Please keep mind these are brief descriptions of U.S. Labor Laws. If you believe these laws have been violated please contact your Union Representative.

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In 1926, the Railway Labor Act (RLA) was passed, requiring employers to bargain collectively and prohibiting discrimination against unions. It applied originally to interstate railroads and their related undertakings. In 1936, it was amended to include airlines engaged in interstate commerce.

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In 1931, Congress passed the Davis-Bacon Act, requiring that contracts for construction entered into by the Federal Government specify the minimum wages to be paid to persons employed under those contracts.

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The Norris-LaGuardia Act, passed in 1932, during the last year of the Hoover Administration, was the first in a series of laws passed by Congress in the 1930s which gave Federal sanction to the right of labor unions to organize and strike, and to use other forms of economic leverage in dealings with management. The law specifically prohibited Federal courts from enforcing so-called "yellow dog" contracts or agreements (under which workers promised not to join a union or promised to discontinue membership in one). In addition, it barred Federal courts from issuing restraining orders or injunctions against activities by labor unions and individuals, including the following:

(*) joining or organizing a union, or assembling for union purposes;
(*) striking or refusing to work, or advising others to strike or organize;
(*) Publicizing acts of a Labor dispute; and
(*) providing lawful legal aid to persons participating in a labor dispute;

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By far the most important labor legislation of the 1930s was the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935, more popularly known as the Wagner Act, after its sponsor, Sen. Robert F. Wagner (NY-D). This law included reenactment of the previously invalidated labor sections of the NRA as well as a number of additions.

The NLRA was applicable to all firms and employees in activities affecting interstate commerce with the exception of agricultural laborers, government employees, and those persons subject to the Railway Labor Act. It guaranteed covered workers the right to organize and join labor movements, to choose representatives and bargain collectively, and to strike.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), originally consisting of three members appointed by the President, was established by the Act as an independent Federal agency. The NLRB was given power to determine whether a union should be certified to represent particular groups of employees, using such methods as it deemed suitable to reach such a determination, including the holding of a representation election among workers concerned.

Employers were forbidden by the Act from engaging in any of the five categories of unfair labor practices. Violation of this prohibition could result in the filing of a complaint with the NLRB by a union or employees. After investigation, the NLRB could order the cessation of such practices, reinstatement of a person fired for union activities, the provision of back pay, restoration of seniority, benefits, etc. An NLRB order issued in response to an unfair labor practice complaint was made enforceable by the Federal courts.

Among those unfair labor practices forbidden by the Act were:
1 ) Dominating or otherwise interfering with formation of a labor union, including the provision of any financial or other support.
2) Interfering with or restraining employees engaged in the exercise of their rights to organize and bargain collectively.
3) Imposing any special conditions of employment which tended either to encourage or discourage union membership. The law stated, however, that this provision should be construed to prohibit union contracts requiring union membership as a condition of employment in a company -- a provision which, in effect, permitted the closed and union shops. (In the former, only pre-existing members of the union could be hired, in the latter. new employees were required to join the union.)
4) Discharging or discriminating against an employee because he had given testimony or filed charges under the Act.
5) Refusing to bargain collectively with unions representing a company's employees.

The NLRA included no provisions defining or prohibiting as unfair any labor practices by unions. The Act served to spur growth of U.S. unionism -- from 3,584,000 union members in 1935 to 10,201,000 by 1941, the eve of World War II. The 1941 figure represented more than 27 percent of the nonagricultural workforce in the U.S.

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The Byrnes Act of 1936, named for Sen. James Byrnes (SC-D) and amended in 1938, made it a felony to transport any person in interstate commerce who was employed for the purpose of using force of threats against non-violent picketing in a labor dispute or against organizing or bargaining efforts.

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Passed in 1936, the Walsh-Healy Act stated that workers must be paid not less than the "prevailing minimum wage" normally paid in a locality; restricted regular work ing hours to eight hours a day and 40 hours a week, with time-and-a-half pay for additional hours; prohibited the employment of convicts and children under 18; and established sanitation and safety standards.

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Known as the wage-hour law, this 1938 Act established minimum wages and maximum hours for all workers engaged in covered "interstate commerce."

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It was not until two years after the close of World War II that the first major modification of the National Labor Relations Act was enacted. In 1947, the Labor-Management Relations Act -- also known as the Taft-Hartley Act, after its two sponsors, Sen. Robert A. Taft (OH-R) and Rep. Fred A. Hartley, Jr. (NJ-R) -- was passed by Congress, Vetoed by President Truman (on the basis that it was anti-Labor), and then reapproved over his veto. This comprehensive measure:
(*) established procedures for delaying or averting so-called "national emergency" strikes; (*) excluded supervisory employees from coverage of the Wagner Act;
(*) prohibited the "closed shop" altogether;
(*) banned closed-shop union hiring halls that discriminated against non-union members.

