Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1935, with a goal of preventing and mediating industrial disagreements between employers, employees and labor organizations in order to maintain full production for the U.S. economy. The NLRA protects various rights of employees and employers, encourages collective bargaining and prohibits certain labor and management practices.
This legislative brief provides an overview of the NLRA. For more detailed information about the NLRA or to access the complete text of the law, please visit the National Labor Relations Board’s website: http://www.nlrb.gov/.
Employee Rights
Under the NRLA, employees have the right to:
- Organize a union to negotiate with an employer concerning wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment;
- Form, join or assist a union;
- Bargain collectively through representatives of employees’ own choosing for a contract with an employer setting wages, benefits, hours and other working conditions;
- Discuss terms and conditions of employment of union organizing with co-workers or a union;
- Take action with one or more co-workers to improve working conditions by, among other means, raising work-related complaints directly with an employer or with a government agency, and seeking help from a union;
- Strike and picket, depending on the purpose or means of the strike or the picketing; and
- Choose not to do any of these activities, including joining or remaining a member of a union.
Employer Rights
Employers are afforded certain rights under the NLRA as well – namely, protection from unfair labor practices from labor organizations. For instance, labor unions may not limit the productivity of the employer or insist that more workers be hired.
Union Rights
Union rights under the NLRA include:
- Protection from unfair labor practices from employers;
- The right to organize, or attempt to form, a bargaining unit in a private sector workplace; and
- Once chosen as employees, to modify wages and other working conditions.
For more on the NLRA as it relates to employer restrictions, union restrictions, enforcement and exclusions in this legislative brief, please click here. To speak with an Alltrust expert, call 727.772.4200.
