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Chapter 20
Laws Governing Labor-Management Relations
Introduction
Chapter Twenty addresses these questions:
• What is the structure of the primary U.S. Labor Legislation and the mechanisms that
enforce it?
• How does labor law regulate union organizing activities?
• How does labor law regulate collective bargaining?
• What legal rules restrict the use of strikes, picketing, and boycotts?
• What are the global dimensions of labor–management relations?
Chapter Twenty is significant because it explains major pieces of legislation that affect the
Achieving Teaching Excellence
Are Our Students Consumers?
In NLRB v. Yeshiva University, 444 U.S. 672 (1980) the Supreme Court considered whether
faculty members are managerial employees, and hence not protected by the NLRA. In reaching
its decision that faculty members are managerial, the court presents an analogy between what
faculty members and students do on a college campus, and what a business can do in the market
place. The Court says, “The controlling consideration in this case is that the faculty of Yeshiva
University exercise authority which in any other context unquestionably would be managerial.
[Then the Court gives examples—faculty decide what courses will be offered, grading policies,
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instructors achieve Teaching Excellence. Understanding one’s goals as professors helps
instructors figure out how best to do their jobs.
In “Students as Consumers-A Tainted Metaphor,” Professors M. Neil Browne and John H.
Hoag explain the significance of metaphors. They explain that metaphors “guide professors as
they select their teaching behaviors.” The consumer metaphor of education suggests that faculty
Browne and Hoag explain that the customer metaphor does make some sense. Students want
instructors to demonstrate certain behavior—enthusiasm, punctuality, and clarity. Students value
these traits. However, Browne and Hoag explain that when students choose and evaluate
Browne and Hoag conclude that a review of the consumer metaphor reminds them that “(1)
students may not always have their own long-run interests in mind when they choose or evaluate
an instructor and (2) students, like most of us, commonly make decisions based more on
References
• M. Neil Browne & John H. Hoag, “Students as Consumers – A Tainted Metaphor,”
COLLEGE STUDENT JOURNAL 274 (September, 1990).
Chapter Overview, Topic Outline, and Discussion Questions
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Chapter Overview
The first section of this chapter outlines the structure and enforcement of the NLRA and the
Landrum–Griffin Act. The next three sections discuss areas of labor–management relations
governed by the NLRA—organizing, collective bargaining, and the collective activities of
striking, picketing, and boycotting. This chapter concludes with a consideration of the
international dimensions of labor law.
One of the primary strengths of this chapter is that it presents a contemporary view of labor
Topic Outline
I. Structure of the Primary U.S. Labor Legislation and the Mechanisms for its Enforcement
A. The Wagner Act of 1935
B. The Taft–Hartley Act of 1947
C. The Landrum–Griffith Act of 1959
D. The National Labor Relations Board
2. Jurisdiction
4. Procedures in Unfair Labor Practice Cases
II. Labor Organizing
A. Board Rules
B. Unfair Labor Practices by Employers
1. Interference with Organizing
3. Discrimination Based on Union Activity
a. Gaetano & Associates, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board
C. Unfair Labor Practices by Employees
1. Laborers’ International Union of North America, Local 872, AFL-CIO, and Stephanie
Shelby
D. Organizing the Appropriate Unit
1. Specialty Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center of Mobile and United Steelworkers,
District 9, Petitioner
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III. The Collective Bargaining Process
A. Subjects of Bargaining
IV. Strikes, Boycotts, and Picketing
A. Strikes
2. Unlawful Strikes
B. Boycotts
C. Picketing
V. Global Dimensions of Labor–Management Relations
VI. Summary
Discussion Questions for Chapter Twenty
1. Explain relationships between the Wagner Act and the Taft-Hartley Act.
The Wagner Act and Taft-Hartley Act together are referred to as the National Labor
2. What impact does the President have on the decisions of the National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB)?
3. Evaluate this statement: The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects all American
workers.
This statement is flawed because the NLRA does not protect some categories of workers,
4. Explain why someone might think this statement is true: The National Labor Relations Act
(NLRA) attempts to balance employer and employee rights in organizing campaigns.
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5. Evaluate this statement: Nonemployee union organizers enjoy extensive rights.
6. Explain why someone might think this statement is true: The National Labor Relations Act
(NLRA) assumes an adversarial relationship between employers and employees.
7. Explain why someone might think this statement is true: Courts are trying hard to support
some kinds of cooperative programs in companies today.
The National Labor Relations Board and a few appellate courts have created exceptions to
8. Evaluate this statement: It really does not matter to unions which employee groups are in the
bargaining unit.
9. Explain why someone might think this statement is true: The duty to bargain in good faith
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requires little of employers.
