Legal Definitions - black-leg labor

Black-leg labor refers to individuals who continue to work or are hired to work during a strike, thereby undermining the collective action of striking employees. These workers, often called "scabs," cross picket lines or accept jobs that striking workers have left vacant, typically to the strong disapproval of the striking union members.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Imagine a scenario where a union representing airline pilots initiates a strike to demand improved retirement benefits. To maintain some flight operations, the airline hires a group of non-union pilots and offers significant bonuses to existing management pilots who agree to fly routes during the strike. These non-union and management pilots are performing black-leg labor because they are working in roles that striking pilots have intentionally vacated, directly weakening the strike's impact on the airline's operations.

• Consider a large construction project where the unionized electricians go on strike over safety concerns. The construction company, eager to avoid delays, brings in electricians from a non-union subcontractor to complete the wiring work. The electricians from the subcontractor are engaged in black-leg labor as they are performing the duties that the striking union members have refused to do, thereby helping the company circumvent the strike's intended disruption.

• Suppose employees at a major hotel chain, members of a hospitality union, go on strike for higher wages and better working conditions. To keep the hotel running, management transfers staff from non-striking hotels in other cities and hires temporary workers to clean rooms, serve guests, and manage the front desk. Both the transferred staff and the temporary hires are performing black-leg labor because they are filling positions left vacant by the striking employees, which reduces the economic pressure on the hotel to meet the union's demands.