Stay tuned, but it looks like unions will file less than 2,000 NLRB petitions in 2009 for the first time since… well, ever. Here is what petition activity has looked like over the last decade (click the picture to download a larger version):

As we sit here in mid-November, unions have filed just over 1,800 petitions for the year. That’s off about 25% from last year and around half as many petitions as filed 5 years ago. There is still about a month and a half left, but unions typically slow down during the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I guess we know what unions are asking Santa Claus for this year (probably the same thing they asked for last year…).