Legal Issues
The Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)
• Courts applied Sherman to unions, treating them
as a “commodity”
• Unions were treated like other monopolies or
conspiracies that restricted trade
• Courts used injunctions to discourage strikes
• Employers could gain injunctions quickly
Adapted from Katz & Kochan, 2004
The Railway Labor Act (1926)
• Specifies that employees have right to organize unions
without employer interference and to bargain through
representatives of their own choosing
• The purpose of the law was to establish procedures to
reduce conflict in the railroads
• Airlines were added in 1936
• Monitored by the National Mediation Board, NOT
NLRB
Adapted from Katz & Kochan, 2004
NationalMediation
MediationBoard
Board Organizational
Organizational Chart
2013
National
Chart– –August
July 2011
http://www.nmb.gov/directory/orgchart_08-19-13.pdf
Collective Bargaining
Under the Railway
Labor Act
Source:
National Mediation Board
Retrieved on Sept. 08, 2011 from
http://www.nmb.gov/publicinfo/collb
arg2.pdf
Frequency of Presidential
Emergency Boards 1934 - 2004
Link to Current Frequency Chart
for Presidential Emergency
Boards
Source: National Mediation Board
Retrieved on Sept. 15, 2005 from
http://www.nmb.gov/mediation/pebsfreq
chart_thru2004.pdf
The Norris LaGuardia Act (1932)
• Act provided even stronger endorsement of
collective bargaining than the RLA
– It allows private sector employees full
freedom of association, self-organization, and
representatives to negotiate contractual terms
– Also known as the “Federal Anti-Injunction
Act” as it imposed restraints (but state courts
continued to issue injunctions)
Adapted from Katz & Kochan, 2004
National Industrial Recovery Act (1933)
• NIRA passed to promote recovery from the
Depression
– Allowed business groups to plan & regulate
prices; workers in the plan had minimum wages
– Meant to stimulate business activity
– Struck down by Supreme Court; Congress had
exceeded its authority
– From 1933-1935, union members grew from 2.9
to 3.9 million
Adapted from Katz & Kochan, 2004
National Labor Relations Act (1935)
a.k.a. “Wagner Act”
• Passed in 1935, the NLRA made union
activity and strikes legal in the private
sector
– Purpose was to promote orderly and
peaceful recognition of unions and
collective bargaining as a means of
establishing terms of employment
– Later amended by Taft-Hartley (1947) and
Landrum-Griffin (1959)
Adapted from Katz & Kochan, 2004
National Emergency Disputes
• Title II of the NLRA includes procedures
when a strike has caused a national
emergency dispute
– The NLRA created the Federal Mediation
and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to mediate
disputes and assist in the free flow of
commerce
– President can ask for a court injunction to
require both sides to work under the expired
contract while holding negotiations
– If that fails, Congress can end the dispute
Adapted from Katz & Kochan, 2004
The Taft-Hartley Act (1947)
a.k.a. “Labor-Management Relations Act”
• After WWII, labor unions had grown in strength and
a strike wave stimulated hostility toward unions
• Congress passed the Taft-Hartley in 1947 to
balance the power and grant more individual rights
in dealing with unions
– Union unfair practices were added to Section 8
• Excludes supervisors in the private sector from
coverage under the NLRA
• Mandates labor reports to DOL, frequency of union
elections, and allows DOL trusteeship
Adapted from Katz & Kochan, 2004
The Landrum-Griffin Act (1959)
• Known also as the Labor-Management
Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959
– Major purpose was to protect union
members from improper union conduct
– Eliminated arrangements between unions
and employers that deprive members of
proper union representation
– Includes “bill of rights” section for members
Adapted from Katz & Kochan, 2004