Unfair
Labor Practices
Sec. 8. [Sec. 158.] (a)
[Unfair labor
practices by employer] It shall be an unfair labor practice for an
employer--
(1) to interfere with, restrain,
or coerce employees in the exercise of
the rights guaranteed in section 7 [section 157 of this title];
(2) to dominate or interfere with the formation or administration of
any labor organization or contribute financial or other support to it:
Provided, That subject to rules and regulations made and published by
the Board pursuant to section 6 [section 156 of this title], an
employer shall not be prohibited from permitting employees to confer
with him during working hours without loss of time or pay;
(3) by discrimination in regard
to hire or tenure of employment or any
term or condition of employment to encourage or discourage membership
in any labor organization: Provided, That nothing in this Act
[subchapter], or in any other statute of the United States, shall
preclude an employer from making an agreement with a labor organization
(not established, maintained, or assisted by any action defined in
section 8(a) of this Act [in this subsection] as an unfair labor
practice) to require as a condition of employment membership therein on
or after the thirtieth day following the beginning of such employment
or the effective date of such agreement, whichever is the later, (i) if
such labor organization is the representative of the employees as
provided in section 9(a) [section 159(a) of this title], in the
appropriate collective-bargaining unit covered by such agreement when
made, and (ii) unless following an election held as provided in section
9(e) [section 159(e) of this title] within one year preceding the
effective date of such agreement, the Board shall have certified that
at least a majority of the employees eligible to vote in such election
have voted to rescind the authority of such labor organization to make
such an agreement: Provided further, That no employer shall justify any
discrimination against an employee for nonmembership in a labor
organization (A) if he has reasonable grounds for believing that such
membership was not available to the employee on the same terms and
conditions generally applicable to other members, or (B) if he has
reasonable grounds for believing that membership was denied or
terminated for reasons other than the failure of the employee to tender
the periodic dues and the initiation fees uniformly required as a
condition of acquiring or retaining membership;
(4) to discharge or otherwise
discriminate against an employee because
he has filed charges or given testimony under this Act [subchapter];
(5) to refuse to bargain
collectively with the representatives of his
employees, subject to the provisions of section 9(a)
[section
159(a) of
this title].
(b) [Unfair labor practices by labor organization] It shall be an
unfair labor practice for a labor organization or its agents--
(1) to restrain or coerce (A)
employees in the exercise of the rights
guaranteed in section 7 [section 157 of this title]: Provided,
That
this paragraph shall not impair the right of a labor organization to
prescribe its own rules with respect to the acquisition or retention of
membership therein; or (B) an employer in the selection of his
representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining or the
adjustment of grievances;
(2) to cause or attempt to cause
an employer to discriminate against an
employee in violation of subsection (a)(3) [of subsection (a)(3) of
this section] or to discriminate against an employee with
respect to
whom membership in such organization has been denied or terminated on
some ground other than his failure to tender the periodic dues and the
initiation fees uniformly required as a condition of acquiring or
retaining membership;
(3) to refuse to bargain
collectively with an employer, provided it is
the representative of his employees subject to the provisions of
section 9(a) [section 159(a) of this title];
(4)(i) to engage in, or to induce or
encourage any individual employed
by any person engaged in commerce or in an industry affecting commerce
to engage in, a strike or a refusal in the course of his employment to
use, manufacture, process, transport, or otherwise handle or work on
any goods, articles, materials, or commodities or to perform any
services; or (ii) to threaten, coerce, or restrain any person engaged
in commerce or in an industry affecting commerce, where in either case
an object thereof is-- (A) forcing or requiring any employer or
self-employed person to join any labor or employer organization or to
enter into any agreement which is prohibited by section 8(e)
[subsection (e) of this section]; (B) forcing or requiring any person
to cease using, selling,
handling, transporting, or otherwise
dealing in the products of any
other producer, processor, or manufacturer, or to cease doing business
with any other person, or forcing or requiring any other employer to
recognize or bargain with a labor organization as the representative of
his employees unless such labor organization has been certified as the
representative of such employees under the provisions of section 9
[section 159 of this title]: Provided, That nothing contained in this
clause (B) shall be construed to make unlawful, where not otherwise
unlawful, any primary strike or primary picketing;
(C) forcing or requiring any
employer to recognize or bargain with a
particular labor organization as the representative of his employees if
another labor organization has been certified as the representative of
such employees under the provisions of section 9 [section 159 of this
title];
(D) forcing or requiring any employer to assign particular work to
employees in a particular labor organization or in a particular trade,
craft, or class rather than to employees in another labor organization
or in another trade, craft, or class, unless such employer is failing
to conform to an order or certification of the Board determining the
bargaining representative for employees performing such work: Provided,
That nothing contained in this subsection (b) [this subsection] shall
be construed to make unlawful a refusal by any person to enter upon the
premises of any employer (other than his own employer), if the
employees of such employer are engaged in a strike ratified or approved
by a representative of such employees whom such employer is required to
recognize under this Act [subchapter]: Provided further, That for the
purposes of this paragraph (4) only, nothing contained in such
paragraph shall be construed to prohibit publicity, other than
picketing, for the purpose of truthfully advising the public, including
consumers and members of a labor organization, that a product or
products are produced by an employer with whom the labor organization
has a primary dispute and are distributed by another employer, as long
as such publicity does not have an effect of inducing any individual
employed by any person other than the primary employer in the course of
his employment to refuse to pick up, deliver, or transport any goods,
