Unfair Labor Practices and Labor-Management Relations
This domain tests NLRA §7 rights, the §8(a) and §8(b) unfair labor practices, representation elections, and the duty to bargain.
Section 7 and Section 8(a)
Section 7 protects self-organization, union membership, collective bargaining, and concerted activity for mutual aid or protection - including unorganized employees discussing wages, safety, or working conditions.
- §8(a)(1): interfering, restraining, or coercing employees.
- §8(a)(2): dominating or assisting a labor organization.
- §8(a)(3): discriminating in hire or tenure to encourage or discourage union membership.
- §8(a)(4): retaliating for filing charges or testifying.
- §8(a)(5): refusing to bargain in good faith, including unilateral changes to mandatory subjects.
Elections and remedies
An RC petition requires a 30% showing of interest; the regional director defines the unit by community of interest and directs an election, with the Excelsior list due within seven days. Charges must be filed within six months under §10(b). Board remedies include cease-and-desist orders, reinstatement with back pay, notice posting, and, where violations are pervasive, a Gissel bargaining order. Supervisors under §2(11) are excluded from protection.
Bargaining
Wages, hours, and other terms and conditions are mandatory subjects; permissive subjects cannot be pressed to impasse; illegal subjects are prohibited. Weingarten representation rights apply in unionized workplaces only.
Worked example
An employer fires a warehouse lead who posted on a private Facebook group: "Everyone text me - we need to ask why our overtime got cut." The employer cites a confidentiality policy. Analysis: the post is concerted activity about wages and hours, squarely within §7. Under the Stericycle standard the rule itself is unlawful unless the employer proves a legitimate and substantial business justification that cannot be more narrowly tailored. The discharge violates §8(a)(1) and, if union animus is shown under Wright Line, §8(a)(3). The charge must be filed within six months; the remedy is reinstatement with back pay, and a bargaining order is possible if the conduct was widespread.
Traps
- Confusing right-to-work laws (§14(b) union-security limits) with at-will employment.
- Overlooking the six-month §10(b) deadline.
- Treating supervisors or independent contractors as protected employees.
- Assuming Weingarten applies to non-union workplaces.
- Missing that a unilateral change in a mandatory subject is a refusal to bargain.