Card check
Card check is a method of organizing employees into a labor union in which employers enter into an agreement to recognize the unionization of its employees if a majority of employees sign authorization forms, or "cards".
Card Check in the United States
The signed cards are then submitted to the National Labor Relations Board, known as the NLRB. Under current U.S. law, the employer may choose to not to recognize the union as its employees' collective bargaining representative even if it has been found that a majority of employees have expressed their intent to join the union under through card check, also called majority verification process.
The Employee Free Choice Act, introduced in the United States Congress in 2005, would require that the NLRB recognize the union's role as the official bargaining representative if a majority of employees have authorized that representation via card check. [1]
Among the advantages of the card check process over traditional NLRB elections cited by organized labor groups are that it avoids the anti-union campaigns that can accompany elections and that it leads to healthier workplace relations by avoiding a direct confrontation between employer and its employees. Critics of card check organizing argue that the process takes away from employees the right to vote for or against the union in a secret ballot.