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Judicial Caution And The Supreme Court's Labor Decisions, October Term 1971, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

Labor law, like most other law in the making, is intensely political at its margins. On certain central themes, such as the right to join a union and freedom of contract, judges and administrators of widely varying outlooks may be able to reach a consensus. But along the frontiers of the law, no such accord can be expected. Conscientious decision-makers will inevitably differ with one another, depending on their diverse social values. They may even differ with their own prior positions, depending on shifts in the political climate. Moreover, if the decision-makers happen to be justices of the United States, …

Strangers In Paradise: Griggs V. Duke Power Co. And The Concept Of Employment Discrimination, Alfred W. Blumrosen

Michigan Law Review

In March 1966, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) negotiated an extensive agreement with the Newport News Shipyard to eliminate employment discrimination. The outcome of these negotiations-which were conducted by the Office of Conciliations which I then headed-was the first major achievement for the EEOC under title Vll of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Following that episode, Ken Holbert, Deputy Chief of Conciliations, and I decided to try to negotiate a model conciliation agreement on the subject of discriminatory employment testing. We knew that many companies had introduced tests in the 1950's and early 1960's when they could no …

Protecting The Older Worker, H. Patrick Callahan, Charles T. Richardson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Unlike racial discrimination, age discrimination statutes do not prohibit all forms of discrimination but only those forms that are arbitrary. In this respect age is most analogous to sex as a basis of discrimination: in neither case has a conclusive statutory presumption been made that these factors are irrelevant in an employment situation; in both situations the employer must make his decision to hire or not to hire on the abilities of the individual and not on assumptions, proven or unproven, about the class as a whole. This note considers the extent of arbitrary age discrimination and what measures have …

Facially Neutral Criteria And Discrimination Under Title Vii: "Built-In Headwinds" Or Permissible Practices?, Dianne Brou Fraser

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article discusses how Title VII affects the operation of these facially neutral practices and attempts to determine when such practices are unlawful under Title VII. It also discusses the possible effects of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 on this problem.

Labor Law--Picketing--Constitutional Law--First Amendment Challenges By Federal Employees To The Broad Labor Picketing Proscription Of Executive Order 11491, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note will consider the constitutional validity of section 19(b)(4)'s broad prohibition against federal-employee labor picketing. However, before the first amendment questions are considered, two preliminary issues should be discussed.

Religious Discrimination And The Role Of Arbitration Under Title Vii, Harry T. Edwards, Joel H. Kaplan

Michigan Law Review

One of the major thrusts of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, passed by the 88th Congress of the United States after much procrastination and debate, is title VII, the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, which prohibits selected forms of employment discrimination.

In drafting title VII, the proponents of the Act were chiefly concerned with racial discrimination in employment. In fact, the entire Civil Rights Act was written with an eye toward the elimination of the "glaring ... discrimination against Negroes which exists throughout our nation." Given this intent, it is not surprising that, during the hearings and debates preceding the …

Interventionism, Laissez-Faire, And Stare Decisis: The Labor Decisions Of The Supreme Court, October Term 1969, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Book Chapters

Following is the partial text of an address delivered at the August 10, 1970, meeting of the American Bar Association's Section of Labor Relations Law by Theodore J. St. Antoine, Professor of Law, University of Michigan, and Secretary of the Section of Labor Relations Law of the American Bar Association. The portion of the address reproduced deals with the Supreme Court's Boys Markets decision relating to injunctions against strikes in violation of no-strike contracts and the Court's H. K. Porter decision involving the NLRB' s authority to order a party to agree to a substantive provision in a collective bargaining …

The Consent Of The Governed: Public Employee Unions And The Law, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Book Chapters

The major development in labor relations legislation during the past decade was the veritable eruption across the country of state statutes providing for the unionization of public employees. Wisconsin led the way in 1959 by 'imposing the duty to bargain on municipal employers. Ten years later, by my count, 22 states had passed laws authorizing some form of collective bargaining for either state or local employees, or both. An additional ten or so states have prescribed bargaining procedures for certain specified categories of employees, such as firemen, policemen, teachers, or public transit workers. All told, over two and a half …

Labor Law--The Permissible Scope Of The National Labor Relations Board's Rule Against Relitigation, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Under section 9 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) is charged with the responsibility of determining what group of employees constitutes an appropriate unit for purposes of collective bargaining with an employer. While the Board itself originally handled representation petitions and determined appropriate bargaining units, Congress in 1959 amended the NLRA and authorized the Board to delegate its section 9 powers to the regional directors in order to expedite NLRB operations. Pursuant to this authorization, and in accordance with its rule-making authority under section 6 of the Act, the …

