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An Overview...
The goal of labor laws is to equalize the bargaining power between
employers and employees. The laws primarily deal with the relationship
between employers and unions. Labor laws grant employees the right
to unionize and allows employers and employees to engage in certain
activities (e.g. strikes, picketing, seeking injunctions, lockouts)
so as to have their demands fulfilled.
The area of labor law is governed by both federal law, state
law and judicial decisions. It is also governed by regulations
and decisions of administrative agencies. States are preempted
from interfering with federal statutory law or with the guidelines
promulgated by agencies established under federal law or by the
U.S. Constitution. See U.S. Constitution , Art. VI.
In 1935, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was enacted
by Congress, under its power to regulate interstate commerce,
to govern the employer/employee bargaining and union relationship
on a national level. The NLRA was amended by the Labor Management
Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act in 1947 and the Labor Management
Reporting and Disclosure (Landrum-Griffen) Act in 1959. Most employers
and employees involved in businesses that affect interstate commerce
are regulated by the act. The NLRA established the National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB) to hear disputes between employers and
employees arising under the act and to determine which labor organization
will represent a unit of employees. The act also establishes a
General Council to independently investigate and prosecute cases
against violators of the act before the NLRB. The rights of employees
to join labor organizations and collectively bargain is also ensured.
The NLRA prohibits employers and unions from engaging in specified
"unfair labor practices" and establishes an obligation
of both parties to engage in good faith collective bargaining.
The act also establishes guidelines and regulations to determine
what union will represent a given set of employees. The right
to strike is guaranteed by the NLRA. If there is a conflict between
the NLRA and the Bankruptcy Code, the NLRA generally prevails.
Employers and employees not subject to the NLRA may have their
relationships governed by other federal or state statutes. The
Railway Labor Act governs labor relations in the railway and airline
industries. The employees and agencies in the federal public sector
are subject to the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations
Act (FSLMRA), which is administered by the Federal Labor Relations
Authority.
The Norris-LaGuardia Act was passed in 1932. Its main effect
was to limit the power of federal courts to issue injunctions
prohibiting unions from engaging in strikes and other coercive
activities.
States extensively regulate the employer/employee bargaining
relationship. They may regulate employers and employees not covered
by the NLRA.
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