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Secondary Picketing, Trade Restraints, And The First Amendment: A Historical And Practical Case For Legal Stability

Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal

Secondary picketing is picketing by a union aimed at someone other than the employer. It aims to coerce the other person to cut ties with the employer to gain leverage in a labor dispute. Today, secondary picketing is usually illegal; it is an unfair labor practice under section 8(b)(4)(ii)(B) of the National Labor Relations Act. If a union pickets a neutral third party, it can be subject to unfair-labor-practice charges, or even an injunction. This article explores why the Court continues to draw that distinction. It surveys the arguments for liberalizing picketing rules, and it places them in historical context. …