or not to perform any services, at the establishment of the employer
engaged in such distribution;
(5) to require of employees covered by an agreement authorized under
subsection (a)(3) [of this section] the payment, as a condition
precedent to becoming a member of such organization, of a fee in an
amount which the Board finds excessive or discriminatory under all the
circumstances. In making such a finding, the Board shall consider,
among other relevant factors, the practices and customs of labor
organizations in the particular industry, and the wages currently paid
to the employees affected;
(6) to cause or attempt to cause an employer to pay or deliver or agree
to pay or deliver any money or other thing of value, in the nature of
an exaction, for services which are not performed or not to be
performed; and
(7) to picket or cause to be picketed, or threaten to picket or cause
to be picketed, any employer where an object thereof is forcing or
requiring an employer to recognize or bargain with a labor organization
as the representative of his employees, or forcing or requiring the
employees of an employer to accept or select such labor organization as
their collective-bargaining representative, unless such labor
organization is currently certified as the representative of such
employees:
(A) where the employer has lawfully recognized in accordance with this
Act [subchapter] any other labor organization and a question concerning
representation may not appropriately be raised under section 9(c) of
this Act [section 159(c) of this title],
(B) where within the preceding twelve months a valid election under
section 9(c) of this Act [section 159(c) of this title] has been
conducted, or
(C) where such picketing has been conducted without a petition under
section 9(c) [section 159(c) of this title] being filed within a
reasonable period of time not to exceed thirty days from the
commencement of such picketing: Provided, That when such a petition has
been filed the Board shall forthwith, without regard to the provisions
of section 9(c)(1) [section 159(c)(1) of this title] or the absence of
a showing of a substantial interest on the part of the labor
organization, direct an election in such unit as the Board finds to be
appropriate and shall certify the results thereof: Provided further,
That nothing in this subparagraph (C) shall be construed to prohibit
any picketing or other publicity for the purpose of truthfully advising
the public (including consumers) that an employer does not employ
members of, or have a contract with, a labor organization, unless an
effect of such picketing is to induce any individual employed by any
other person in the course of his employment, not to pick up, deliver
or transport any goods or not to perform any services. Nothing in this
paragraph (7) shall be construed to permit any act which would
otherwise be an unfair labor practice under this section 8(b) [this
subsection].
(c) [Expression of views without threat of reprisal or force or promise
of benefit] The expressing of any views, argument, or opinion, or the
dissemination thereof, whether in written, printed, graphic, or visual
form, shall not constitute or be evidence of an unfair labor practice
under any of the provisions of this Act [subchapter], if such
expression contains no threat of reprisal or force or promise of
benefit.
(d) [Obligation to bargain collectively] For the purposes of this
section, to bargain collectively is the performance of the mutual
obligation of the employer and the representative of the employees to
meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith with respect to
wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, or the
negotiation of an agreement or any question arising thereunder, and the
execution of a written contract incorporating any agreement reached if
requested by either party, but such obligation does not compel either
party to agree to a proposal or require the making of a concession:
Provided, That where there is in effect a collective-bargaining
contract covering employees in an industry affecting commerce, the duty
to bargain collectively shall also mean that no party to such contract
shall terminate or modify such contract, unless the party desiring such
termination or modification--
(1) serves a written notice upon the other party to the contract of the
proposed termination or modification sixty days prior to the expiration
date thereof, or in the event such contract contains no expiration
date, sixty days prior to the time it is proposed to make such
termination or modification;
(2) offers to meet and confer with the other party for the purpose of
negotiating a new contract or a contract containing the proposed
modifications;
(3) notifies the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service within
thirty days after such notice of the existence of a dispute, and
simultaneously therewith notifies any State or Territorial agency
established to mediate and conciliate disputes within the State or
Territory where the dispute occurred, provided no agreement has been
reached by that time; and
(4) continues in full force and effect, without resorting to strike or
lockout, all the terms and conditions of the existing contract for a
period of sixty days after such notice is given or until the expiration
date of such contract, whichever occurs later:
The duties imposed upon employers, employees, and labor organizations
by paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) [paragraphs (2) to (4) of this
subsection] shall become inapplicable upon an intervening certification
of the Board, under which the labor organization or individual, which
is a party to the contract, has been superseded as or ceased to be the
representative of the employees subject to the provisions of section
9(a) [section 159(a) of this title], and the duties so imposed shall
not be construed as requiring either party to discuss or agree to any
modification of the terms and conditions contained in a contract for a
fixed period, if such modification is to become effective before such
terms and conditions can be reopened under the provisions of the
contract. Any employee who engages in a strike within any notice period
specified in this subsection, or who engages in any strike within the
appropriate period specified in subsection (g) of this section, shall
lose his status as an employee of the employer engaged in the
particular labor dispute, for the purposes of sections 8, 9, and 10 of
this Act [sections 158, 159, and 160 of this title], but such loss of
status for such employee shall terminate if and when he is reemployed
by such employer. Whenever the collective bargaining involves employees
of a health care institution, the provisions of this section 8(d) [this
subsection] shall be modified as follows:
(A) The notice of section 8(d)(1) [paragraph (1) of this subsection]
shall be ninety days; the notice of section 8(d)(3) [paragraph (3) of
this subsection] shall be sixty days; and the contract period of
section 8(d)(4) [paragraph (4) of this subsection] shall be ninety days.
