A company refuses to bargain with its employees, forces a strike and then replaces its current workforce.

A group of workers get together with their boss to discuss their working conditions and are fired for their trouble.

How can this be? Aren’t there laws that protect our rights in the workplace?

The History

It wasn’t always this way. Even though President Franklin Roosevelt stood on the sidelines of the labor struggles of the 1930s, a militant labor movement forced passage of the Wagner Act in 1935--the high water mark of labor law reform. From 1935 to 1947, union membership surged from 3 million to 15 million, in large part because of the Wagner Act. In some industries 80 percent of hourly workers worked under a union contract. One political commentator called the labor movement "the largest, the most powerful and the most aggressive that the world has ever seen."

After World War II, the conservative Congress elected in 1946 turned back the clock. Although not directly repealing the Wagner Act, the Taft-Hartley Act profoundly shifted the emphasis of federal labor law. No longer was the emphasis on protecting the right to organize, rather the focus became placing burdensome restrictions on union activity. Thus, strikes were no longer viewed as a tool to achieve economic justice, rather Taft-Hartley itself described strikes as "burdening or obstructing commerce."

What needs to be done

It is time to undo the dirty work of the conservative Congress of 1946. It is time to return to unions the power gained by organizing successes, but taken away by the politicos in Washington.

• Repeal Taft-Hartley and restore the protection of the Wagner Act.
• Require binding arbitration if 45 days after certification of a union a first contract has not been negotiated.
• Ban from Federal contracts repeat labor law violators.
• Require a minimum fine for willful unfair labor practices.
• Require the NLRB to seek an injunction whenever it finds an unfair labor practice has been committed.
• Abolish the fiction of a "neutral" employer and allow unions to picket any company doing business with a struck employer.
• Require an employer to bargain with a union whenever a majority of workers in a unit signs a petition asking to be represented.
• Require triple back pay for anyone illegally fired during an organizing campaign.
• Reform unemployment laws to grant benefits in lockout situations and when temporary replacements are hired.
• Ban the use of permanent replacements in a strike or lockout.

Why the Labor Party Needs to be Aggressive About Labor Law Reform

Canada is a good example of the difference that strong laws can make. In the 1950s, just after passage of Taft-Hartley, union membership in Canada and the United States stood at about 33 percent. Canada has since climbed to almost 40 percent, and the United States has sunk to almost 10 percent.

The main reason for this disparity is the difference in the laws governing the organizing process. U.S. law enables, and even encourages, an employer to pursue anti-union strategies, including discharge of union supporters, and to drag out the process for so long that organizing momentum is lost.

The Canadian process, on the other hand, requires union representation when a majority of employees in a unit sign authorization cards--so there is not time for anti-union consultants and "hired guns" to undermine worker support for the union through coercion and scare tactics.

Labor Party Program

• Constitutional Guarantee to a Job at a Living Wage
• Two Months Severance for Every Year of Service for Laid-Off Workers
• Workers Rights to Organize, Bargain and Strike
• An End to Bigotry; An injury to One is an Injury to All
• Universal Access to Quality Health Care
• Less Work with No Reduction in Pay & Mandated Time Off
• Paid Family Leave
• Access to Quality Public Education
• An End to the Corporate Abuse of Trade
• An End to Corporate Welfare
• A Tax System Where the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share
• A Revitalized Public Sector
• An End to Corporate Domination of Elections
• A Just Transition Movement to Protect Jobs and the Environment
• Worker Inspectors to Enforce Safety & Health Regulations
• Worker-Sensitive Technology Development