Certification Without An Election: The New York Experience

William A. Herbert

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Abstract

The attached conference paper was originally presented at the NYU Conference on Labor in June, 2009. The paper describes the experience under New York's Taylor Law in the use of a certification without an election procedure in public sector labor relations. The paper has been substantially revised and supplemented in an article entitled the Development and Administration of Non-Electoral Certifications in New York, which has been posted on ssrn.

For fifty years, New York law has granted administrative discretion to certify employee organizations based upon administrative review of dues deduction cards and other forms of evidence. Under the Taylor Law, non-electoral certification is the preferred means for determining majority support from employees in a proposed public sector negotiation unit. In 2001, the New York Legislature amended its private sector labor relations law to establish a similar preference for non-electoral certifications.