Legal Definitions - hot-cargo agreement

A hot-cargo agreement is a specific type of arrangement in labor relations where a labor union, which has a dispute with one employer (the primary employer), convinces a *separate, neutral* employer to agree voluntarily not to handle, use, sell, or transport goods or products from that primary employer. The purpose of such an agreement is for the neutral employer to exert pressure on the primary employer to resolve the union's dispute.

Most hot-cargo agreements are now illegal under U.S. labor law, specifically prohibited by the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959. This is because they are considered a form of secondary boycott, unfairly involving a neutral party in a labor dispute that is not directly theirs.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Construction Industry
  A union representing plumbers is in a dispute with a particular pipe manufacturer over unsafe working conditions. To increase pressure on the manufacturer, the union approaches a large general construction contractor, who regularly purchases and installs pipes from that manufacturer. The contractor, wanting to avoid potential labor issues on its own sites, voluntarily agrees with the union not to purchase or install any pipes from the manufacturer until the union's dispute is resolved. This agreement between the union and the neutral contractor, targeting the manufacturer's products, would be considered a hot-cargo agreement.

• Example 2: Retail and Logistics
  A union representing warehouse workers is striking against a specific electronics distributor for better wages. To amplify their leverage, the union enters into an agreement with a major independent trucking company that transports goods for many retailers. The trucking company agrees that it will not transport any shipments originating from the striking electronics distributor's warehouses. This arrangement, where the neutral trucking company agrees to cease handling the distributor's "hot cargo" at the union's request, exemplifies a hot-cargo agreement.

• Example 3: Food Service Supply Chain
  A union representing farmworkers is in a dispute with a large agricultural producer over alleged unfair labor practices. The union then approaches a popular chain of grocery stores that regularly buys produce from this producer. The grocery store chain, sympathetic to the union's cause or seeking to avoid negative publicity, agrees to temporarily stop purchasing produce from that specific agricultural producer. This voluntary agreement between the union and the neutral grocery store chain to boycott the producer's goods is a hot-cargo agreement.