CCBC LABOR STUDIES PROGRAM
LBST 108—Labor Law I
IMPORTANT DATES IN U.S. LABOR LAW
1351—Statute of Laborers—concerted activity as a crime—maximum wages
1562—Elizabethan Statute of Laborers—made labor “contracts” different from all other contracts—concerted activity still considered a crime
1721—Rex vs. Journeymen Tailors—tailors who organized were indicted and convicted of common law conspiracy—“combination was the gist of the offense”
1875--in England, the British Parliament held that criminal conspiracy could no longer be applied to unions, but workers still could be sued for “civil conspiracy”
United States
1806—Commonwealth vs. Pullis—the Philadelphia Cordwainers trial—the nine brave shoemakers—organized for higher wages and a closed shop—convicted of criminal conspiracy in challenge whether English common law was overthrown by the American Revolution—court ruled that common law prevailed
1842—Commonwealth vs. Hunt—in Massachusetts, a judge stated that a union was only illegal if its means were “illegal”(=physical violence)—first court decision “legalizing” unionism
1868—federal legislation to establish the 8-hour day for federal workers
1886—Theiss Boycotters Case—unions were sued “extortion and intimidation” by a “concert saloon” keeper named Theiss, whose establishment was struck by the Knights of Labor Musicians local, which spread the boycott to a brewer.
1890—Sherman Anti-Trust Act—was originally proposed to restrain capitalist trusts but was used against the “monopolies” of unionism. Injunctions were issued under this act to break strikes
1890s—states began to pass workers compensation legislation
1898—Erdman Act—called on the Interstate Commerce Commission to mediate conflicts in the railroad industry, and prohibited railroads from “discouraging union membership.”
1905—Lochner v. New York—a state cannot limit the number of hours worked in a day because such legislation interfered with “the liberty of selling one’s labor”
1908—Danbury Hatters case—the Supreme Court ruled that unions were subject to anti-trust legislations and could be assessed triple damages for a 1902 strike
1914—Clayton Act—specifically excluded unions from anti-trust legislation, ruling that “the labor of a human being is not an article of commerce”
1917—Hitchman Coal and Coke Co. vs Mitchell—the Supreme Court upheld the legality of a yellow-dog (or iron clad) contract, stating “An employer is free to make non-membership in a union a condition of employment. . .It is a right of private property . . .”
1923—Adkins vs. Childens Hospital—Supreme Court ruled that minimum wages for women were illegal because they “restricted the liberty of workers”
1926—The Railway Labor Act—the first comprehensive federal statute for labor-management relations, specifically recognized the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively
1932—Norris-LaGuardia Act—prohibited courts from issuing injunctions in any labor dispute
June 16, 1933—The National Recovery Administration (NRA), with its symbol of the blue eagle, was passed by Congress, and included, at the urging of Senator Robert Wagner (D-NY) the famous Section 7(a), which gave workers “shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing.”
February 27, 1935--In the equally famous Supreme Court decision, Schecter Poultry Inc. (the sick chicken), the whole act was ruled unconstitutional.
February 21, 1935—The Wagner Act was introduced into Congress, including the basic elements of the NLA
April 12, 1937—The NLRB vs. Jones and Laughlin Steel Corp.—the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Wagner Act
1938—the Dies Committee, in the U.S. House, which was later named The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), began to investigate the Labor Board for “communist activities”
1938—Mackay Radio and Telegraph v NLRB—“permanent replacements”
1938-1944--State laws were proposed to declare illegal all forms of union security, especially the closed shop, as a restriction on the freedom of individual workers
World War II—the War Labor Board established the rights of unions to negotiate “maintenance of membership” clauses
Ford Motor, Inc. negotiated the check-off article
1944-- Steele v Louisville & Nashville Railroad—Duty of Fair Representation
1947—Taft-Hartley Act—to amend the NLRA to “give equal rights to employers”
1955—Spielberg Manufacturing—establishes policy of deferral to arbitration
1959—Landrum-Griffin Act created more restriction on unions, even though the unions had shown political strength in the 1958 elections
1963—NLRB v. General Motors—established “financial core” membership, in spite of clear contract language
July 19, 1964—Civil Rights bill passed, outlawing discrimination on race or sex
1970—Postal Reorganization Act—put postal workers under the NLRA
1971-Collyer Insulated Wire—expands deferral to arbitration
1974—the NLRA was extended to voluntary, or “non-profit” health care facilities
1974—Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) passed
1977—Labor Law Reform movement fails in Congress
1984—NLRB v. Bildisco & Bildisco, the NLRB ruled that bankruptcy could void a union contract
1988—Communications Workers of America v. Beck—broadened the scope of “financial core membership,” regardless of any negotiated contract language
1994—Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) passed
1994—North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) passed, creating multinational labor standards
2005—Employee Free Choice Act proposed as federal legislation to amend NLRA
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