Labor Relations

Vocabulary and legal concepts from the U.S. Labor Relations curriculum, covering the NLRA, Taft-Hartley Act, union formation, and collective bargaining strategies.

Craft/trade union

A U.S. labor union organized around a specific skilled trade or craft.

Work councils

Bodies existing in some countries to receive information from employers and communicate issues affecting the workplace and organizational health to workers.

TIPS

A mnemonic for prohibited employer activities under the NLRA: Threatening, Interrogating, Promising, or Spying on employees involved in union activities.

Decertification

The process to remove a union, requiring signatures from $30\%$ of the bargaining unit to file a petition with the NLRB.

LMRA/Taft-Hartley Act

U.S. legislation that allowed states to become Right-to-Work states, refined the Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) system, and authorized union decertification and deauthorization elections.

Right-to-Work state

A state classification where union members can resign from a union at any time and are not obligated to pay union dues.

60 days' notice

The time period unions and employers must give each other and mediation bodies before undertaking strikes or lockouts pursuing a new CBA.

Closed shops

Companies that only employed union members and required membership as a condition of employment; made illegal by the Taft-Hartley Act.

Featherbedding

The illegal practice of paying for work that is not needed, involving reduced speed or duplicating the work of others, often resulting from automation.

Hot Cargo clauses

Illegal union contract clauses allowing employees to refuse to handle goods from a struck plant or refuse services to an employer on a union unfair list.

Common-situs picketing

The illegal picketing of a neutral employer because of a grievance against another employer located at the same work site.

Secondary boycotts

Occur when a union encourages members to boycott a neutral secondary employer to force them to stop doing business with the primary employer.

Primary boycott

A legal, organized effort by a labor union and its members to discourage consumers from buying products of a specific employer.

Ally doctrine

An exception that legally allows a union to boycott a secondary employer if that employer's employees are performing work for the primary employer in a dispute.

Concerted activities

Protected actions where employees act together to complain about pay, benefits, or workplace issues, even if unrelated to unions.

Economic strikes

Strikes for better wages or conditions that allow an employer to hire permanent replacements for striking workers.

Sympathy strikes

Strikes where a union refuses to work in support of another union striking the same employer, despite having no direct dispute; illegal if a no-strike clause exists in the CBA.

Strike fund

A union strategy providing payments to workers during a strike, financed by withholding a portion of employee pay in previous months.

No strike clause

A CBA provision where the union promises employees will not engage in strikes or slowdowns during the life of the contract.

Mass picketing

An often illegal demonstration by a large group that blocks access and entrance to an employer's property.

Consumer picketing

Legal picketing directed at getting shoppers not to buy a particular product involved in a labor dispute, rather than boycotting the entire store.

Informational picketing

Picketing aimed at providing truthful information to bystanders about a labor dispute to pressure an employer.

Recognitional/organizational picketing

Attempts to pressure an employer into recognizing a labor union without holding a secret ballot election.

Signal picketing

Non-traditional picketing using signs or inflatables, such as a large rat, instead of a physical picket line.

Voluntary recognition

Occurs when a union collects signed authorization cards from a majority (formula: $50\% + 1$) of workers and petitions the NLRB.

Secret ballot election

An election petition requiring at least $30\%$ signatures and won by a simple majority vote (formula: $50\% + 1$).

Involuntary recognition

A union recognition ordered by the NLRB due to an employer's unfair labor practices.

Excelsior List

A record of employee names, contact info, shift, and job classification that employers must provide electronically to the union within $2$ days of an election order.

24-hour rule

An NLRB gag order prohibiting an employer from promoting "stay union free" campaigns for the $24$ hours preceding an election.

Union shop

A clause requiring all employees to join the union, usually within $30$ days of hiring, and retain membership.

Agency shop

A workplace where workers who do not join the union must still pay "fair share" dues.

Maintenance of Membership

A requirement for union members to retain their membership for the full life of the CBA.

Zipper clause

A CBA provision that prevents renegotiation of contract conditions during the life of the contract.

Reopener clause

The opposite of a zipper clause; it allows negotiations to reopen during the contract term, usually regarding wages.

Dues check-off

A payroll deduction where the employer deducts union dues and remits them in a lump sum to the union.

Bumping

A CBA right allowing senior employees scheduled for layoff to displace less senior employees in other qualified job classifications.

Good faith bargaining

The legal duty of employer and union to meet at reasonable times and negotiate mandatory subjects with a genuine willingness to reach agreement.

Mandatory bargaining subjects

Topics that must be negotiated if proposed, including hourly rates, OT pay, pensions, grievance procedures, and seniority.

Voluntary/permissive bargaining subjects

Topics not directly related to employment terms, such as CSR initiatives or social events, which parties may refuse to bargain over.

Multi-employer bargaining

Also known as pattern or coalition bargaining, where more than one employer negotiate with one union.

Coordinated bargaining

Occurs when multiple unions negotiate with a single employer to increase bargaining power.

Integrative bargaining

Also known as principled negotiation; a win-win strategy focused on mutual gain and interests over positions.

Positional negotiation

A zero-sum approach where parties claim opposing agendas and make distributive concessions.

Deauthorization election

An election to remove a forced unionism clause (dues requirement) in non-RTW states while keeping the union as the representative.

Certification-year bar

A rule stating a union cannot be removed via decertification for at least one year after certification.

Arbitration

The step in the formal grievance process taken when local and national resolutions fail.