GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Employees at the Star Tickets call center in Grand Rapids will decide this week whether to organize into a collective bargaining unit with the Industrial Workers of the World union.

Tom Good, resident officer at the National Labor Relations Board office in Grand Rapids, said the election process will take place at the company’s call center, 620 Century Ave. SW on Wednesday, March 6.

Good said the election will occur from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in front of union and employer observers, and the results will be tallied on site after the vote.

On Jan. 23, the I.W.W. filed paperwork with the NLRB to create a bargaining unit at the local call center for the national event ticketing agency. Calling the work environment "untenable," the union said employees were demanding a reduction in workload and a grievance procedure.

On the prospective union's Facebook page, workers have posted literature questioning the need for representation allegedly circulated among call center staff by management.

Good said that an election process agreement between the I.W.W and Star Tickets management was reached after some negotiation over who is technically considered a supervisor at the call center.

If the majority of valid votes — in this case, 13 — opt for representation, Good said the NLRB would serve notice about the creation of the union on the spot.

Either side has seven days to file an objection to the vote. If no objection is filed in that time, the union would be certified and the two sides would start scheduling negotiations to begin the collective bargaining process.

“It’s a heck-of-a good process, even though it’s low-tech,” said Good.

A small rally was held outside the call center on Monday, March 4.

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