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Originally Posted by bhunter
I'm interested in the structure of unions and their procedures. A recommended book or website perhaps.
Can a business refuse to use union labor despite a vote by the employees for the union? Once a union is operating within an industry, how difficult is it to eliminate the union in that industry? Do unions support merit systems for raises and salaries or primarily seniority systems? What fee percentages do unions typically charge and why do unions want the employer to collect the fee?
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Here's as good a place to start as any. It provides a copy of the NLRA and discusses how the NLRB administers the Act.
http://www.nlrb.gov/
Regarding your questions:
A company can't refuse to bargain with a union once a bargaining unit has voted in favor of representation. However, while the NLRA requires the union and the company to bargain, it does not require the two parties to agree on anything. Generally, binding arbitration is used in public sector, not private sector, union contracts. It has happened where bargaining was commenced but no contract resulted (and the union eventually was de-certified by the employees), but it doesn't happen often: the process is ugly and requires deep pockets.
The process for de-certification of a union is similar to certification: as long as 30% of the employees in the bargaining unit sign a petition to de-certify the union, the NLRB will hold another secret ballot election, and the majority of employees must vote to de-certify. De-certification elections can't happen within one year of the initial secret ballot election that certified the union as the representative of the bargaining unit.
Regarding merit pay, this is typically non-existent in union contracts. Seniority in a particular job is the typical determinant of wage rates.
The provision for unions dues withheld from wages is called check-off, and is typically one of the first items that the union wants to agree upon in any contract negotiations. Without check-off, I suspect most unions would find consistent collection of dues very challenging, particularly in "right to work" states. As far as dues, rates very widely by industry and by the type of jobs within represented within a particular bargaining unit. A rough average is typically about two hours per month in wages based on the average hourly rate within the bargaining unit.