Notice of Election
PURPOSE OF ELECTION: This election is to determine the representative, if any, desired by the eligible employees for purposes of collective bargaining with their employer. (See VOTING UNITS in this Notice of Election for description of eligible employees.) A majority of the valid ballots cast will determine the results of the election. Only one valid representation election may be held in a 12-month period.
SECRET BALLOT: The election will be by secret ballot carried out through the U.S. mail under the supervision of the Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Sample of the official ballots are shown on the next pages of this Notice. Voters will be allowed to vote without interference, restraint, or coercion. Employees eligible to vote will receive in the mail Instructions to Employees Voting by United States Mail, a ballot, a blue envelope, and a yellow self-addressed envelope needing no postage.
ELIGIBILITY RULES: Employees eligible to vote are those described under the VOTING UNITS on the next page and include employees who did not work during the designated payroll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off. In a mail ballot election, employees are eligible if they are in the VOTING UNIT during both the designated payroll period and on the date they mail in their ballots. Employees who have quit or been discharged for cause since the designated payroll period and who have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of this election, or, in a mail ballot election, before the date they mail in their ballots, are not eligible to vote.
CHALLENGE OF VOTERS: An agent of the Board or an authorized observer may question the eligibility of a voter. Such challenge must be made at the time the ballots are counted.
AUTHORIZED OBSERVERS: Each party may designate an equal number of observers, this number to be determined by the NLRB. These observers (a) act as checkers at the counting of ballots; (b) assist in identifying voters; (c) challenge voters and ballots; and (d) otherwise assist the NLRB.
METHOD AND DATE OF ELECTION
The election will be conducted by United States mail. The mail ballots will be mailed to employees employed in the appropriate collective-bargaining unit. At 11:00 am ET on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, ballots will be mailed to voters from the National Labor Relations Board, Region 25, 575 N Pennsylvania St Ste 238, Indianapolis, IN 46204-1520. Voters must sign the outside of the envelope in which the ballot is returned. Any ballot received in an envelope that is not signed will be automatically void.
Those employees who believe that they are eligible to vote and did not receive a ballot in the mail by Monday, October 28, 2024, as well as those who require a duplicate ballot, should communicate immediately with the National Labor Relations Board by either calling the Region 25 office at (317)226-7381 or our national toll-free line at 1-844- 762-NLRB (1-844- 762-6572).
All ballots will be commingled and counted at the Region 25 office on Friday, November 15, 2024 at 10:00 am ET with all parties present via videoconference. In order to be valid and counted, the returned ballots must be received in the Region 25 office prior to the counting of the ballots.
VOTING UNITS
VOTING GROUP – UNIT A (PROFESSIONAL UNIT):
Employees Eligible to Vote: All full-time and regular part-time professional employees employed by the Employer in the following job classifications during the payroll period ending September 15, 2024: Staff Attorneys, Senior Staff Attorneys, senior subject matter lead attorneys (including Senior Civil Litigation Attorneys, Senior Consumer Law Attorneys, Senior Criminal Records Relief Attorneys, Senior Juvenile Justice Attorneys, Senior Public Benefits Attorneys, Senior Rental Housing Attorneys, Senior Safety Attorneys), and Telephone Counseling Attorneys.
Employees Not Eligible to Vote: All office clerical employees, confidential employees, non-professional employees, managerial employees, guards and supervisors as defined by the Act, and all other employees.
If a majority of the professional employees voting in Unit A vote “Yes” to the first question, indicating their desire to be included in a unit with non-professional employees, they will be so included, and their votes on the second question will be counted together with the votes of the non-professional employees in Unit B to decide the question concerning representation for the overall unit consisting of the employees in Units A and B. If on the other hand, a majority of the professional employees voting in Unit A do not vote “Yes” to the first question, their ballots will be counted separately to decide the question concerning representation in a separate Unit A.
Ballot for Voting Group - Unit A
VOTING GROUP – UNIT B (NON-PROFESSIONAL UNIT)
Employees Eligible to Vote: All full-time and regular part-time non-professional employees employed by the Employer in the following job classifications during the payroll period ending September 15, 2024: Annual Giving Specialists, Community Resource Specialists, Development Coordinators, Senior Grants Manager, Major Giving Specialists, Office Assistants, Paralegals, Senior Paralegals, Pro Bono Coordinators, Senior Pro Bono Coordinators, Telephone Counseling Intake Specialists, and Testing and Outreach Coordinators.
Employees Not Eligible to Vote: All confidential employees, professional employees, managerial employees, guards and supervisors as defined by the Act, and all other employees.
Others Permitted to Vote in Unit B: The parties have agreed that all Grant Specialists and Senior Grant Specialists may vote in the election as part of Unit B, but their ballots will be challenged since their eligibility has not been resolved. No decision has been made regarding whether the individuals in these classifications or groups are included in, or excluded from, the bargaining unit. The eligibility or inclusion of these individuals will be resolved, if necessary, following the election.
BALLOT FOR VOTING GROUP - UNIT B
RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES - FEDERAL LAW GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO:
• Form, join, or assist a union
• Choose representatives to bargain with your employer on your behalf
• Act together with other employees for your benefit and protection
• Choose not to engage in any of these protected activities
• In a State where such agreements are permitted, the Union and Employer may enter into a lawful union- security agreement requiring employees to pay periodic dues and initiation fees. Nonmembers who inform the Union that they object to the use of their payments for nonrepresentational purposes may be required to pay only their share of the Union's costs of representational activities (such as collective bargaining, contract administration, and grievance adjustment).
It is the responsibility of the National Labor Relations Board to protect employees in the exercise of these rights.
The Board wants all eligible voters to be fully informed about their rights under Federal law and wants both Employers and Unions to know what is expected of them when it holds an election.
If agents of either Unions or Employers interfere with your right to a free, fair, and honest election the election can be set aside by the Board. When appropriate, the Board provides other remedies, such as reinstatement for employees fired for exercising their rights, including backpay from the party responsible for their discharge.
The following are examples of conduct that interfere with the rights of employees and may result in setting aside of the election:
• Threatening loss of jobs or benefits by an Employer or a Union
• Promising or granting promotions, pay raises, or other benefits, to influence an employee's vote by a party capable of carrying out such promises
• An Employer firing employees to discourage or encourage union activity or a Union causing them to be fired to encourage union activity
• Making campaign speeches to assembled groups of employees on company time, where attendance is mandatory, within the 24-hour period before the polls for the election first open or the mail ballots are dispatched in a mail ballot election
• Incitement by either an Employer or a Union of racial or religious prejudice by inflammatory appeals
• Threatening physical force or violence to employees by a Union or an Employer to influence their votes
The National Labor Relations Board protects your right to a free choice.
Improper conduct will not be permitted. All parties are expected to cooperate fully with this Agency in maintaining basic principles of a fair election as required by law.
Anyone with a question about the election may contact the NLRB Office at (309)671-7080 or visit the NLRB website www.nlrb.gov for assistance.