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    Mayor's Office of Worker Power

    New York City is a city of workers. Workers have rights on the job and power in numbers.

    Forming a union

    Step-by-Step Guide to Forming a Union

    Forming a union starts with conversations. Workers talk with their coworkers about the issues they care about and the improvements they want to see.Workers often do this by building a committee of coworkers drawn from every shift, department, and background, so that the conversations look like the workforce itself rather than a small group.   The law requires only a majority of voters to win an election, but winning real improvements on the job usually takes much more than a bare majority, it takes workers standing together.

    Workers can contact an established union for support and guidance or they may seek to organize their own independent union. A group of workers seeking to organize a union often gather union authorization cards/petitions from their coworkers to show support for forming a union. Union authorization cards are documents that workers sign expressing their support for union representation.

    Once organizers collect signed cards or petitions from their co-workers, there are generally two paths to follow to form a union:

    Majority sign-up / voluntary recognition

    1. Talk to a union organizer or start your own union.
    2. Have a majority of your coworkers sign union authorization cards.
    3. Ask your employer for voluntary recognition.
    4. If your employer recognizes the union, you can begin bargaining.
    5. If your employer refuses to recognize the union, you can file a petition for an election with the NLRB, or you may be able to strike for recognition.

    NLRB election

    1. Have at least 30% of coworkers sign union authorization cards.
    2. File a petition for a union election with the NLRB.
    3. If the union wins 50% + 1 of the votes cast, your employer must bargain in good faith over working conditions.

    Rights violated? File with the agency that enforces them.