LAW 693LEC - Labor Law

This course is an introduction to labor law. As defined by the legal profession, labor law refers to the federal statutes and judicial decisions that address the formation and governance of the collective bargaining relationship between labor unions and business enterprises. This course will explore five broad areas of labor law: (1) the historical evolution of labor relations law, including labor law before the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA); (2) the establishment of the collective bargaining relationship, including the rights that employees have under the NLRA to form, join, or assist labor organizations, the kinds of tactics and actions that are permissible or prohibited prior to the election of a union as a bargaining representative of the employees, and what kinds of employee groups constitute appropriate units for collective bargaining; (3) the negotiation of the collective bargaining agreement, including the nature of union representation under the law, the duty to bargain in good faith, and which subjects for bargaining are mandatory or merely permissible topics for negotiation; (4) the regulation of strikes, picketing, and boycotts, including the kinds of economic actions that are protected, unprotected, or prohibited; and (5) some final, but important, components, including the nature, administration, and continuity of the collective bargaining agreement; the breadth of federal preemption of labor law over attempts by states to regulate in similar areas; and the relationship between the individual and the labor union. As an introductory course to labor law, we will be primarily concerned about the preceding list of trees. But I also hope to weave in, throughout the course, important questions about the forest. In particular, I hope we can raise and discuss questions about the role and futures of labor unions in an age of rising income inequality, declining union membership rates, globalization, and technological and industrial change.

Credits: 3