Legal Definitions - picketing

Picketing is a method of protest where individuals gather outside a workplace, business, or organization to publicize a grievance or issue. The goal of picketing is often to persuade employees, customers, or the general public to withhold their work, business, or support from the entity being protested. Picketers typically carry signs or banners that communicate their message and highlight their demands or concerns.

While picketing is generally protected as an exercise of free speech under constitutional law, it is subject to reasonable regulations regarding its time, place, and manner. For instance, certain types of picketing might be restricted if they involve violence, block public access, or constitute an unfair labor practice.

There are two main types of picketing:

• Primary Picketing: This occurs at the location of the employer or organization with whom the picketers have a direct dispute. Its purpose is to directly pressure that specific entity to meet the protesters' demands.

• Secondary Picketing: This involves picketing an employer or organization that is not the primary party in the dispute, but typically does business with the primary employer. The aim is to exert pressure on this "neutral" secondary entity, hoping they will, in turn, pressure the primary employer to resolve the original dispute.

Here are some examples to illustrate picketing:

• Example 1 (Primary Picketing - Labor Dispute): Employees of "Global Logistics Co." are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. Feeling that management is unwilling to offer fair wage increases and adequate health benefits, the union calls for a strike. During the strike, dozens of employees stand outside the main gates of Global Logistics Co.'s distribution center, holding signs that say "Fair Wages Now!" and "Respect Our Labor!" They encourage delivery drivers not to cross the picket line and inform the public about their demands.

  How this illustrates picketing: This is an example of primary picketing because the protest is directed specifically at Global Logistics Co., the employer with whom the workers have a direct dispute, and it takes place at their workplace. The goal is to directly pressure Global Logistics Co. to agree to the workers' terms.

• Example 2 (Secondary Picketing - Supply Chain Pressure): A group of environmental activists is protesting "Forest Timber Inc." for its unsustainable logging practices in old-growth forests. To increase pressure, the activists decide to picket "Home Furnishings Emporium," a large retail chain that prominently sells furniture made from Forest Timber Inc.'s wood. At Home Furnishings Emporium, the activists carry signs stating, "Don't Buy Furniture That Destroys Forests!" and hand out flyers explaining Forest Timber Inc.'s practices.

  How this illustrates picketing: This demonstrates secondary picketing. The primary dispute is with Forest Timber Inc., but the picketing is occurring at Home Furnishings Emporium, a separate, "neutral" business. The activists aim to pressure Home Furnishings Emporium to stop sourcing wood from Forest Timber Inc., thereby indirectly forcing Forest Timber Inc. to change its logging practices.

• Example 3 (Primary Picketing - Social Advocacy): Residents of a community are concerned about a proposed new chemical plant, "ChemCorp Solutions," which they believe will significantly increase local air pollution. A local advocacy group organizes a protest where community members stand outside the construction site of the new ChemCorp Solutions plant, holding banners that read "Clean Air, Not ChemCorp!" and "Protect Our Health!" They distribute information to construction workers and passersby about the potential environmental risks.

  How this illustrates picketing: This is primary picketing because the protest is directly aimed at ChemCorp Solutions, the entity whose actions (building the plant) are the subject of the dispute. The picketers are at the site of the proposed plant, seeking to directly influence ChemCorp Solutions' decision or construction plans.