NLRB Regional Directors Say Mail-In Elections Is ‘Safer’ Option

National Labor Relations Board regional directors denied a pair of requests this week to conduct union elections in person, citing a fear of spreading Covid-19.

Mail-in voting was ordered in one contest to disband a union at a Delaware poultry facility and another to unionize a New York hospital, with regional directors saying that in-person elections still pose a threat to workers. The cases signal an emerging debate over how soon the NLRB should resume in-person elections as local authorities begin to lift virus-related restrictions.

“Even as the spread of COVID-19 hopefully begins to wane, NLRB mail ballot elections may ...