Law Commons^™

Labor Law's Impact On The Post-Dobbs Workplace, Jeffrey M. Hirsch

Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal

The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision has left many workers, especially in states with restrictive abortion-related laws, in a precarious position. Labor laws and unions, however, provide one avenue for providing these workers with more protections. Unions can demand bargaining to protect or expand health care, leave, and other terms of employment that give workers with means to obtain abortion-related care. Unions can also provide members legal defense and other support if they face prosecutions. Additionally, both union and non-union workers who make up the vast majority of workers in states with restrictive laws may have labor law protection for discussing …

Whither The Wagner Act: On The Waning View Of Labor Law And Leviathan, Brandon R. Magner

Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal

The National Labor Relations Act’s (NLRA) well-documented weaknesses in substance and enforcement, combined with legislators’ inability to adapt the Act to the modern economy, have understandably created many cynics in the field of labor law. For several decades, legal scholars have almost unanimously derided the NLRA and the agency which administers it, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), for failing to prevent rampant anti-union conduct by employers and the collapse of the union formation process through the Board’s election machinery. This “ossification” of the law, as it has come to be known, is considered to be a key contributor to …

Incarcerated Workers Will Be Heard: Protecting The Right To Unionize Prisoners Through Dignity, Samuel Richter

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

This Comment posits that incarcerated workers possess an inherent right to unionize pursuant to human dignity. Centering dignity in this discussion highlights the ways in which prisoners’ unions secure the economic and political conditions needed to express their autonomy and foster rehabilitation. By reviewing the historical successes and missteps of the incarcerated workers’ labor movement in the United States, this Comment demonstrates that an appreciation for dignity is crucial to prevent factional violence between incarcerated people on the one hand and the over-professionalization of prisoner organization on the other. Recognizing that unionization is a matter of dignity, not free speech …

The Labor Gerrymander, Joel Heller

Vanderbilt Law Review

The foundational metaphor of federal labor law is “industrial democracy.” But like any good metaphor, it is subject to overuse. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) grants employees the right to have a say in the decisions that govern their working lives through union representation and collective bargaining. Parties and policymakers often invoke the language of American political democracy when describing and debating that right. Democracy is not a unitary concept, however, and not all norms and concepts from the political sphere can or should translate into the labor sphere.

This Article interrogates the political-model analogy through the lens of …

The Unknown Drug Dealers In The Nhl: Nhl Players, Drug Addiction, And The Need For Regulation Of Prescriptive Drug Use In The Nhl, Keith O'Brien

Hofstra Law Review

The article examines the pervasive issue of painkiller addiction among NHL (National Hockey League) players, which is exacerbated by a league culture that valorizes playing through injuries. It highlights the shortcomings of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in managing and regulating prescription drug use, alongside the inadequate oversight and accountability from the NHL and regulatory bodies like OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration).

Police Brutality & Unions: Collective Bargaining Is The Problem, Not Law Enforcement, Falco Anthony Muscante Ii

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

When Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, and when Jason Van Dyke fired sixteen rounds at Laquan McDonald who was walking away from the responding officers, were Chauvin and Van Dyke acting exclusively of their own volition, or were their actions indicative of a deeper, systemic issue? Nearly 60% of law enforcement officers enjoy collective bargaining protections from their police unions, but these protections create a lack of accountability.

Police unions can bargain collectively with police departments because of state legislation, which typically allow for negotiation over matters affecting wages, hours, and terms and …

"Stronger" Together: Kanye Could Have Owned His Masters By Engaging In Collective Bargaining, L. Camille Cordova

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Because the legislature and judiciary have failed to protect recording artists’ interests, this article proposes that engaging in collective bargaining will re-balance the bargaining positions of the major record labels and recording artists to create a mutually beneficial agreement that gives recording artists a termination of rights clause that mirrors section 203 of the 1976 Copyright Act. By contracting with a major record label, recording artists are automatically eligible for union membership to the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists union (“SAG-AFTRA”), who have experience negotiating other collective-bargaining agreements with these record labels. This agreement would provide …

Labor And Employment—Not Waiting For Superman: Collective Bargaining As An Affirmation Of Teachers' Value, Christopher Yeatman

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Labor Organization In Ride-Sharing—Unionization Or Cartelization?, Mark Anderson, Max Huffman

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The sharing economy brings together the constituent parts of a business enterprise into a structure that, on its surface, resembles a business firm, but in crucial ways is nothing like the traditional firm. This includes the ownership of the primary capital assets used in the business, as well as one of the most fundamental features of a firm—the relationship with its labor force. Sharing economy workers are formally contractors, running small businesses as sole entrepreneurs, with the effect that they are excluded from many of the protections made available to workers across the economy. The result is a seeming disparity …

