nearly half of those were decided by fewer than ten votes. Only two of six factors under consideration significantly affected election outcomes. Those were the size of the bargaining unit (a large unit diminishes the likelihood of union success) and the presence of more than one union on the ballot (on the theory that the intensity of employees’ involvement increases in such elections). Oddly, although few elections were held in right-to-work states, that factor did not significantly affect outcomes.