Self Defense For Women Lawyers: Enforcement Of Employment Rights, Giovanna M. Longo

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Employment and a concomitant opportunity to compete on the basis of individual merit for the rewards of achievement, whether they be money, power, prestige, personal satisfaction in a job well done, or the fulfillment of broad social aims, contribute to the assertion of legitimate human needs for independence and self-respect, and contribute to the expression and realization of individual potential. Women professionals and professional employers need to understand the applicable law regarding the proof of sex discrimination, what exceptions there are to prohibited sex discrimination, the procedures for enforcing that law and the benefits or detriments to be expected from …

Secondary Boycott: From Antitrust To Labor Relations, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

The ethos of the labor movement cuts against the American grain at several points. Our national instinct, reflected in many statutes and much judge-made law, is to exalt the rugged individualist over the anonymous group, to favor wide-open competition rather than a controlled market, and to prize the right of each person to remain aloof from the quarrels and concerns of his neighbors. It is not for nothing that our most universal folk hero is the frontiersman, who proudly stands alone and self-sufficient. Yet the ordinary workingman does not have the capacity to assume that heroic stance. For him strength …

Labor Law--Boycotts And Strikes--Picketing--The Picketing Of An Independent Warehouse I Which A Primary Employer's Goods Are Stored-- Steelworkers, Local 6991 (Auburndale Freezer Corp.), Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

When a group of employees strike against their own employer--the primary employer-their purpose usually is to disrupt his operations in the hope that economic pressure will persuade or coerce him to meet their demands. They may picket the primary employer's premises in order to publicize the strike or to try to persuade fellow employees to join it; and even if the picketing induces third persons not to deal with the primary, the employees' activity constitutes protected primary picketing. If the goal of the striking employees is in fact to publicize the strike and to persuade their co-workers, they will naturally …

Labor Law--Bankruptcy--The Effect Of The Bankruptcy Of An Employer On The Employment Relationship And On Jurisdiction Over Labor Disputes Involving The Employer, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Litigation arising in connection with the recent bankruptcy of Turney Wood Products, Inc., has brought into issue the general problem of the operation of a bankrupt employer under the federal labor laws. The provisions of both the federal labor laws and the Bankruptcy Act are clear in purpose, but in areas of their interaction they have produced jurisdictional confusion. The situation presented to a single court by the cases arising from the Turney Wood Products bankruptcy provided an ideal vehicle to resolve much of that confusion; in fact, the parties involved viewed it as a test-case situation. But the resulting …

Labor Law--Collective Bargaining--The Retirement Benefits Of Retired Employees Are A Mandatory Subject Of Bargaining Because Retirees Are "Employees" Under The Nlra And Because Active Employees Have An Interest In Such Benefits--Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Chemical Division, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Recent Development will examine the substance and implications of the latter aspect of Pittsburgh Plate Glass, although it is only dictum in the case. The third ground of the Board's conclusion regarding retirement benefits was really only a general reiteration of the first two. It is therefore apparent that that ground is dependent upon the validity of either or both of the other two bases of the Board's conclusion.

Litigation Versus Mediation Under Title Vii Of The Civil Rights Act Of 1964, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

Report of the 1969 Proceedings of the Section of Labor Relations Law, American Bar Association.

Collective Bargaining For Public Employees And The Prevention Of Strikes In The Public Sector, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

In recent years, a number of states have enacted legislation providing collective bargaining rights for public employees. Almost invariably these statutes have reaffirmed the traditional prohibition against strikes by government workers. But the strike-or the threat of a strike-has been a key economic weapon for employees in the private sector, and some observers contend that without that weapon the new collective bargaining rights for public employees are illusory.

Michigan Compulsory Arbitration Act For Essential Services, William J. Rainey

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

When Public Act 312 became effective on October 1, 1969, Michigan joined Rhode Island and Pennsylvania in permitting compulsory arbitration of unresolved labor disputes involving municipal police and firemen. Wyoming similarly provides for compulsory arbitration in fire department disputes. Passage of the Act was prompted by a desire to avoid the dire consequences of strikes or work stoppages by firefighters and policemen, and to provide a method by which the bargaining power of public service unions could be maintained in the absence of the strike privilege. Since Michigan had barred strikes by public employees in 1947, the unions felt that …

New York Minimum Wage Act For Migrant Workers, Karen E. Kuntz

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The abject state in which most migrant workers in this country exist has recently become a matter of national concern. The increasing stridency of the migrants, personified by César Chavez in California, has resulted in recognition of the need for legislative assistance to rescue them from their plight. The migrant worker is unable to help himself, being burdened by a low annual income and an education level of only eight and a half years in school. In New York, the migrant's situation is aggravated by the powerful position of the crew leader or "farm labor contractor," who often determines workers' …

