The five-member NLRB in Washington granted review on two petitions in June regarding the use of "card checks" to organize unions. In particular, the petitions seek to eliminate the buffer period -- after a union has organized workers through a card check -- during which the union can't be nullified. Unions say that buffer period, which can last up to a year, allows for unions and companies to negotiate contracts without distraction.

The card check is an informal way of organizing that leaves the NLRB largely out of the process. In the card check the company agrees to the union's representation of workers if the union is able to get a majority of employees to sign cards in favor of its leadership. The two sides use a neutral third party to verify the card count, and once a majority is established both sides bargain for a contract.

By contrast, the NLRB-run secret ballot election requires the union organizers to have a 30 percent majority of worker support before an election can be held. Then, in the election, a majority of voters must support the union in order to gain representation.

Unions worry that the NLRB's consideration of the issue is a sign that the group is headed toward eliminating the card check entirely.

"There's at least a handful of unions in America who have made a decision that the only fair way (to organize) is through the card check and neutrality agreement process," Jane McAlevey, executive director of the Service Employees International Union Local 1107. She said SEIU both nationally and locally uses a mix of the card check process and its alternative, the NLRB-run election.

The petition was filed by workers at Toledo, Ohio-based Dana Corp. and Plymouth, Mich.-based Metaldyne Corp., with the support of the National Right To Work Foundation. The workers tried to decertify the United Auto Workers after the union had gained recognition through a card check. The National Right to Work Foundation, based in Springfield, Va., is an organization that fights what it calls union abuses and compulsory union membership. Justin Hakes, assistant director of legal information for the foundation, said the card check process opens the process up to abuse. He criticized unions' tactics in obtaining card check agreements. "We think the reason union officials are pushing for card checks is because they flat out can't win elections the way they used to. We feel they're trying to cut back-room deals with employers to take the decision out of the hands of workers," Hakes said.

Stefan Gleason, the organization's vice president, said the election is the more fair way to gauge support for a union. He said the group is seeking to either eliminate the card check process or allow workers the opportunity to try to nullify the union sooner.

Union leaders, however, say a card check is a better way to gauge union support among workers.

"You can't have constructive collective bargaining without some protection," Brent Garren, a UNITE HERE attorney, said. "That's been the law for 60 years. Now the labor board is considering changing that because they're trying to discourage card check recognition."

Local employer's attorney Ann Thomas said the card check process doesn't give workers the opportunity to vote in an election. She also said the card check is a more surreptitious form of organizing, where organizers meet in people's homes, at bars and other outside venues.

"It means the decision is made before the employer gets a chance to respond to what the union is telling the employees. Many employers don't realize the union is trying to organize their company until the organizing effort is pretty far along," Thomas said.

On the other hand, McAlevey criticized some of the NLRB's remedies of labor law violations as being weak. She said, for example, it took the board a year to act after the union complained that Las Vegas ambulance company American Medical Response disciplined workers for wearing union buttons.

The National Labor Relations Act forbids companies from disciplining workers who express support for union representation. The NLRB eventually ordered American Medical Response to put up signs apologizing for its actions and stating workers' rights under the law.

"Who cares? Where's the justice in that? A real labor board would be able to say the workers deserve back pay," McAlevey said.

The most recent local example of a card check organizing drive is the one taking place at the Aladdin.

The union is seeking a card check neutrality agreement with the Aladdin's new owners, a group of investors led by Planet Hollywood co-founder Robert Earl. Earl has indicated that he will be meeting with employees and the union throughout September to determine how to proceed. Union officials say they have 1,200 signatures of workers in favor of the union's leadership.

Meanwhile, Kevin Kline, director of organizing for the union, has said the union remains optimistic that the casino's new owners will agree to the union's representation.

The issue is also a hot one in Congress.

Currently there are a pair of opposing pieces of legislation pending in Congress over the card check issue. One bill is called the Employee Free Choice Act and is backed by the AFL-CIO. Supporters say the legislation will strengthen the card check as an organizing tool. Meanwhile, the Secret Ballot Protection Act would eliminate the card check and force all organizing drives to go through the election process.

Alana Roberts covers courts and labor relations for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached by e-mail at alanar@lasvegassun.com or at (702) 259-4059.