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U.S. Labor Laws in Non-Union Settings

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In this discussion I will provide a synopsis of the article, Complying with U.S. Labor Relations Laws in Non-Union Settings written by Gene Thornton. The article discusses the significance of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) or Wagner Act regulated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRA is a federal law that protects employee’s right to organize and engage in concerted activities and bargain with their employers. Furthermore, unions can have a sizeable effect on both unionized and non-unionized employees; in addition, to their pay and employment. The article continues to discuss more about how employees and their rights are protected while in the union. Under the NLRA, all private organizations are prohibited from interfering in unfair labor practices and detail and explain employee rights in section 7. Section 7 states that all employees have the right to join or refrain from joining labor organizations and collectively bargain in the United States (Thornton, 2011).
Even if a business crosses state lines the employees are still protected or have the right to join or not join a union; this is covered according to article one, section 8 (commerce clause) of the U.S. Constitution. On the other hand, in non-union settings that include agricultural workers, supervisors, independent contractors, and domestic workers are not cover under the Wagner Act or the Taft-Hartley Act (Labor Management Relations Act - LMRA). The federal workers are not even cover under these acts; their protection or rights fall under the Federal Labor Relations Authority and the National Mediation Board protects the rights of railway and airline employees (Thornton, 2011). The article continues to discuss three laws that protect specific cases and types of workers (Thornton, 2011), the Norris-LaGuardia Act, Railway Labor Act (RLA), and the Service Contract Act. The Norris-LaGuardia Act enacted in 1932 forbid workers from making promises to not join or participate in labor unions (Thornton, 2011).
The Railway Labor Act (RLA) permits airlines and railroads organizations to protect workers who want to collectively bargain or join in a labor union. The Service Contract Act is the final federal regulated law that provides protection to service workers who create a contract to furnish services in the United States to pay the “prevailing wage and benefits” (Thornton, 2011, p. 4). Basically, the article discussed and summarized several federal regulated laws that protect employees bargaining rights and labor union rights. Without these laws, employers that do not have union-represented employees assume that the law does not apply to their workplace. Unfortunately, each federal law that is broken can be used against the company in court. This evidence of unlawful act shows cause in an anti-union discrimination and other unfair labor practice legal suit.
References
Thornton, G. R. (2011). Complying with U.S. labor relations laws in non-union settings. Society for Human Resource Management. Retrieved from http://kucourses.com/

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