CLIENT NEWSLETTER
August 31, 2012
Contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association (“ILA”) and the United States Maritime Alliance (“USMA”) fell apart last week. Shippers are understandably concerned about how an impending strike will affect the industry and are actively seeking alternative ways to ship their freight. The contract expires on September 30th and a strike would bring the nation’s freight system to a screeching halt. Should this be the case, President Obama may step in and call for an injunction to a strike or lockout under the Taft-Hartley Act.
Policy of the Taft-Hartley Emergency Strike Provisions – Congress acknowledged the need to protect the national health or safety whenever it is imperiled by a strike or lockout and under the Taft-Hartley act, it provided a means to enjoin even the “most peaceful strike…during the eighty (80) day period if the Court finds it runs counter to the public interest and affects the national welfare.” The national emergency provisions in the Act authorize the President to adopt emergency measures whenever there is a threat of an actual strike that will affect and “entire industry.” **
1. The President appoints a board of inquiry to investigate and report the facts and positions of the parties. This fact finding mission is solely for the purpose of gathering information and the Board has no power to make any sort of recommendations in the report. The Board does have power to subpoena witness in order to prepare the report.
2. The President then files a copy of the report to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (“FMCS”), and the contents of the report are made public.
3. The President may, when he receives the report, direct the Attorney General to petition the appropriate federal district court to issue an injunction to prevent the strike or lockout.
4. If the District Court finds that the strike “affects and entire industry or a substantial part thereof engaged in trade, commerce, transportation, transmission, or communication among several States and foreign nations or engaged in the production of goods for commerce; and if permitted to occur or to continue, will imperil the national health or safety, it shall have jurisdiction to enjoin…and to make sure other orders as may be appropriate.”
5. If the injunction is granted an eighty (80) day “cooling off” period begins supposedly for the parties to resolve their differences.
6. At the end of sixty (60) days, if the parties have not resolved their dispute, the Board reconvenes and reports to the President the current position of the parties and the efforts made, if any, to resolve the dispute with a statement of each party of its position and a statement of the employer’s last offer of settlement, if any.
7. The President makes this report public and the NLRB within the next 15 days takes a secret ballot vote of the employees on whether they wish to accept the employer’s last offer. Within 5 days the NLRB certifies this vote to the Attorney General. Thereafter, the Attorney General must petition the district court to discharge the injunction.
8. If the parties have not come to an agreement at this point, the President has no other recourse but to submit a report to Congress and make recommendation for legislative action. – So basically, there is no provision that allows for a renewal of another 80 day “cooling off” period.
**Sources – 29 U.S.C. §§ 176-80. United States v. Int’l Longshoremen’s Ass’n, 116 F. Supp. 262 (S.D.N.Y 1953).
For more information, please contact:
Mercedes Ozcan, Esq.
McBreen & Kopko
500 N. Broadway, Suite 129
Jericho, NY 11753
Tel: +1 516 364 1095
Fax: +1 516 364 0612
www.mcbreenkopko.com