## Facts

- A union sought to represent Savair Manufacturing Company’s production and maintenance employees through an NLRB-conducted secret-ballot election under NLRA § 9(c).
- Before the election, the union circulated “recognition slips” stating that employees who signed before the election became union members and would not have to pay an initiation fee (also described as a “fine”).
- The fee waiver applied only to employees who signed before the election; employees who joined after the election could be required to pay the fee.
- The union won the election 22–20.
- The employer objected to the election, arguing the conditional fee-waiver offer tainted employees’ choice, but the NLRB certified the union after a hearing.
- The employer then refused to bargain; the NLRB found violations of NLRA §§ 8(a)(1) and 8(a)(5) and issued a bargaining order.
- The Sixth Circuit denied enforcement of the bargaining order, finding the election invalid due to the conditional initiation-fee waiver.

## Issues

1. Whether a union’s offer to waive initiation fees only for employees who sign authorization/recognition cards before a Board election interferes with employees’ § 7 right to refrain from union activity and the § 9(c) requirement of fair and free employee choice.
2. Whether such conduct taints the election so that a union’s election victory cannot support enforcement of an NLRB bargaining order.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court affirmed the Sixth Circuit’s denial of enforcement of the NLRB’s bargaining order.
- The Court held that conditioning an initiation-fee waiver on employees’ pre-election card signing interferes with employees’ § 7 right to refrain from union activity.
- The Court held that the practice is inconsistent with the statutory requirement that Board elections reflect employees’ fair and free choice of bargaining representative.
- Because the practice tainted the election, the union’s certification could not support a bargaining order against the employer.

## Legal Principles

- Board-supervised representation elections must reflect employees’ fair and free choice; the NLRB has discretion to police election conditions, but practices that materially distort choice are impermissible.
- Employees’ NLRA § 7 rights include both the right to engage in union activity and the right to refrain from such activity.
- A union may not condition a financial benefit (such as an initiation-fee waiver) on an employee’s pre-election showing of support (e.g., signing authorization cards), because it pressures employees to declare support and can distort the election process.
- A conditional, selective fee waiver tied to pre-election support is a basis to deny enforcement of a bargaining order that depends on the resulting election outcome.

## Conclusion

The Court held that a union’s pre-election offer to waive initiation fees only for employees who sign authorization cards before the election unlawfully interferes with employees’ right to refrain and undermines fair and free choice in representation elections, requiring denial of enforcement of the NLRB’s bargaining order based on the tainted election.


NLRB v. Savair Mfg. Co., 414 U.S. 270 (1973)