This statement is true because the duty to bargain in good faith does not require employers
10. Explain relationships between mandatory and permissive subjects of bargaining.
One relationship is that mandatory subjects require parties to bargain about them, while
11. Explain relationships between strikes and boycotts.
12. Explain relationships between economic strikes and unfair labor practice strikes.
An economic strike is a nonviolent work stoppage for the purpose of obtaining better terms
and conditions of employment under a collective bargaining agreement. An unfair labor
13. Explain relationships between primary and secondary boycotts.
Primary boycotts are legal, and secondary ones are not. Primary boycotts occur when a
14. Explain relationships between informational and jurisdictional picketing.
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Informational picketing is designed to truthfully inform the public of a labor dispute
Answers to Critical Thinking about the Law Questions, Case Summaries,
Answers to Review Questions, Review Problems, and Case Problems
Suggested Answers to Critical Thinking about the Law Questions
1. Unions protect employees from mistreatment by employers. They provide security. They
2. When thinking about labor legislation, paying attention to personal ethical norms benefits
3. Union activity costs employees. They must pay dues. Also, unions decrease inequality of
wage distribution within a firm. If an employee is relatively well paid, union activity might
not help him or her get a raise.
Case Summary—Gaetano & Associates, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board
This case deals with firing union workers. Gaetano & Associates Inc. (the Company)
worked in NYC developing properties. They hired some carpenters to work on a property. The
Case Summary—Laborers’ International Union of North America, Local 872, AFL-CIO, and
Stephanie Shelby
This case arose out of a confrontation between union member Shelby and hiring hall
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dispatcher Lucero over Shelby’s priority on the “out-of-work” list. The hiring hall manager
called the police and had her removed from the premises as a trespasser. Subsequently, Shelby
apologized. She returned to the hall three times with police escort without incident. Shelby filed
Suggested Answers to Critical Thinking about the Law Questions
1. Shelby would have needed to demonstrate that the requirement of a police escort to
2. It would be interesting to know whether the employers who hired Shelby were familiar
with her before the incident at the hiring hall occurred. Realistically, many employers would be
Case Summary—Specialty Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center of Mobile and United
Steelworkers, District 9, Petitioner
This case deals with creating an appropriate unit for collective bargaining. The plaintiff in
this case represented a unit of 53 CNAs, who had to be certified by the State of Alabama. This
certification course included several components that an individual would have to complete in
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Answers to Review Questions
20-1. This question gives students the opportunity to review Table 20-1, which explains the
two faces of unions. This table could also serve as the basis for a short writing
20-2. Section 7 of the NLRA explains employees’ rights under the NLRA. Section 8(a) of the
20-3. Section 8(a)2-5 presents specific ways in which employers might interfere with
employees’ Section 7 rights. Arguably, these sections are unnecessary because employees
20-4. The National Labor Relation Board’s three primary functions are:
• Monitoring the conduct of the employer and the union during an election to
determine whether or not workers want to be protected by a union
20-5. Violating a board rule (such as the twenty-four-hour rule) means the employer or
employee has gone against a policy enacted by the National Labor Relations Board
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20-6. The employer should make sure all employees in a bargaining unit or plant participate in
the program. Also, employees should be carrying out a traditional management function.
Answers to Review Problems
20-7. This case is similar to the Lechmere, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board case, in
which a nonemployee union was not allowed to have access to the employees in the
20-8. No, United Technology’s (UT) decision to refuse to bargain over the relocation of work
was not a violation of the National Labor Relations Act. That decision was a managerial
20-9. If there is no dispute between employer and employee, picketing seems unfair. All the
definitions of different kinds of picketing assume a dispute between the employer and
20-10. It is not known why the employees are calling in sick. Perhaps they are protesting an
20-11. In this case the picketing would be illegal. This is because is illegal when another union
has already been recognized as the exclusive representative of the employees, and the
Answers to Case Problems
20–11
20-12. The NLRB found in favor of the plaintiffs. They stated that Costco could not enforce
20-13. At issue in this case was N.D.C.C. Section 52-06-02(4), which states that an employee is
disqualified from unemployment benefits when “the individual’s unemployment is due to
a strike, sympathy strike, or a claimant’s work stoppage dispute of any kind which exists
20-14. The appellate court affirmed the NLRB’s decision that a company does not engage in
illegal surveillance of unionization efforts when a manager speaks to employees being
20-15. The appellate court reversed the board’s decision and found in favor of the WSNA.
20-16. The second proposal falls under collective bargaining. Here, the subjects are not primarily
20-17. The trial court upheld the constitutionality of the ten-day notice provision and affirmed
the State Employee Relations Board (SERB) decision. The Seventh District Court of
Appeals reversed, finding that the provision was unconstitutional. Both the SERB and the
Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities appealed to the Ohio Supreme
Court.
The Court affirmed the court of appeals’ judgment reversing the decision of the trial
The Legal Environment Of Business: A Critical Thinking Approach
20-18. After considering all of the relevant factors, the NLRB concluded that the carpenters were
entitled to continue performing the work in dispute. The Board reached its conclusion
Thinking Critically about Relevant Legal Issues
1. The issue here is that strikes do not work. Not only do they hurt the worker who is striking,
2. One needs to know if strikes do work. The author gives a few examples of when they did not
3. The section about making up for lost wages is very ambiguous. One cannot be sure exactly
what the author means. It seems illogical that strikers would want to make up for the salary
4. The opposition would hold that strikes do work. They force employers to treat their workers
more equally and with more respect. Also, the prospect of a strike solves many problems