Labor Law - Intro to Law - Lecture Slides, Slides of Law

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Quotes of the Day

“Without the power of the industrial union behind it, democracy can only enter the state as a victim enters the gullet of a serpent.” James Connolly, Irish labor leader

“Unionism seldom, if ever, uses such power as

it has to insure better work; almost always it devotes a large part of that power to safeguarding bad work.” H.L Mencken American journalist

National Labor Relations Act

• Section 7 guarantees employees the right to

organize and join unions, bargain collectively

through representatives of their own choosing,

and engage in other concerted activities.

• Section 8(a) makes it an unfair labor practice

(ULP) for an employer:

• To interfere with union organizing efforts
• To dominate or interfere with any union
• To discriminate against a union member, or
• To refuse to bargain with a union

National Labor Relations Board

(NLRB)

• Established by the NLRA
• Has two primary tasks:
  • Decides if a union has the right to represent a group of employees.
  • Adjudicates claims by either the employer or workers that the other has committed an unfair labor practice.

The NLRB describes its mission and methods at this website.

State Labor Law

• All states have labor statutes. Some

are comprehensive, some have a

narrow focus.

• Preemption means that states have no

jurisdiction to regulate any labor issue

that is governed by federal law.

Exclusivity

• Under §9 of the NLRA, a validly

recognized union is the exclusive

representative of the employees.

• A collective bargaining unit is the

precisely defined group of employees

who will be represented by a particular

union.

Rights

• What Workers May Do
  • They may talk among themselves about forming a union, to hand out literature, and ultimately to join a union.
• What Employers May Do
  • They may vigorously present anti-union views to its employees, but may not use either threats or promises of benefits to defeat a union drive. - When an employer outrageously interferes, the NLRB may forgo the normal election, certify the union, and order the company to bargain.

Appropriate Bargaining Unit

• The Board generally certifies a

proposed bargaining unit if and only if

the employees share a community of

interest.

• Managerial employees must be excluded from the bargaining unit.
• Confidential employees are generally excluding from the bargaining unit.

Employer & Union Security

• No-strike and no-lockout clauses are

both legal.

• A closed shop (requirement to hire only

union members) is illegal.

• A union shop (requiring union

membership after hiring) is generally

legal.

• An agency shop (new hire pays union

fees, but does not have to join) – also

legal.

Duty to Bargain

• Both the union and the employer must bargain in good faith and with an open mind. However, they are not obligated to reach an agreement.
• If an employer states that it is financially unable to meet the union’s demands, the union is entitled to see records that support the claim.
• Management may not unilaterally change wages, hours, or terms and conditions of employment without bargaining the issues to impasse.

Limitations on Strikes

• The NLRA guarantees the right to

strike, but with some limitations:

• No-strike clause in CBA makes strike illegal.
• The union must give a 60-day “cooling off period” notice of its intent to strike.
• Some states have statutory prohibition against strikes by some public employees, like teachers or firefighters.
• Violent strikes are prohibited.
• Sit-down strikes (workers quit working, but remain at posts) and partial strikes (stop work, then resume, then stop) are prohibited because they prevent hiring of replacements.

Replacement Workers

• Management has the right to hire replacement

workers during a strike.

• After an economic strike , an employer may not

discriminate against a striker, but the employer

is not obligated to lay off a replacement

worker to give a striker his job back.

• After a ULP strike , a union member is entitled

to her job back, even if that means the

employer must lay off a replacement worker.

Multi-Employer Bargaining and

Antitrust Law

• The Supreme Court has consistently held

that multi-employer bargaining does not

violate antitrust laws.

• Regulating Union Affairs
  • The duty of fair representation requires that a union represent all members fairly, impartially, and in good faith.
  • A union’s decision not to file a grievance is illegal only if it was arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith.

“Many decades after Congress

guaranteed important labor rights, management and workers in many industries still clash over the old issues of union organization,

collective bargaining, and concerted

action.”