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 U.S.
labor law favors employers for two reasons: firstly, the best parts
of the National Labor Relations Act were negated by the Taft-Hartley
Act (1947) and the Landrum-Griffin Act (1959), and secondly because
what laws that do exist to protect workers are so poorly enforced
as to be useless. (Of the three presidential candidates this year,
only Ralph Nader of the Green Party has had the courage to call
for repeal of Taft-Hartley.)
BUT, we do have some rights:
The National Labor Relations Act says:
Section 7: "Employees shall have the right to self-organization,
to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively
through representation of their own choosing, and to engage in other
concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining..."
Section 8 (a): "It shall be an unfair labor practice for an
employer ... to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in
the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Section 7..."
Read the full text of the
NLRA.
Your Legal Rights
Under Section 7 of the NLRA you have the legal right to:
- Attend meetings to discuss joining a union;
- Read, distribute, and discuss union literature (in non-work
areas during non-work time i.e. during lunch breaks);
- Wear union buttons, T-shirts, stickers, hats, or other items
on the job;
- Sign a card asking your employer to recognize and bargain with
the union;
- Sign petitions or file grievances related to wages, hours, working
conditions, and other job issues;
- Ask other employees to support the union, to sign union cards
or petitions, or to file grievances.
After your union's election victory is officially certified by
the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), you employer is legally
required to negotiate in "good faith" with the union on
a written contract covering wages, hours, and other working conditions.
Beware the Employer
Although you have the legal protections listed above, that doesn't
mean that the employer is going to respect them. Therefore, watch
out for the following illegal activities on the part of your employer.
Under Section 8 of the NLRA, an employer cannot:
- Threaten to or actually fire, lay off, discipline, harass, transfer,
or reassign employees because they support the union;
- Favor employees who don't support the union over those who do
in promotions, job assignments, wages, hours, or other working
conditions;
- Threaten to, or actually shut down the worksite or take away
any benefits or privileges employees already enjoy to discourage
union activity;
- Promise employees a pay increase, promotion, or special favors
if they oppose the union.
Each of the behaviors listed above is grounds for filing and Unfair
Labor Practice (ULP) charge against the employer.
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