Publication Date

1981

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Hill, Marvin F.

Degree Name

M.S. (Master of Science)

Legacy Department

Department of Management

LCSH

Employee rights--United States; Labor laws and legislation--United States

Abstract

This thesis is an exploration of the rights granted employees under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act. The purpose is to provide a clear understanding of how the National Labor Relations Board and the courts are interpreting Section 7's clause which protects employees who engage in "concerted activities for mutual aid or protection." The thesis presents an objective review of the case law and is designed to aid practitioners in evaluating and dealing with situations that they may face involving employee rights under Section 7. The thesis provides a solid foundation for understanding the scope of Section 7's protection. The analysis begins with a review of the rights granted employees by Section 7. The investigation then centers on explaining how the Board and the courts have interpreted the vague wording of Section 7's "concerted activities for mutual aid or protection" clause. In this investigation it is shown how the conflicting definitions of the term "concerted" affect the outcome of employee rights. The Board's and the court's varying decisions and their reasoning behind those decisions are provided to enable the reader to evaluate and understand this unsettled area of the law. The scope of Section 7's mutual aid or protection clause is examined next. The common areas of employee-employer confrontation are analyzed to again provide guidance in understanding how the Board and the courts are interpreting the vague language of Section 7. Not only are the common areas of employee-employer problems explored but the outer scope of the mutual aid or protection language is also examined. Finally, the thesis examines how employees lose their otherwise protected status under the Act. Although the National Labor Relations Act lists no specific requirement that employee activity be reasonable, the reviewing tribunals have concluded that employees may engage in concerted activities outside Section 7's literal protection. The thesis concludes by recommending that a better application of the Act might be achieved by deleting the term concerted from Section 7 It is the writer's belief that the deletion of the term would better carry out the spirit of the Act by protecting all employees regardless of their degree of formal organization.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references.

Extent

v, 75 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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