Legal Definitions - National Labor Relations Act

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) is a fundamental federal law in the United States that governs the relationship between employers, employees, and labor unions in the private sector. Its primary purpose is to protect the rights of most private-sector employees to organize, form, join, or assist a labor organization, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other protected concerted activities for their mutual aid or protection. The NLRA also prohibits certain unfair labor practices by both employers and unions and established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to enforce its provisions. Often referred to as the Wagner Act when it was first enacted in 1935, it has since been amended by other significant laws, such as the Taft-Hartley Act and the Landrum-Griffin Act, which further shaped labor relations law.

Here are some examples of how the National Labor Relations Act applies:

• Employee Organizing for Better Conditions: Imagine a group of nurses at a private hospital who are concerned about understaffing and inadequate patient care. They begin discussing among themselves the possibility of forming a union to collectively negotiate with hospital management for improved staffing levels and better working conditions. They distribute flyers and hold meetings outside of work hours to gather support.

  How this illustrates the NLRA: The NLRA protects these nurses' right to engage in "concerted activities" – acting together for their mutual aid or protection – including the right to discuss and organize a union without fear of retaliation from their employer. If the hospital were to fire or discipline any of these nurses for their organizing efforts, it would likely be considered an illegal unfair labor practice under the NLRA.

• Protection Against Retaliation for Discussing Wages: Consider a team of software developers at a tech startup who discover, through casual conversation, that some team members are paid significantly less than others for similar work. They decide to collectively approach their manager to ask for a review of salary equity. One developer, who was particularly vocal in organizing this discussion, is subsequently demoted or given a poor performance review, despite having a strong work record.

  How this illustrates the NLRA: The NLRA protects employees' right to discuss their wages, hours, and working conditions with colleagues, even if they are not unionized. This is considered a "protected concerted activity." If the demotion or negative review was a direct result of the developer's participation in the collective wage discussion, the NLRA would deem it an illegal unfair labor practice, and the National Labor Relations Board could intervene to remedy the situation.

• Collective Bargaining for a New Contract: After employees at a manufacturing plant successfully vote to form a union, their elected union representatives sit down with company management to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. The union proposes changes to the health insurance plan, an increase in hourly wages, and a more structured grievance procedure for workplace disputes.

  How this illustrates the NLRA: The NLRA mandates that employers engage in "collective bargaining" in good faith with the chosen representatives of their employees. This means the company must meet with the union, listen to their proposals, and make sincere efforts to reach an agreement on wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, rather than unilaterally imposing terms. The Act provides a framework for this negotiation process to ensure fairness and stability in labor relations.