(B) Where the bargaining is for an initial agreement following
certification or recognition, at least thirty days' notice of the
existence of a dispute shall be given by the labor organization to the
agencies set forth in section 8(d)(3) [in paragraph (3) of this
subsection].
(C) After notice is given to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation
Service under either clause (A) or (B) of this sentence, the Service
shall promptly communicate with the parties and use its best efforts,
by mediation and conciliation, to bring them to agreement. The parties
shall participate fully and promptly in such meetings as may be
undertaken by the Service for the purpose of aiding in a settlement of
the dispute.
[Pub. L. 93-360, July 26, 1974, 88 Stat. 395, amended the last sentence
of Sec. 8(d) by striking the words ``the sixty-day'' and inserting the
words ``any notice'' and by inserting before the words ``shall lose''
the phrase ``, or who engages in any strike within the appropriate
period specified in subsection (g) of this section.'' It also amended
the end of paragraph Sec. 8(d) by adding a new sentence ``Whenever the
collective bargaining . . . aiding in a settlement of the dispute.'']
(e) [Enforceability of contract or agreement to boycott any other
employer; exception] It shall be an unfair labor practice for any labor
organization and any employer to enter into any contract or agreement,
express or implied, whereby such employer ceases or refrains or agrees
to cease or refrain from handling, using, selling, transporting, or
otherwise dealing in any of the products of any other employer, or
cease doing business with any other person, and any contract or
agreement entered into heretofore or hereafter containing such an
agreement shall be to such extent unenforceable and void: Provided,
That nothing in this subsection (e) [this subsection] shall apply to an
agreement between a labor organization and an employer in the
construction industry relating to the contracting or subcontracting of
work to be done at the site of the construction, alteration, painting,
or repair of a building, structure, or other work: Provided further,
That for the purposes of this subsection (e) and section 8(b)(4)(B)
[this subsection and subsection (b)(4)(B) of this section] the terms
``any employer,'' ``any person engaged in commerce or an industry
affecting commerce,'' and ``any person'' when used in relation to the
terms ``any other producer, processor, or manufacturer,'' ``any other
employer,'' or ``any other person'' shall not include persons in the
relation of a jobber, manufacturer, contractor, or subcontractor
working on the goods or premises of the jobber or manufacturer or
performing parts of an integrated process of production in the apparel
and clothing industry: Provided further, That nothing in this Act
[subchapter] shall prohibit the enforcement of any agreement which is
within the foregoing exception.
(f) [Agreements covering employees in the building and construction
industry] It shall not be an unfair labor practice under subsections
(a) and (b) of this section for an employer engaged primarily in the
building and construction industry to make an agreement covering
employees engaged (or who, upon their employment, will be engaged) in
the building and construction industry with a labor organization of
which building and construction employees are members (not established,
maintained, or assisted by any action defined in section 8(a) of this
Act [subsection (a) of this section] as an unfair labor practice)
because (1) the majority status of such labor organization has not been
established under the provisions of section 9 of this Act [section 159
of this title] prior to the making of such agreement, or (2) such
agreement requires as a condition of employment, membership in such
labor organization after the seventh day following the beginning of
such employment or the effective date of the agreement, whichever is
later, or (3) such agreement requires the employer to notify such labor
organization of opportunities for employment with such employer, or
gives such labor organization an opportunity to refer qualified
applicants for such employment, or (4) such agreement specifies minimum
training or experience qualifications for employment or provides for
priority in opportunities for employment based upon length of service
with such employer, in the industry or in the particular geographical
area: Provided, That nothing in this subsection shall set aside the
final proviso to section 8(a)(3) of this Act [subsection (a)(3) of this
section]: Provided further, That any agreement which would be invalid,
but for clause (1) of this subsection, shall not be a bar to a petition
filed pursuant to section 9(c) or 9(e) [section 159(c) or 159(e) of
this title].
(g) [Notification of intention to strike or picket at any health care
institution] A labor organization before engaging in any strike,
picketing, or other concerted refusal to work at any health care
institution shall, not less than ten days prior to such action, notify
the institution in writing and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation
Service of that intention, except that in the case of bargaining for an
initial agreement following certification or recognition the notice
required by this subsection shall not be given until the expiration of
the period specified in clause (B) of the last sentence of section 8(d)
of this Act [subsection (d) of this section]. The notice shall state
the date and time that such action will commence. The notice, once
given, may be extended by the written agreement of both parties.
[Pub. L. 93-360, July 26, 1974, 88 Stat. 396, added subsec. (g).]
