Byline: Andy Lewis For blue chip

Since private sector union membership peaked at roughly 35 percent in 1953, the number of American workers affiliated with labor unions has hit an all-time low, dropping to just 7.4 percent in 2006. But for those who assume that downward trend will continue,

In 2007, overall union membership went up for the first time in years, and while the increase was small, experts predict the percentage of private sector union membership will continue to rise.

Why, in this competitive business climate, are employees rethinking the need for a labor union? The answers are varied and include job security, skyrocketing health insurance premiums and stagnant wages. Another factor is increased competition within unions themselves. Change to Win, a new labor federation that emerged from an acrimonious split within the AFL-CIO in 2005, has budgeted 75 percent of its annual budget - nearly $750 million - to organizing campaigns.

To fuel its resurgence the organized labor movement has fundamentally changed its tactics. Gone are the days of union organizers distributing fliers in the company break room. Today, organizing campaigns are conducted electronically through e-mail, blogs and Web sites, allowing the entire campaign to occur without the employer's knowledge.

In another significant change, unions are taking a more proactive approach instead of waiting for disgruntled employees to search out a union. Strategists for Change to Win, for example, identify particular employers and industries and run corporate-wide campaigns, targeting employers in the retail, health care, insurance and services industries.

UNITE HERE, another labor union, has spent more than five years trying to organize a single national employer. And the focus is not just on large employers. In 2005, 70 percent of union elections involved bargaining units of fewer than 50 employees.

Unions are also drawing on Congress for assistance. In 2007, for example, the House passed the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). While the bill eventually died in the Senate, many Washington insiders believe the bill will eventually become law regardless of who wins the White House in November.

At its core, the EFCA will fundamentally alter the way union elections are conducted. Under current law, if a union presents authorization cards signed by at least 30 percent of the work force to the National Labor Relations Board, the NLRB notifies the employer of the workers' desire to form a union.

The employer and union then conduct information campaigns, and when those campaigns end the NLRB conducts a secret ballot election. If more than 50 percent of the employees vote in favor of a union, the union becomes the official bargaining representative for those employees. Of the secret elections that have been held, roughly 60 percent have resulted in union representation.

Under the EFCA, a secret ballot election is no longer required if a simple majority of employees sign authorization cards. That means an employer could be required to recognize a union without having any advance notice that an organizing campaign was occurring within its work force.

Unions say that the EFCA is necessary to balance the playing field between employers and workers. EFCA opponents contend that the secret ballot process is fundamental to the American way of life, and that without the benefit of secrecy a few aggressive employees could unduly influence a majority of the work force, at great cost to both employers and employees.

If it passes, the EFCA will constitute a dramatic sea change in union representation. But even if it fails, reorganized labor's resurgence is clear. Union organizers are more sophisticated and energized than they have been in years, and have successfully positioned themselves to again become an influential presence in the U.S. work force. As a result, employers with a strategic plan that fails to incorporate that reality may need a new strategic plan.

Andy Lewis is a partner in the law firm of Hershner Hunter. He is head of the firm's Labor and Employment Department.