Chapter 32 Business Law

The American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Formed in 1886 under the leadership of Samuel Gompers

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

Formed by John L. Lewis in 1935

In 1955, the AFL and CIO combined to form the AFL-CIO

Federal Labor Union Statutes

Norris-LaGuardia Act
• National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
• Labor Management Relations Act
• Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
• Railway Labor Act

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

Federal administrative agency that oversees union elections, prevents employers and unions from engaging in illegal and unfair labor practices, and enforces and interprets certain federal labor laws

Section 7 of the NLRA

Federal law that gives employees the right to form, join, and assist labor unions

Appropriate bargaining unit (bargaining unit)

Group of employees that a union is seeking to represent

Contested election

Election for a union that an employer’s management contests

Consent election

Not contested by the employer

Decertification election

Employees may wish to dissolve union

Inaccessibility exception

Permits employees to engage in union solicitation on company property, if they are beyond reach of the union

Section 8(a) of the NLRA

Law that makes it an unfair labor practice for an employer to interfere with, coerce, or restrain employees from exercising their statutory right to form and join unions

Section 8(b) of the NLRA

Law that makes it an unfair labor practice for a labor union to interfere with, coerce, or threaten employees in exercising their statutory right to form and join unions

Collective bargaining agreement

Contract entered into by an employer and a union during a collective bargaining procedure

Compulsory subjects

Wage, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment

Permissive subjects

Not compulsory or illegal

Illegal subjects

Cannot be negotiated or agreed upon

Union shop

Employer may hire anyone whether he/she belongs to a union or not, but the employee must join the union within a certain time period

Agency shop

Employer may hire anyone whether he/she belongs to a union or not, but the employee must pay an agency fee to the union

Closed shop

Employer agrees to hire only employees who are already members of a union

Strikes

Cessation of work by union members in order to obtain economic benefits or correct an unfair labor practice
• Union members refuse to work during a strike

Cooling-Off Period

Mandatory sixty days’ notice before a strike can commence
• Gives the employer and union enough time to negotiate a settlement
• Illegal for a strike to commence during the sixty-day period

No-Strike Clause

Union agrees it will not strike during an agreed-upon period of time
• Employer and a union can agree in a collective bargaining agreement that the union will not strike during a particular period of time

Illegal Strikes

Violent strikes
• Sit-down strikes
• Partial or intermittent strikes
• Wildcat strikes

Crossover workers

Employees who choose not to strike or return to work after joining the strikes

Replacement workers

Hired on a temporary or permanent basis to take the place of the striking employees

Employer Lockout

Act of an employer to prevent employees from entering the work premises when the employer reasonably anticipates a strike

Picketing

Strikers walking in front of the employer’s premises, carrying signs announcing their strike

Title I of the Landrum-Griffin Act

Labor’s bill of rights, which gives each union member equal rights and privileges to nominate candidates for union office, vote in elections, and participate in membership meetings

Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) Act) (Plant Closing Act)

Federal act that requires employers with 100 or more employees to give their employees 60 days’ notice before engaging in certain plant closings or layoffs