This paper examines the legal framework governing labor unions in the United States, with a focus on the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and its lasting restrictions on union activity. It covers grievance and arbitration procedures in collective bargaining, Weingarten Rights, and the National Labor Relations Board's authority to investigate and remedy unfair labor practices. The paper also traces the history of public sector labor relations, from the 1919 Boston police strike through the explosive growth of government worker unions in the 1960s and 1970s, documenting both the legal obstacles unions faced and the political strategies they used to overcome them.
The terms of employment are spelled out in a legally binding contract between the employer and the union. When disputes arise over the contractual agreement, most contracts call for the parties to resolve their differences through a grievance process to see if the dispute can be mutually resolved. If the union and the employer still cannot settle the matter, either party can choose to send the dispute to arbitration, where the case is argued before a neutral third party.
The Taft-Hartley Act, passed in 1947 over the veto of President Harry Truman, severely limits the powers of unions in the United States and remains in effect today. Closed shops are forbidden; union shops are allowed within the limits set by the statute and subject to additional conditions imposed by the National Labor Relations Board and the courts. Jurisdictional strikes — where two unions each claim work that they believe should be assigned to the workers they represent — and secondary boycotts — boycotts against an allegedly neutral company that does business with another company with which a union has a labor dispute — were made illegal. Unions are no longer allowed to donate money to federal political campaigns.
Most importantly, the Act provided the executive branch of the federal government with the ability to obtain legal strikebreaking injunctions if an actual or impending strike "imperiled the national health or safety," a test that has in practice been interpreted loosely by the courts.
In the 1950s, many US unions lost much of their prestige when links to organized crime were discovered. Since the 1970s, union membership has been steadily declining in the private sector while growing in the public sector — that is, among unions of government employees. Right-to-work statutes forbid unions from negotiating agency shops. Thus, while unions do exist in so-called "right-to-work" states, they are typically weaker. Such states are sometimes referred to humorously as "right-to-work-for-less" states by union members.
Members of labor unions enjoy "Weingarten Rights." These rights allow union members to request representation by a union representative whenever management questions a member on a matter that may lead to discipline or other changes in working conditions. They are named for the first Supreme Court decision to recognize them: NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc., 420 U.S. 251 (1975).[10]
In protecting the right of workers to organize unions, the National Labor Relations Act goes further. It protects the right of workers to engage in any concerted activity for mutual aid or protection. Thus, no union connection is needed. Concerted activity "in its inception involves only a speaker and a listener, for such activity is an indispensable preliminary step to employee self-organization."[11]
"NLRB charge, investigation, and complaint procedures"
"History of government worker strikes and legal barriers"
"Union membership shifts from private to public sector"
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