Labor Law
Chapter 22
LABOR LAW
Should strikes after be stopped?
I. Overview
Organized labor has suffered from a long and steady decline in membership, power, and influence
over the past forty years. Much of this slide has been of its own doing, traceable to poor union
management, a fat cat image, and sometimes-silly work rules that have no economic justification in the
face of changed technology. In spite of all this bad news for unions, consider the working conditions that
existed before them. It is a hallmark of advanced industrialized economies that the work force is highly
organized and has a strong bargaining power over its affairs. The immediate post-Civil War era of
industrialization saw the possibilities for abuse of the work force not only become reality, but also a
tragedy, when it came to workers' safety. Most modern social legislation, ranging from the minimum
wage, to child labor laws, to workplace and antidiscrimination statutes are traceable not to the largess of
employers but rather to hard fought collective bargaining agreements. It is no accident that union
representation is low in areas of the world still noted for the exploitation of their labor force. Corollaries
of low wages are low levels of worker protection, environmental callousness, and an overall diminished
standard of living.
The basic employer/employee relationship is a contractual one. As with any contract, both parties are
expected to enter into the relationship with their own best interests at heart. The quaint notion of a
paternalistic employer who cares for his workers over and above his own interests is simply unrealistic in
today's age of cutthroat economic competition. What is realistic is enlightened self-interest. Each side of
the labor management relationship still looks out for itself. But in looking out for number one, both must
realize their mutual interdependence on each other. Labor must realize that it cannot sustain its own
survival on the backs of failed companies brought down by union imposed inefficiencies. Labor must
adjust to "Real World 101" and make concessions to both the technological and economic realities of
trying to compete in a global economy. Management, in turn, cannot forever continue to erode our
economic consumer base at home by running overseas at every opportunity for lower wages and less
restrictive hospitalities for doing business.
What will happen in the long run if we allow our home economy to become depleted of workers who
earn real living wages? We cannot let our economy degenerate into one of only two classes: the very
rich and minimum wage service workers. Our industrial base was built on a working partnership between
management and labor. Like any marriage this partnership was not always easy to live with. But it did
thrive on a mutual respect for the other's role in the larger scheme of things. What we have had instead
for the past forty years is a willingness on the part of both sides to forgo the long-term societal benefits
that can inure from good faith bargaining. The end result is that our economy is in danger of not only
being nonunion, but also more noncompetitive, nonproductive, and nongrowth than ever. Unions and
management both need to adjust before it’s too late.
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II. Hypothetical Multi-issue Essay Question
Major League baseball players have decided to strike after the end of the current contract.
Management has told the rookies that if they honor the strike, they will be cut from the major and minor
leaguer rosters. The union claims that the strike is necessary because management will not listen to salary
or benefit demands and, in fact, will not speak to union representatives. Who has acted legally in this
matter?
III. Outline
Major Federal Labor Law Statutes
Norris-LaGuardia Act—employees were able to organize
National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act)—affirmative duty on employers to bargain in good faith
Labor-Management Relations Act (Taft-Hartley Act)—expands union activity; more rights for
employees; injunction by president
Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (Landrum-Griffin Act)—regulates union internal
affairs; gives each union member equal rights and privileges in elections and membership meetings.
Railway Labor Act—covers railroad and airline carrier employees
National labor Relations Board (NLRB) – oversees employer-employee
union-related activities
Organizing a Union
Section 7 of the NLRA gives employees the right to join together and form a union
The group that is seeking representation is called an appropriate bargaining unit
Employers may restrict solicitation activities to the employees’ free time and to non-working areas
Collective Bargaining
Collective bargaining
The act of negotiating contract terms between an employer and the members of a union
Collective bargaining agreement
The resulting contract from a collective bargaining procedure
Collective bargaining process
Employees choose union (30% petition) – can hold decertification
election
Exclusive bargaining agent
Both parties must bargain in good faith:
Approach table with open minds.
Bargain on mandatory items  wages, hours, fringe benefits,
health benefits, retirement, safety.
No unfair labor practices by either management or unions:
Management cannot interfere with joining or forming a
union including no threats or giving benefits to
employees on election eve.
Unions cannot interfere with election including threats.
Weapons of parties include strikes by unions, lockouts by
management and sometimes firing.
Union Security Agreements
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Union shop
An employee must join the union within a certain number of days after being hired
Agency shop
Employees do not have to be union members but must pay an agency fee (an amount equal to
union dues) to the union
Closed shop
An establishment where union membership is a condition of employment
Closed shops are illegal under the Taft-Hartley Act
Union and agency shops are illegal in right-to-work states
Crossover and Replacement Workers During a Strike
Individuals do not have to honor strike
Crossover worker
A person who does not honor a strike by either
Choosing not to strike
Returning to work after joining the strikers for a time
Replacement worker
A worker who is hired either on a temporary or on a permanent basis to take the place of a
striking worker
Illegal Types of Strikes
Violent strikes
Sit-down strikes
Partial or intermittent strikes
Wildcat strikes—no union authorization
Strikes during the 60-day cooling off period
Strikes in violation of a no-strike clause
Picketing (legal walking in front of employer premises-cannot obstruct employer’s legal operations)
Secondary Boycott Picketing - A type of picketing where unions try to bring pressure against an
employer by picketing his or her suppliers or customers—lawful only for product picketing
Plant Closing Act – a special situation
Notice of closing or mass layoff is required.
