[Excerpt] Analyzing 1986-87 data from 261 NLRB certification election campaigns, the author finds that union tactic variables explain more of the variance in election outcomes than any other group of variables, including employer tactics, bargaining unit demographics, organizer background, election background, employer characteristics, and election environment. The results suggest that unions can significantly improve the probability of winning an election by using a rank-and-file-intensive organizing strategy. This strategy includes a reliance on person-to-person contact; an emphasis on union democracy and representative participation: the building of support for the first contract during the organizing drive; the use of escalating pressure tactics; and an emphasis on dignity, justice, and fairness rather than on breadand-butter issues.

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American workers are currently engaged in an upsurge in collective actions aimed at achieving a stronger voice and representation at work; this desire for increased voice at work is also evident in survey data. However, union organizing drives in the United States typically meet with strong employer resistance, and such resistance reduces the likelihood that the organizing effort will be successful. In addition to unions, a broad array of other efforts has been initiated to strengthen worker voice and representation. The authors discuss these efforts, including worker centers, and observe that there is no “one size fits all” approach to contemporary worker organizing.

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