Taft-Hartley retained the Wagner Act's basic guarantees of workers' rights to join unions, bargain collectively, and strike, and retained the same list of unfair labor practices forbidden to employers. The Act also added a list of unfair labor practices forbidden to unions. These included:
(*) restraint or coercion of workers exercising their rights to bargain through representatives of their choosing; (*) coercion of an employer in his choice of persons to represent him in discussions with unions;
(*) refusal of unions to bargain collectively;
(*) barring a worker from employment because he had been denied union membership for any reason except non-payment of dues;
(*) striking to force an employer or self-employed person to join a union;
(*) secondary boycotts;
(*) various types of strikes or boycotts involving interunion conflict or jurisdictional agreements;
(*) Levying of excessive union initiation fees;
(*) certain forms of "featherbedding" (payment for work not actually performed).

The Taft-Hartley Act included a number of other provisions. These included:
(*) authorization of suits against unions for violations of their economic contracts;
(*) authorization of damage suits for economic losses caused by secondary boycotts and certain strikes;
(*) relaxation of the Norris-LaGuardia Act to permit injunctions against specified categories of unfair labor practice;
(*) establishment of a 60-day no-strike and no-lockout notice period for any party seeking to cancel an existing collective bargaining agreement;
(*) a requirement that unions desiring status under the law and recourse to NLRB protection file specified financial reports and documents with the U.S. Department of Labor;
(*) the abolition of the U.S. Conciliation Service and establishment of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service;
(*) a prohibition against corporate or union contributions or expenditures with respect to elections to any Federal office;
(*) a reorganization of the NLRB and a limitation on its power;
(*) a prohibition on strikes against the government;
(*) the banning of various types of employer payments to union officials.

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The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, also known as the Landrum-Griffin Act, made major additions to the Taft-Hartley Act, including:
(*) definition of additional unfair labor practices;
(*) a ban on organizational or recognition picketing;
(*) provisions allowing State labor relations agencies and courts to assume jurisdiction over labor disputes the NLRB declined to consider at the same time prohibiting the NLRB from broadening the categories of cases it would not handle.

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The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 provides job security when you need time off to due to your own serious health condition, a family member's serious health condition, to care for a newborn or during placement of an adopted or foster child.

 The FMLA allows employees to balance their work and family life by taking reasonable unpaid leave for certain reasons. The FMLA is intended to balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families, to promote the stability and economic security of families, and to promote national interests in preserving family integrity. The FMLA seeks to accomplish these purposes in a manner that accommodates the legitimate interests of employers, and which minimizes the potential for employment discrimination on the basis of sex, while promoting equal employment opportunity for men and women.

The enactment of the FMLA was predicated on two fundamental concerns :
1.   the needs of the U.S. workforce
2.   the development of high-performance organizations.

      Increasingly, American children and growing numbers of the elderly are dependent on working family members who spend long hours on the job. When family emergencies arise, requiring employees to attend to their seriously-ill children or parents, or to newly-born or adopted infants, or even to their own serious illness, workers need reassurance that they will not need to choose between their job security and meeting their personal and family obligations or tending to vital needs at home.
 

The FMLA covers

• All private employers, including non-profit organization, with 50 or more employees

• All public employers, including federal, state, city, and local agencies and schools

You are eligible for FMLA time off (leave) if all of the following apply:

• You work for a covered employer (employers with 50 or more employees are covered by the FMLA)
• You have worked for this employer for at least 12 months or 52 weeks (the period does not need to be consecutive)
• You have worked at least 1250 hours over the prior 12 months
• You work at a location where 50 or more workers are employed, or where the number of workers within 75 miles is 50 or more.

You may take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid FMLA leave in each 12-month period (16 work weeks in a 24 month period for employees working in the District of Columbia) for the following reasons:

• For a serious health condition that makes you unable to perform your job (medial leave)
• To care for a seriously ill child, spouse, or parent (family leave)
• For childbirth or to care for a newborn child up to age one (childbirth leave and newborn care leave)
• For the placement of a child with you for adoption or foster care (adoption and foster care placement leave)

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The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment and in public services, public and private transportation, public accommodations and telecommunications services. The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities, so they can continue to do their job, be hired or promoted. The individual must be qualified and able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without the accommodation.

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In 1975 the U.S. Supreme Court declared in NLRB v. J. Weingarten, rules that employers must follow during an investigatory interview. These rules are known as Weingarten rights. 

An investigatory interview occurs when:

1. Management questions an employee to obtain information;
2. The employee has a reasonable belief that discipline or other adverse consequences may result from what the employee says.

1. The employee must request Union representation before or during the interview.
2. The employee cannot be disciplined for making this request.

If the employer denies the request for Union representation and continues to ask questions, they commit an unfair labor practice and the member has the right to refuse to answer their questions. The employer may not discipline the member for such a refusal.

The Union encourages all members to assert their Weingarten rights. A steward can serve as a witness to the proceedings, object to intimidating tactics or confusing questions and, they may also raise extenuating factors regarding the issue.

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