HOW WILL THE ELECTION BE DETERMINED?
NLRB Ballot Kits will be mailed to eligible voters on Thursday, Sept 29 (4:45pm). Please look for an envelope (example) from the NLRB in Dallas TX the first week of October.
What do I do if I don't receive a ballot kit?
What if I made an error on my ballot? Can I get a new one?
Those employees who believe that they are eligible to vote and did not receive a ballot in the mail by Wednesday, October 12, 2022, as well as those employees who require a duplicate ballot, should communicate immediately with the National Labor Relations Board by either calling the Region 16 Office at 817-978-2921 or our national toll-free line at 1-844-762-NLRB (1-844-762-6572).
How and When will the ballots be counted?
Voters must return their mail ballots so that they will be received in the NLRB, Region 16 office by 4:45 p.m. (CST) on Thursday, October 20, 2022.
All ballots will be commingled and counted by an NLRB agent on Thursday, October 27, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. (CST) with participants being present by videoconference, provided the count can be safely conducted on that date and at the Regional Director’s discretion. No party may make a video or audio recording or save any image of the ballot count. In order to be valid and counted, the returned ballots must be in an envelope signed by the voter and must be received in the Region 16 Office prior to the counting of the ballots.
In order to win the election, federal law states, "to be certified as the bargaining representative, an individual or a labor organization must receive a majority of the valid votes cast. Let's look at a couple of examples:
On average, each Via store involved has about 40 eligible voters. At each store, some of the voters are Shift Managers, and their eligibility has yet to be determined. So, if Shift Managers (BOH/FOH) choose to submit the ballot, their ballots will be set aside while the other ballots received will be counted.
IF no Shift Managers submit an acceptable ballot, the remaining eligible ballots will be counted. For example, if we count 21 NO ballots, and 19 YES ballots, the RWU loses the election. If the ballot count is a tie, the RWU fails to acquire the majority of ballots cast. Therefore, the RWU would lose the election. However, if only 3 employees vote YES, and 2 vote NO, the RWU would win by receiving the majority of ballots cast. In this case, the RWU would legally and exclusively be the representatives for the employees who voted YES, for the employees who voted NO against the union, and for the employees who failed to submit a ballot on time. Understanding this, it is critical for ALL EMPLOYEES TO VOTE and get their ballots turned in on time.
If the difference between the votes YES and Votes NO is LESS than the number of received Shift Manager ballots, the NLRB will have to schedule a formal hearing to litigate the argument of the Shift Managers' eligibility. The RWU and Via will have the opportunity to have their position heard through the presentation of evidence, testimony from witnesses, depositions, and more. If the Shift Manager ballots are found to be determinative to the outcome, the imminent hearing could take weeks or months before the NLRB rules on a decision.
When is the Election Result official?
Although the tally of ballots will be determined during the count, the results will not be certified as official yet. Within 7 days after the Tally of Ballots, any party may file objections to the conduct of the election or to conduct affecting the results of the election. The objections must be submitted within this time frame, regardless of whether the challenged ballots are sufficient in number to affect the results of the election. The objections must contain a short statement of the reasons for the objections and be accompanied by a written offer of proof identifying each witness the party would call to testify concerning the issue and summarizing the witness’s testimony. Upon a showing of good cause, the regional director may extend the time for filing the offer of proof. The party filing the objections will serve a copy of the objections, but not the written offer of proof, on each of the other parties to the case, and include a certificate of service with the objections.
If no timely objections are filed, no runoff election is required to be held, and the challenged ballots are insufficient in number to affect the results of the election, the regional director will issue a certification of the results of the election, including certification of representative where appropriate.