Class 20 Regulation of Private Labor Relations: The National Labor Relations Act and Collective Bargaining

Vocabulary flashcards covering the National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act), statutory definitions, worker coverage, supervisory exclusions, union selection procedures, and bargaining unit determination.

Compensable Injury

An injury under workers' compensation law that arises out of, and in the course of, employment, directly connected to job duties rather than non-work activities or workplace horseplay.

Exclusive Remedy

The legal rule providing that workers' compensation is an employee's sole avenue of recovery against an employer for a work-related injury, barring civil lawsuits for money damages.

Workers' Compensation Exclusions

Statutory categories of harm not covered by workers' compensation, specifically injuries resulting from non-work activities, standard commuting, and the willful misconduct of the injured employee.

Labor Relations

The formal study, practice, and legal framework governing the collective relationships between employers, employees, and organized labor unions.

Labor Union

An organized association of workers formed to protect and advocate for their common employment interests, wages, benefits, and working conditions.

Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)

A formal, legally binding written agreement negotiated between an employer and a union setting forth the wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment for a defined bargaining unit.

"Bread and Butter" Issues

Core collective bargaining matters centered specifically on wages, hours, and workplace working conditions.

Trade Unionism

The early phase of organized labor in the United States that began with skilled craft workers who held individual economic bargaining leverage.

Labor Injunction

An equitable court order historically issued by judges to prohibit strikes and union organizing drives rather than awarding monetary damages.

National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act, 1935)

Federal statute originating from the National Industrial Recovery Act designed to stabilize the economy and promote fair competition by granting individual employee protections, creating union selection mechanisms, imposing a duty to bargain, and establishing the NLRB.

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

The independent federal administrative agency created under the Wagner Act to conduct union representation elections and investigate and adjudicate unfair labor practice charges.

NLRB Quorum

The statutory requirement that at least $3$ confirmed members of the Board's $5$ total presidential appointment seats must be seated and present to decide cases and exercise regulatory authority.

Trump v. Slaughter (2026)

Legal decision establishing that the President possesses constitutional authority to remove members of administrative agencies like the NLRB at will.

Statutory Employee (NLRA Definition)

An individual working in the private sector for an organization in exchange for pay or benefits, who is protected from discrimination and interference with union or concerted activities.

NLRA § 2(3) Exclusions

Statutory categories excluded from NLRA protections, including public sector employees, Railway Labor Act workers (railroads and airlines), farm workers, domestic servants, individuals employed by a parent or spouse, independent contractors, supervisors, managers, and confidential employees.

Atlanta Opera (2023)

NLRB decision affirming that the Board applies traditional common-law agency factors to determine whether a worker is an excluded independent contractor rather than a covered statutory employee.

Brown University (2004)

A 2004 NLRB decision ruling that university graduate students are not statutory employees because their work is tied to enrollment, compensation is financial aid, and collective bargaining would harm the educational relationship.

Columbia University (2016)

Governing NLRB precedent holding that student teaching and research assistants who perform services for a university in exchange for compensation are statutory employees covered by the NLRA.

Boston Medical Center (1999)

NLRB ruling holding that hospital medical residents are statutory employees under the NLRA because they receive salaries and benefits, perform direct patient care with little direct supervision, and are not solely students.

Supervisor (NLRA § 2(11))

Any individual possessing authority to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, discipline, responsibly direct, or adjust grievances—or effectively recommend such actions—using independent judgment; supervisors are excluded from NLRA coverage.

Kentucky River (U.S. 2001)

Supreme Court case ruling that registered nurses directing the work of nurse's aides are statutory supervisors excluded from bargaining units because their direction involves independent judgment, even when rooted in professional or technical expertise.

Independent Judgment

Discretionary decision-making under NLRA § 2(11) that confers supervisory status even when it rests on specialized professional or technical judgment rather than routine administrative guidelines.

Organizing Campaign

A coordinated campaign initiated by employees, an outside labor union, or both to build collective support within a defined group of workers aimed at forming a union.

Authorization Cards

Written cards signed by individual employees in a proposed unit formally stating their desire to be represented by a specified union for collective bargaining purposes.

30% Showing of Interest

The minimum percentage of signed authorization cards from employees within a proposed bargaining unit required to petition the NLRB to hold a formal representation election.

Voluntary Recognition

The process by which an employer voluntarily chooses to recognize and bargain with a union that has gathered authorization cards from more than $50\%$ of employees in a unit, bypassing an NLRB-supervised secret-ballot election.

Gissel (1969)

Supreme Court precedent establishing that the NLRB may issue a direct bargaining order without an election only when severe employer unfair labor practices make holding a fair election unlikely.

Cemex (NLRB 2023)

NLRB standard requiring an employer presented with majority authorization cards to either voluntarily recognize the union or promptly petition for an election, with commission of unfair labor practices triggering a mandatory bargaining order.

Brown-Forman (6th Cir. 2026)

Federal appellate decision binding in Michigan that rejected the Cemex standard, holding that the NLRB lacks authority to create a broad mandatory bargaining-order rule through administrative adjudication.

Bargaining Unit

A group of employees sharing a community of interest who vote on union representation and are collectively represented by a single certified union in bargaining with their employer.

NLRA § 9(b)

The statutory provision empowering the NLRB (initially through Regional Directors) to decide whether a proposed grouping of employees constitutes a unit appropriate for collective bargaining.

Community of Interest

The multi-factor legal standard evaluated by the NLRB to determine whether a bargaining unit is appropriate, looking at employee skills and duties, wage structures, functional integration, interchange, geographic proximity, centralized management, and bargaining history.

Overwhelming Community of Interest

The legal standard established in American Steel Construction (2022) requiring an employer who challenges a petitioned-for bargaining unit as too narrow to prove that the interests of excluded employees overlap almost completely with unit members.

American Steel Construction (2022)

NLRB decision establishing the strict 'overwhelming community of interest' standard that employers must meet to force additional worker categories into a union's requested bargaining unit.