Exemption for closing or layoff not reasonably foreseeable or if actively
trying to get funds to keep open.
Management
Labor
Collective Bargaining
Unionize
Lockouts
Strikes
THE PROCESS
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IV. Objective Questions
Terms:
1. The act of negotiating is called _______________ _______________.
2.
The Family and Medical Leave Act guarantees unpaid time off for __________ ____________.
3. In a _______________ shop, an employee must join the union within a certain number of days after
being hired.
4. When striking employees walk in front of an employer's premises carrying signs announcing their
strike, this is called _______________.
5. A contract where an employer agrees with a union not to use, handle, transport, deal in, or purchase
the products made by nonunion workers of other employers is a _______________
_______________ contract.
True/False:
1. ____
Once a union is elected and certified, covered employees may negotiate individually with the
employer regarding employment benefits.
2. ____
If a collective bargaining agreement cannot be reached, the union may call a strike.
3. ____
Unions cannot spend union dues on political activities.
4. ____
Secondary boycott picketing is always permitted.
5. ____
States with right-to-work laws outlaw union shops.
Multiple Choice:
1. Which act created the National Labor Relations Board?
A. Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.
B. Norris-LaGuardia Act.
C. National Labor Relations Act.
D. Labor-Management Relations Act.
2. Where a union solicitation is being conducted by fellow employees, which of the following may an
employer not do?
A. Restrict solicitation to the employees' free time.
B. Limit solicitation to nonworking areas such as the cafeteria, etc.
C. Dismiss employees who do not violate solicitation rules.
D. Bar off-duty employees from union solicitation on company premises.
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3. Which of the following is not a permissive subject of collective bargaining?
A. Size and composition of supervisory force.
B. Corporate reorganization.
C. Work discrimination.
D. Location of plants.
4. Sally Striker was on strike with her union protesting unsafe working conditions. Her employer hired
a replacement worker to replace her during the strike. Now the strike is over and Sally wants her job
back, but her employer says she is discharged. What results?
A. Economic strikers who reapply for their jobs are entitled to a nondiscriminatory review of their
job applications prior to new applicants.
B. Employees who are striking against an unfair labor practice are entitled to reinstatement even if
the employer has to discharge replacements hired during the strike.
C. Illegal strikers may be discharged by the employer and have no right to reinstatement.
D. Strikers do not have to be paid while they are on strike.
5. Picketing is lawful when it:
A. Is accompanied by violence.
B. Prevents nonstriking employees from entering the employer's premises.
C. Does not obstruct customers from entering the employer's place of business.
D. Prevents pickups and deliveries at the employer's place of business.
Statute Exercise:
Choose the statute from the left column and match it to the description in the right column.
1. Norris-LaGuardia Act
A. Regulates union internal affairs
2. Wagner Act
B. Presidential injunction
3. Taft-Hartley Act
C. Covers railroad employees
4. Landrum Griffin Act
D. Employers must bargain in good faith
5. Railway Labor Act
E. Employees can organize
V. Answers to Objective Questions
Terms:
1. Collective bargaining. Once a union has been elected, the employer and union will engage in this
process in an attempt to negotiate a contract.
2. Medical Emergencies. This could include the birth of, and care for, a child.
3. Union. Union shops are lawful. Closed shops are not lawful.
4. Picketing. This practice is lawful unless it is accompanied by violence or some other improper
interference with the employer’s business.
5. Cross-over workers. These are individual members of a union who chose not to honor a strike.
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True/False:
1. False. The union has now assumed that role.
2. True. The strike must still be conducted legally in order to be protected by federal law.
3. False. Unions are very active in the political process although their influence has decreased
dramatically in recent years.
4. False. It is only appropriate for product picketing.
5. True. Agency shops are also illegal in these states.
Multiple Choice:
1. C. This Act remains the cornerstone of U.S. labor relations law.
2. C. If the employees comply with the solicitation rules, the employer may not dismiss them for such
activities.
3. C. Civil rights laws cannot be violated in the process of collective bargaining.
4. B. If the employer has engaged in an illegal labor practice, he or she must reinstate wrongfully
discharged workers who struck against the illegal practice.
5. C. A, B, and D are all examples of illegal picketing practices.
Statute Exercise:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
4
3
5
2
1
VI. Answers to Essay Question:
Management has engaged in unfair labor practices. They interfered with the operation of the union
with the rookie threats and they refuse to bargain in good faith. These actions defeat the entire process.
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