Unit 7 Assess

Unions and the Law

The history of the American labor movement is one of expansion and contraction, in response to public policy changes. Until about 1930, there were no special labor laws. Employers were not required to engage in collective bargaining with employees and were virtually unrestrained in their behavior toward unions; the use of spies and firing of union agitators were widespread. “Yellow dog” contracts, whereby management could require nonunion membership as a condition for employment, were widely enforced. Most union weapons—even strikes—were illegal.

This situation lasted until the Great Depression (around 1930).23 Since then, in response to changing public attitudes and economic conditions, labor law has gone through three clear periods: from “strong encouragement” of unions, to “modified encouragement coupled with regulation,” and finally to “detailed regulation of internal union affairs.”24

Period of Strong Encouragement: The Norris-LaGuardia (1932) and National Labor Relations (or Wagner) Acts (1935)

The Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932 set the stage for a new era in which union activity was encouraged. It guaranteed to each employee the right to bargain collectively “free from interference, restraint, or coercion.” It declared yellow dog contracts unenforceable. And it limited the courts’ abilities to issue injunctions (stop orders) for activities such as peaceful picketing and payment of strike benefits.

Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932

This law marked the beginning of the era of strong encouragement of unions and guaranteed to each employee the right to bargain collectively “free from interference, restraint, or coercion.”

Yet this act did little to restrain employers from fighting labor organizations. So, in 1935, Congress passed the National Labor Relations (or Wagner) Act to add teeth to Norris-LaGuardia. It did this by (1) banning certain unfair labor practices, (2) providing for secret-ballot elections and majority rule for determining whether a firm’s employees would unionize, and (3) creating the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to enforce these two provisions.

National Labor Relations (or Wagner) Act

This law banned certain types of unfair practices and provided for secret-ballot elections and majority rule for determining whether a firm’s employees want to unionize.

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

The agency created by the Wagner Act to investigate unfair labor practice charges and to provide for secret-ballot elections and majority rule in determining whether or not a firm’s employees want a union.

2 Discuss the main features of at least three major pieces of labor legislation.

Unfair Employer Labor Practices

The Wagner Act deemed “statutory wrongs” (but not crimes) five unfair labor practices used by employers:

1. It is unfair for employers to “interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees” in exercising their legally sanctioned right of self-organization.

2. It is unfair for company representatives to dominate or interfere with either the formation or the administration of labor unions. Among other specific management actions found to be unfair under these first two practices are bribing employees, using company spy systems, moving a business to avoid unionization, and black-listing union sympathizers.

3. Employers are prohibited from discriminating in any way against employees for their legal union activities.

4. Employers are forbidden to discharge or discriminate against employees simply because the latter file unfair practice charges against the company.

5. Finally, it is an unfair labor practice for employers to refuse to bargain collectively with their employees’ duly chosen representatives.

Unions file an unfair labor practice charge (see Figure 15-1) with the National Labor Relations Board. (For example, the American Guild of Musical Artists said it would file an unfair labor charge against the New York City Opera if it cut staff and moved.) The board then decides whether to take action. Possible actions include dismissal of the complaint, request for an injunction against the employer, or an order that the employer cease and desist.

FIGURE 15-1 NLRB Form 501: Filing an Unfair Labor Practice

Source: National Labor Relations Board, [no longer online] www.nlrb.gov/.

From 1935 to 1947

Union membership increased quickly after passage of the Wagner Act. Other factors such as an improving economy and aggressive union leadership contributed to this rise. But by the mid-1940s, largely due to massive postwar strikes, public policy began to shift against what many viewed as union excesses. The stage was set for passage of the Taft-Hartley Act.

Period of Modified Encouragement Coupled with Regulation: The Taft-Hartley Act (1947)

The Taft-Hartley (or Labor Management Relations ) Act of 1947 reflected the public’s less enthusiastic attitude toward unions. It amended the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act by limiting unions in four ways: (1) prohibiting unfair union labor practices, (2) enumerating the rights of employees as union members, (3) enumerating the rights of employers, and (4) allowing the President of the United States to bar temporarily national emergency strikes.

Taft-Hartley Act of 1947

Also known as the Labor Management Relations Act, this law prohibited unfair union labor practices and enumerated the rights of employees as union members. It also enumerated the rights of employers.

