For example, what’s preventing me and a coworker from just calling ourself “The Zach and Josh union,” and slowly adding more members as we go?
Similarly, in the case of existing unions like the United Auto workers Union, why can’t 3-4 employees at a non-union company choose to be represented by the UAW without needing 50% of the company to join also?
In: Other
Because that’s how the laws work. In the U.S., the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 is the legal framework for unions. It governs the formation of unions, the rights and protections of unions and union members, and what recourse unions and union members have when employers violate those rights and protections. Under that law, if your workplace doesn’t want to voluntarily recognize your union (for example, you Zach and Josh union), the only other way to form a union with actual legal protections is to hold a vote that’s supervised by the National Labor Relations Board.
So nothing is stopping you and a coworker from forming a 2 person union, but that’s outside the legal framework of the NLRA and so you won’t get the legal rights and protections of the law.
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