The assault on American labor law : unions before the Supreme Court, 1965-2025 / Roger C. Hartley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hartley, Roger C., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. National Labor Relations Act.

United States.

Labor unions--Law and legislation--United States--History.

Labor unions.

Collective bargaining--Law and legislation--United States--History.

Collective bargaining.

Labor laws and legislation--United States--History.

Labor laws and legislation.

Industrial relations.

industrial relations.

Physical Description:

xv, 222 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, [2025]

Summary:

"The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), signed into law by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1935, guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take collective action such as strikes. Since its passage, the NLRA has functioned as the foundational statute of United States labor law. Opposed by conservatives and members of the Republican Party from the beginning, its provisions were largely upheld by the Supreme Court until the 1960s. In the latter part of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, however, the Court began to erode the protections of the NLRA. While some cases have received widespread attention from commentators and scholars, such as Starbucks Corp. v. McKinney (2024), there have been numerous detrimental rulings that are little discussed. Taken as a whole, the Supreme Court's efforts to undermine the NLRA appear sustained and systematic. In The Assault on American Labor Law, distinguished labor law professor Roger C. Hartley collects and carefully reviews every Supreme Court decision concerning the NLRA over the past sixty years. By examining approximately 100 cases, Hartley demonstrates that the Court has often operated more like a legislature than a judicial body, effectively amending the NLRA's collectivist policy underpinnings in favor of the interests of individuals and businesses. These judicial decisions create staggering obstacles for American workers to collectively organize and force them to face globalization, deindustrialization, and technological change individually, without the negotiating leverage provided by union representation. While scholars have suggested individual reforms to re-establish the efficacy of the NLRA, Hartley's thorough study illuminates how the current crisis in US labor law evolved-a comprehensive view that is necessary to help restore the rights of workers to unionize"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part I. Hindering workers' ability to establish bargaining relationships. Curtailing statutory coverage

Impeding the ability to create a duty to bargain

Limiting the duty to bargain in response to asset restructuring

Part II. Diluting statutory protection of employee group action and enhancing employers' ability to resist it. Narrowing the scope of protected concerted activities

Creating reactive economic pressure

Employer preemptive economic pressure

Part III. Impeding workers' ability to counter employer opposition to group action. Banning secondary strikes and picketing

Thwarting the effective enforcement of statutory rights

The union's relationship with those it represents.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Hartley, Roger C. Assault on American labor law

ISBN:

9781625349156

1625349157

9781625349163

1625349165

OCLC:

1500398383