Effects of Railway Labor Act Election Rule Changes on Voter Participation and Unionization Activity

In 2010 the National Mediation Board changed the process by which airline and railroad employees certify a union. New election rules require the majority of ballots cast be in favor of unionization to install a collective bargaining entity. This differed from the previous procedure which required the majority of a craft or class of laborers vote in favor of unionization. This study investigates the effects of the voting change on unionization and voter participation for industries covered under the Railway Labor Act. Data from airline and railroad related union elections were mined pre and post procedural change and analyzed. Chi-square analysis revealed no significant change in union certification efforts. Analysis also indicated no significant change in union certification efforts when comparing the airline to the railroad sample groups. T-test results indicate a significant increase in voter participation in Railway Labor Act elections under the new election rules

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Aviation

Year

2014

Author dc:creator

• Elsenrath, Michael

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.und.edu/theses/390

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.und.edu:theses-1389