The National Labor Relations Act
The NLRA guarantees the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively and the NLRB is the federal agency that administers laws governing relations between unions and employers in the private sector. Understanding how each affects your business and employee relations is vital to avoiding charges of unfair labor practices. For more information, see The National Labor Relations Act.
The NLRA governs the process by which employees choose a collective bargaining representative and all procedures are administered by the NLRB. For information on how the election process works, see Selecting Employee Representatives.
Collective Bargaining
The NLRA encourages collective bargaining. Under the NLRA, an employer and union are required to bargain in good faith. Employers must provide the union with relevant information and not take unilateral action on matters that are usually bargained. For more information, see Collective Bargaining.
Union Security Agreements
Under certain conditions, you and a union can create a union-security agreement. A union-security agreement requires employees to make designated payments to the union in order to retain their jobs. For more information, see Union Security Agreements.
Unfair Labor Practices
The NLRA forbids certain activities engaged in separately and/or jointly by employers and unions.
By Employers
Under the NLRA, the unfair labor practices that may be attributable to employers include conduct that:
- Discriminates or retaliates against employees who engage or refuse to engage in union activity, or who use the NLRB's processes
- Interferes with the free selection of a union as collective bargaining representative
- Inhibits the collective bargaining process
For more information, see Unfair Labor Practices, By Employers.
By Labor Organizations
Unfair labor union practices largely parallel those of employers with some exceptions that relate to the power that unions may attempt to influence over its members and employers, other than those whose employees they represent. They prohibit conduct that:
- Discriminates or retaliates against employees who engage or refuse to engage in union activity or who use the NLRB's processes
- Interferes with the free selection of a union as collective bargaining representative
- Inhibits collective bargaining process
- Involves inappropriate parties in labor disputes
For more information, see Unfair Labor Practices, By Labor Organizations.
In addition, NLRA forbids "hot cargo" or "hot goods" agreements in which cargo or goods from employers deemed "unfair" are not handled by labor organization members. For more information, see Unfair Labor Practices, By Both Employers and Labor Organizations.
Powers of the NLRB
To enable the NLRB to perform its duties, Congress delegated certain powers that can be used in all cases. These are principally powers having to do with investigations, hearings and enforcement of the NLRA. For more information, see Powers of the NLRB.