Unfair Union Labor Practices

The Taft-Hartley Act enumerated several labor practices that unions were prohibited from engaging in:

1. First, it banned unions from restraining or coercing employees from exercising their guaranteed bargaining rights. (Some union actions that courts have held illegal include telling an anti-union employee that he or she will lose his or her job once the union gains recognition, and issuing patently false statements during union organizing campaigns.)

2. It is also an unfair labor practice for a union to cause an employer to discriminate in any way against an employee so as to encourage or discourage his or her union membership. For example, the union cannot try to force an employer to fire a worker because he or she doesn’t attend union meetings or refuses to join a union. There is one exception: Suppose a closed or union shop prevails (and union membership is therefore a prerequisite to employment). Then the union may demand the discharge of someone who fails to pay his or her initiation fees and dues.

3. It is an unfair labor practice for a union to refuse to bargain in good faith with the employer about wages, hours, and other employment conditions.

4. It is an unfair labor practice for a union to engage in featherbedding (requiring an employer to pay an employee for services not performed).

Rights of Employees

The Taft-Hartley Act protected the rights of employees against their unions in other ways. For example, many people felt that compulsory unionism violated the right of freedom of association. Legitimized by Taft-Hartley, new right-to-work laws sprung up in 19 (now 23) states (mainly in the South and Southwest). In New York, for example, in many printing firms you can’t work as a press operator unless you belong to a printers’ union. In Florida, a right-to-work state, printing shops typically employ both union and nonunion operators. Even today, union membership varies widely by state, from a high of 26.8% in New York to a low of 3.2% in North Carolina.25 The Taft-Hartley act also required the employee’s authorization before the union could subtract dues from his or her paycheck.

In general, the Labor Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act does not restrain unions from unfair labor practices to the extent that the law does employers. It says unions may not restrain or coerce employees. However, “violent or otherwise threatening behavior or clearly coercive or intimidating union activities are necessary before the NLRB will find an unfair labor practice.”26 Examples include physical assaults or threats, economic reprisals, and mass picketing that restrains lawful entry or leaving.

Rights of Employers

The Taft-Hartley Act also explicitly gave employers certain rights. First, it gave them full freedom to express their views concerning union organization. For example, as a manager you can tell your employees that in your opinion unions are worthless, dangerous to the economy, and immoral. You can even (generally) hint that unionization and high-wage demands might result in the permanent closing of the plant (but not its relocation). Employers can set forth the union’s record concerning violence and corruption, if appropriate. In fact, the only major restraint is that employers must avoid threats, promises, coercion, and direct interference with workers who are trying to reach a decision. There can be no threat of reprisal or force or promise of benefit.27

Furthermore, the employer (1) cannot meet with employees on company time within 24 hours of an election or (2) suggest to employees that they vote against the union while they are at home or in the employer’s office (although he or she can do so while in their work area or where they normally gather).

National Emergency Strikes

The Taft-Hartley Act also allows the U.S. president to intervene in national emergency strikes . These are strikes (for example, by railroad workers) that might “imperil the national health and safety.” The president may appoint a board of inquiry and, based on its report, apply for an injunction restraining the strike for 60 days. If the parties don’t reach a settlement during that time, the president can have the injunction extended for another 20 days. During this last period, employees take a secret ballot to ascertain their willingness to accept the employer’s last offer.

national emergency strikes

Strikes that might “imperil the national health and safety.”

Period of Detailed Regulation of Internal Union Affairs: The Landrum-Griffin Act (1959)

In the 1950s, Senate investigations revealed unsavory practices on the part of some unions, and the result was the Landrum-Griffin Act (officially, the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act ) of 1959 . An overriding aim of this act was to protect union members from possible union wrongdoing. Like Taft-Hartley, it also amended the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act.

Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959

Also known as the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, this law aimed at protecting union members from possible wrongdoing on the part of their unions.

3 Present examples of what to expect during the union drive and election.

First, the Act contains a bill of rights for union members. It provides for certain rights in the nomination of candidates for union office. It also affirms a member’s right to sue his or her union and ensures that the union cannot fine or suspend a member without due process.

This act also laid out rules regarding union elections. For example, national and international unions must elect officers at least once every 5 years, using a secret-ballot mechanism. And the Act regulates the kind of person who can serve as a union officer. For example, it bars for a time persons convicted of felonies from holding union officer positions.

Senate investigators also discovered flagrant examples of employer wrongdoing. Employers and their “labor relations consultants” had bribed union agents and officers, for example. Landrum-Griffin therefore expanded the list of unlawful employer actions. For example, companies can no longer pay their own employees to entice them not to join the union.