A workplace is “officially” union upon winning union recognition. Union recognition means that the company has a legal obligation to bargain a contract. Many media companies have respected their employees’ democratic right to organize and recognize their employees’ unions after a neutral third party verifies that a majority of employees have signed union cards or petitions (this was the case at Gimlet Media, Parcast, The Ringer, and many other media companies in the past several years). We certainly hope iHeartMedia will respect our rights, avoid unnecessary delays, and voluntarily recognize our union.
Some media companies insist on a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election to certify union representation. Should the c-suite refuse to voluntarily recognize our union, we would then file an election petition with the NLRB to secure an irrefutable union victory. You can read more about the NLRB election process here