Issues Of Improving Labor Legislation In The Digital Economy, Makhmud Makhamatov

Review of law sciences

This article explores the issues of remote labor, which is now increasingly being implemented on a global scale, its legal nature, as opposed to home work (work from home). Also, taking into account some aspects of the existing experience in foreign countries and international organizations, recommendations were made on the legal regulation of remote work in the national legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Alt Labor? Why We Still Need Traditional Labor, Martin H. Malin

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Different Set Of Rules? Nlrb Proposed Rule Making And Student Worker Unionization Rights, William A. Herbert, Joseph Van Der Naald

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

This article presents data, precedent, and empirical evidence relevant to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) proposal to issue a new rule to exclude graduate assistants and other student employees from coverage under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The analysis in three parts. First, the authors show through an analysis of information from other federal agencies that the adoption of the proposed NLRB rule would exclude over 81,000 graduate assistants on private campuses from the right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining. Second, the article presents a legal history from the past half-century about unionization of student employees …

The Teachers' Strike Of 2018 In Historical Perspective, Joseph Slater

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

No abstract provided.

Where The Law Ends - Part 1: M&G; Polymers V. Tackett And Cnh Industrial V. Reese - Federal Labor Policy, The Interpretation Of Collective Bargaining Agreements, And The Failure Of Stare Decisis, Roger J. Mcclow

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

No abstract provided.

Labor Law Illiteracy: Epic Systems Corp. V. Lewisand Janus V. Afscme, Michael J. Yelnosky

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Motive Power In Public Sector Collective Bargaining, Martin H. Malin

Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal

In the private sector, George Taylor referred to the strike as providing the “motive power” in collective bargaining. A major reason behind the enactment of public employee collective bargaining laws is to reduce the interruption of public services from job actions. This was the case with the enactment of New York’s Taylor Law.

This paper, written for a conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Taylor Law and published in a special issue of the Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal focused on the Taylor Law, examines what, in the absence of a right to strike, provides the motive power …

The History Books Tell It? Collective Bargaining In Higher Education In The 1940s, William A. Herbert

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

This article presents a history of unionization and collective bargaining in higher education during and just after World War II, decades before the establishment of statutory frameworks for labor representation. It examines the collective bargaining program adopted by the University of Illinois in 1945, along with contracts negotiated at other institutions, which demonstrated support for employee self-organization. It will also presents counter-examples of institutions using the courts and congressional investigators to defeat unionization efforts. . Lastly, the article will examine the role of United Public Workers of America (UPWA) and its predecessor unions in organizing and negotiating on behalf of …

Saying Goodbye To Unions In Higher Education: The Yale Hunger Strike In Perspective, Raymond L. Hogler

Academic Labor: Research and Artistry

No abstract provided.

You Are Now Entering The School Zone, Proceed With Caution: Educators, Arbitration, & Children’S Rights, Raquel Muniz

Arbitration Law Review

No abstract provided.

Nba-Age Restrictions: Should The Nba Follow In The Footsteps Of Major League Baseball?, Bryan Kelly

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This paper will discuss the outlook of current NBA prospects and the development of age restrictions. It will also shed light on several key cases and Collective Bargaining Agreements including: Wood v. National Basketball Association, and Denver Rockets v. All Pro Management, Inc. and the NBA CBA. After that, an analysis of Sherman Antitrust Law and current case law concerning age restrictions in sports, and analyze the possibility for age-restrictions to be argued through the court system. Finally, this paper will look into the NBPA’s duty of representation towards NBA prospects and how the NBPA can take ideas from a …

The Significance Of The Systemic Relative Autonomy Of Labour Law, Bruce P. Archibald

Dalhousie Law Journal

The extent to which labour and employment law form an autonomous subsystem within the legal order is a significant matter in labour relations scholarship. Human capability theory helps explain how open legal constructs for structuring personal work relations are emerging in a relatively autonomous manner Similarly concepts of relational rights and relational contract theory assist in understanding the relatively autonomous development of restorative labour market regulation, with both substantive and procedural dimensions. Moreover dramatic changes in freedom of association doctrine under the Charter, which now procedurally protect collective bargaining, the right to strike and the independence of unions from management, …

On The Precipice: Prospects For Free Labor Unions In Vietnam, Tran Thi Kieu Trang, Richard Bales

San Diego International Law Journal

Vietnam (officially, the “Socialist Republic of Vietnam”) is rapidly transitioning economically, in large part due to pro-trade policies that have attracted international capital. A necessary component for Vietnam to further integrate into the world economy is to develop a system of industrial relations that will ensure industrial stability and reassure international manufacturers that there is no risk of embarrassment resulting from revelations of brutal or unsafe working conditions. Positive signs for rapid labor reform were visible as recently as early 2016 with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”), a trade agreement intended to integrate trade among twelve countries (including Vietnam), which would …

