LER401: The Law of Labor-Management Relations. Complete Study and Class Notes (39 Pages)

Major Cases in Today’s Readings: 1) Republic Aviation, 2) New York New York (particularly NYNY “I” and text notes following it), and 3) Lechmere v. NLRB. Under pre-1935 law, employers were: Common law ”masters” over their ”servants,” but also… “Landlords” over those on workplace property The “Landlords” Part: State common law of property empowered a landlord as mini-sovereign, who could either: •Exclude people altogether for the property or… •Let them in, but on condition they behave and speak in certain ways (e.g., not join a union, or ”talk” union. The “Landlords” Part: State common law of property empowered a landlord as mini-sovereign, who could either: •Exclude people altogether for the property or… •Let them in, but on condition they behave and speak in certain ways (e.g., not join a union, or ”talk” union. Examples of How NLRA Limits Employer’s Common Law Freedoms NLRA tells employers they can no longer use common law freedoms to violate: 8(a)(1), by interfering with, coercing, or restraining employees in exercise of Section 7 rights; 8(a)(3), by discriminating against employees to discourage union membership (trumps employer’s “at-will” freedom); or “Laboratory conditions rule” in NLRB-conducted union representation elections (a rule we’ll study later). When an individual is on the employer’s property, can he/she still engage in Section 7 activity? How much of its old common law property rights does a firm still have today? Rights of Employees to Engage in Section 7 Activity in Traditional Workplace (Republic Aviation) In the 1945 case of Republic Aviation v. NLRB, the Supreme Court ruled that Section 8(a)(1) acts to limit (in certain respects) Most NLRA-covered firms have RULES governing solicitation and distribution activities in workplace. a firm facing the general Part 1 rule can try to win exception from it by demonstrating it has special “managerial”* interests justifying an exception