Your Rights at Work
National Labor Relations Act
Rights of Employees
Sec. 7. [Sec. 157.] Employees shall have the right to self- organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all such activities except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment as authorized in section 8(a)(3) [section 158(a)(3) of this title].
In other words, employees have the absolute right to:
- Help form or join a union.
- Bargain over wages, working conditions and fringe benefits with your employer.
- Have small group meetings at lunchtime or break time as long as you are not creating a disturbance or blocking the movement of others.
- Talk about the union on your own time.
- Distribute literature in non-work areas.
- Wear a union insignia.
- Solicit other employees for union membership, both on lunch or break time even on company property.
Unfair Labor Practices
Under Section 8 of the NLRA, the employer cannot:
- Interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees seeking to organize or join a union.
- Lay off, discharge, or discipline any employee for union activity.
- Threaten to close, or close/move a plant in order to avoid dealing with the union.
- Ask an employee during an interview about his/her affiliations with a labor organization, or how he/she feels about unions.
- Transfer workers on the basis of union affiliations or activities.
- Threaten workers or coerce them in an attempt to influence their vote.
- Say unionization will do away with vacations, overtime pay, or other benefits and privileges already in effect.
- Promise extra pay and benefits to employees if they reject the union.
- Refuse to negotiate with the union.