Industrial Health And Safety: The Need For Extended Federal Regulation, J. Michael Harrison

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

It is the purpose of this article to raise and answer these questions: (1) Is the current level of injury frequency on the job unsatisfactory? (2) If so, can this level of injury frequency be reduced through more effective industrial safety regulation? (3) To what extent and for what reasons have existing regulatory programs, both public and private, succeeded in reducing frequency rates? (4) In what manner, if at all, should the Federal Government extend its regulation of industrial safety? An affirmative answer to the first two questions is preliminary to the other inquiries. It will be worthwhile to proceed …

Racial Equality In Jobs And Unions, Collective Bargaining, And The Burger Court, William B. Gould

Michigan Law Review

In dealing with the problems of employment discrimination, the Burger Court will have to face several new and major issues. This Article is concerned with two of the most important of those issues. The first is whether the present requirement that workers seek redress of their grievances through the exclusive representation of the union is applicable to victims of racial discrimination; and if not, what other remedies should be available to those workers. The second is whether quotas and ratios based on race are permissible; and if so, whether it is required that they be used to integrate union leadership …

Labor Law--Until Congress Acts, Secondary Picketing By Unions Subject To The Railway Labor Act Is Protected Against State Proscription--Brotherhood Of Railroad Trainmen V. Jacksonville Terminal Company, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

In a major labor dispute between the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and the Florida East Coast Railway Company (FEC), the parties, having exhausted all the procedures of the Railway Labor Act (RLA) for resolving a major dispute, resorted to self-help remedies. FEC unilaterally changed its operating employees' rates of pay, rules, and working conditions; and the union, in turn, called a strike and picketed peacefully at locations where FEC operated, including the premises of the Jacksonville Terminal Company, which served a number of other railroads. The avowed objective of the union's picketing was to cause the other carriers using the …

Labor Law--Jurisdiction--Contractual Interpretation, Unfair Labor Practices, And Arbitration: A Proposed Resolution Of Jurisdictional Overlap, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

In San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon, the Supreme Court held that the state and federal courts must defer to the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board when an activity is arguably an unfair labor practice as defined by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). At the same time, section 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) provides that the courts have jurisdiction in actions alleging violations of collective agreements. Two distinct factual settings have emerged in which these jurisdictional propositions are at odds.

Labor Law--Boycotts And Strikes--Replaced Economic Strikers Who Apply For Reinstatement Remain Employees And Are Entitled To Reinstatement When Positions Become Available--Laidlaw Corporation And Local 681, International Brotherhood Of Pulp, Sulphite, And Paper Mill Workers, Afl-Cio, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The collective bargaining agreement between the Laidlaw Corporation and Local 681 of the International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite, and Paper Mill Workers, the certified bargaining agent for Laidlaw's employees, contained a provision for modification of wages during the term of the contract. In October 1965, the union notified the company that, pursuant to this provision, it desired to negotiate a wage increase. On January 10, 1966, after two unproductive bargaining sessions, the union voted to reject Laidlaw's only offer, and two days later approximately seventy employees went on strike. When no settlement was reached by February 11, forty of the …

Labor Relations--Consumer Picketing Under Section 8(B) (4) (Ii) (B) Of The National Labor Relations Act--Honolulu Typographical Union, No. 37, I.T.U., A.F.L.-C.I.O. V. Nlrb, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The principal case is concerned generally with the problem of secondary activity by unions, and specifically with the application of a judicially created exception to the general prohibition against such activity. As originally written, section 8(b)(4) was intended to protect neutral employers from becoming involved in disputes between other employers and unions by prohibiting certain union activities. Among the practices forbidden was the traditional secondary boycott which arises when a union in a dispute with a primary employer brings pressure to bear on other employers (secondary employers), through their employees, to cease doing business with the primary. However, the statute …

Union Political Involvement And Reform Of Campaign Financing Regulation, George P. Macdonald

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The spiraling costs of political campaigns 5 and the continuing significant role played by unions and corporations in the financing of those campaigns call for an examination of section 610's efficacy as a prohibitory statute. This article will focus on the use of labor union funds in the financial aspects of national politics. It will first discuss the loopholes in section 610: those loopholes created through narrow judicial interpretation of the statute and those resulting from its imprecise drafting. Particular emphasis will be placed upon an analysis of the sources of funds available to unions for political activities and the …