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🗞️ Union Deauthorization Election at Mom's Organic Market

MOM's Organic Market employees filed a Union Deauthorization petition to withdraw the union's authority to require dues. A secret ballot election was ordered to vote on whether to eliminate the union security clause.

onthelaborfront

30 Dec 2025 — 3 min read

On December 30, 2025, NLRB Regional Director Sean R. Marshall directed a deauthorization election at MOM's Organic Market in College Park, Maryland. The case involves employee Nora Ricse petitioning under Section 9(e) of the National Labor Relations Act to eliminate the union security clause from the collective bargaining agreement between MOM's Organic Market and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400.

Union deauthorization elections represent a unique feature of federal labor law that allows employees to remove mandatory dues requirements without removing the union as their bargaining representative. Unlike decertification (RD) elections which seek to eliminate union representation entirely, UD elections specifically target union security clauses authorized under Section 8(a)(3) of the NLRA. These clauses typically require employees to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment within 30 days of hire.

The current collective bargaining agreement between MOM's Organic Market and UFCW Local 400 runs from November 18, 2025, through November 17, 2028. A critical procedural aspect of UD elections is that they can be filed at any time during a contract's term, unlike decertification petitions which are generally barred during the first three years of a collective bargaining agreement except during specified window periods.

To trigger the election, the petitioning employees had to submit evidence that at least 30% of bargaining unit employees support holding the deauthorization vote. However, to successfully deauthorize the union security clause, the petitioning employees must obtain votes from a majority of all eligible voters in the bargaining unit—not merely a majority of those who cast ballots. This higher threshold distinguishes UD elections from most other NLRB representation elections where a simple majority of votes cast determines the outcome.

If the deauthorization succeeds, employees will no longer be required to pay dues or fees to the union as a condition of employment, effectively creating an "open shop" environment. However, the union will continue to serve as the exclusive bargaining representative for all employees in the unit, the collective bargaining agreement will remain in full force, and the union retains its duty to represent all employees fairly regardless of their membership or financial support.

This type of election is relatively rare—only 20 UD petitions were filed nationwide in 2023 compared to 1,525 representation petitions and 168 decertification petitions. The rarity reflects both the high bar for success (majority of all eligible voters) and the fact that 27 states have "right-to-work" laws that already prohibit union security agreements, making deauthorization elections unnecessary in those jurisdictions.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which represents petitioner Nora Ricse, is a prominent organization that assists employees seeking to challenge compulsory unionism provisions. Their involvement suggests this case is part of broader efforts to limit mandatory union financial support even in non-right-to-work states like Maryland.

Key Points

UD elections eliminate union security clauses but maintain union representation - Unlike decertification, the union continues as the bargaining representative
Requires majority of ALL eligible voters, not just votes cast - This supermajority requirement makes UD elections significantly harder to win than standard representation elections
Can be filed anytime during contract term - Not subject to the contract bar rules that limit decertification petitions
30% showing of interest required to petition - Similar to other representation cases
Creates "open shop" if successful - Employees can choose whether to financially support the union without losing their jobs
All contract terms remain in effect - Wages, benefits, and other negotiated provisions continue unchanged
Union retains duty of fair representation - Must represent all employees equally regardless of membership or dues payment
Rare in practice - Only 20 filed nationally in 2023, partly because 27 states already ban union security clauses through right-to-work laws