17.1
Chapter 17
Federal Labor Law:
Unionization and
Collective Bargaining
© 2004 West Legal Studies in Business, a Division of Thomson Learning
17.2
Development of Labor Law
Unions legalized in late 1800s
Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890
Clayton Act of 1914
Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932
National Labor Relations Act of
1935
Taft-Hartley Act of 1947
Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959
National Labor
Relations Board
Two main functions:
Prevent unfair labor practices
Settle representation questions
Types of proceedings
Complaint case (C case)
Representation case (R case)
Exemptions
Federal, state, and local government
employees
17.3
17.4
Union-Employee Conflicts
Conflict
Employer wants the most work
done under the cheapest conditions
and at the lowest prices
Employee wants the highest
wages, the best conditions, and the
shortest hours
Common goal
Both want to preserve the company
Ways a Union
Can Organize
17.5
By voting in a union at a
representation election
Secret ballots are cast
Majority vote is needed
By signing authorization cards
By the NLRB’s ordering the
employer to bargain with a union
Preelection Campaign
Statements
17.6
NLRA recognizes employees have
the right to free speech
Employers can state their legal
position and views
R elections should be conducted
in “laboratory conditions”
Representation Elections:
Election Bar Rule
17.7
Forces employees to think before
voting for a union
Reduces disruption of employers’
businesses that R elections cause
Reduces the drain on NLRB
resources
Representation Elections:
Contract Bar Rule
Stops workers from getting rid of or
changing unions while contract
exists
Exceptions
Collective bargaining longer than three
years
Union schism exists or union is defunct
Employer has greatly expanded its
operations
17.8
Other Court Reviews of
NLRB Union Certification
17.9
Runaway shop
Bankruptcy to escape collective
bargaining agreements
Going out of business
Duty to bargain
Bargaining topics (wages, hours,
working conditions)
Collective Bargaining
Agreement
Union negotiates with employer
on behalf of the employees
Norris-LaGuardia Act prohibits
federal courts from issuing
injunctions in labor disputes
Arbitration, binding arbitration
17.10
17.11
Arbitration Provisions
Included in bargaining
agreements to settle labor
disputes by using neutral third
party
Courts give great weight to what
arbitrator decides
May be appealed, but unlikely
reversed
Devices Affecting
Union Security
State right-to-work laws
Closed shops
Union shops
Agency shops
17.12
More Measures to
Settle Disputes
Strikes – used by unions
Whipsaw strikes
Economic strikes
Lockouts – used by employer
Secondary boycotts
Force someone to stop handling
another’s products or doing
business with them
17.13
Unions for
Government Employees
Civil Service Reform Act of 1978
set up Federal Labor Relations
Authority
Hears complaints from federal
workers
Hears requests for bargaining in
certain issues
Most states allow public
employees to form unions, but
with restrictions
17.14
17.15
Recap – Terms to Know
Clayton Act
Norris-LaGuardia Act
National Labor Relations Act
Taft-Hartley Act
R cases and C cases
Election bar and contract bar rules
Right-to-work laws, closed shops,
union shops, agency shops
Strikes and lockouts