After Tackett: Incomplete Contracts For Post-Employment Healthcare, Maria O'Brien Hylton

Pace Law Review

This is a story about a union and a private sector employer who repeatedly negotiated collective bargaining agreements which referenced side contracts which provided retirees with post-employment healthcare benefits. In the early decades of their relationship neither the union nor the employer appear to have given any thought to whether or not these retiree health benefits in fact vested—i.e. were promised to retirees at no cost for the remainder of their lives. By the 1980s and certainly the 1990s however, as health care costs soared and life expectancy expanded, both parties continued to regularly re-negotiate agreements that were silent as …

High Prices In The U.S. For Life-Saving Drugs: Collective Bargaining Through Tort Law?, Paul J. Zwier

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Sudden exorbitant price hikes to patients who have long taken life-saving drugs are more and more common in today’s pharmaceutical market. The anxiety caused to patients who have been prescribed these drugs by their doctors is predictable and severe. Even when initially covered by insurance or through government programs, patients and their families can soon be made destitute by the high copays or caps on payments. This Essay argues that those who buy up life-saving drugs and decide to raise their prices, despite their knowledge of the consequences to patients, are committing the torts of intentional infliction of emotional distress …

Disability Rights And Labor: Is This Conflict Really Necessary?, Samuel R. Bagenstos

Indiana Law Journal

In this Essay, I hope to do two things: First, I try to put the current labor-disability controversy into that broader context. Second, and perhaps more important, I take a position on how disability rights advocates should approach both the current contro-versy and labor-disability tensions more broadly. As to the narrow dispute over wage-and-hour protections for personal-assistance workers, I argue both that those workers have a compelling normative claim to full FLSA protection—a claim that disability rights advocates should recognize—and that supporting the claim of those workers is pragmatically in the best interests of the disability rights movement. As to …

Are Unions A Constitutional Anomaly?, Cynthia Estlund

Michigan Law Review

This term in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Ass’n, the Supreme Court will consider whether ordinary public employees may constitutionally be required to pay an “agency fee,” as a condition of employment, to the union that represents them in collective bargaining. The Court established the terms of engagement in the 2014 decision Harris v. Quinn, which struck down an agency fee on narrower grounds while describing the current doctrine approving agency fees, blessed many times by the Court itself, as an “anomaly.” This Article asks whether labor unions are themselves anomalies in our legal system, particularly in their constitutional entitlements. Its …

Arbitration - Dispute Involving Hazardous Working Conditions Is Within The Scope Of Broad Arbitration Clause Of A Collective Bargaining Agreement In Absence Of Forceful Indication Of Exclusionary Intent; Gateway Coal Co. V. United Mine Workers, Raymond T. Royko

Akron Law Review

The collapse of a ventilation structure substantially reduced the air flow into a mine operated 'by the Gateway Coal Co., seriously increasing the danger of accumulation of dust, flammable gas and possible explosion. Three assistant foremen, whose duties included checking and recording the airflow in the mine, made false entries in their logbooks that failed to disclose the reduced air flow. The three foremen were suspended, and criminal proceedings were instituted against them. While the charges remained pending, the Company, after receiving permission from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources, reinstated the foremen. Ruling that the continued presence of the …

Public Sector Collectice Bargaining In Ohio: Before And After Senate Bill No. 133, Steven B. Chesler, Shawn E. Smith

Akron Law Review

When 1983 ushered in a new administration more sensitive to the glaring absence of such legislation, the passage of a comprehensive public employees' collective bargaining law was clearly imminent. This article will examine the inadequacies of Ohio's law prior to the enactment of Senate Bill No. 133; summarize the provisions of this new statute; and note its impact on public employees and their employee organizations.

The Excessive Use Of Presumptions And The Role Of Subjective Employee Intent In Effectuating The Purposes Of The National Labor Relations Act, Stuart Newman, Diane S. Shepherd

Akron Law Review

This article will first examine the origin and development of significant presumptions and second, suggest a method by which the Board could better protect the Section 7 rights of employees without risking destabilization of the collective-bargaining process.

Major League Baseball Players Ass'n V. Garvey Narrows The Judicial Strike Zone Of Arbitration Awards, Tracy Lipinski

Akron Law Review

This note examines judicial review of arbitration awards emphasizing if and when a reviewing court can vacate an arbitrator’s award. Part II explores the goals and principles of arbitration, the benefits of arbitration, arbitration legislation, and grounds for vacating an arbitration award. Also discussed in Part II are Supreme Court decisions dealing with judicial review of arbitration awards. Part III provides a statement of the facts, the procedural history, and the United States Supreme Court decision in Major League Baseball Players Ass’n v. Garvey. Finally, Part IV analyzes the Garvey decision, argues for a broader scope of judicial review of …