Section 2 Right to Picket and Handbill

• Library: Employer-Employee Law 2008

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 151 et seq., is the primary body of federal law regulating labor relations in the private sector. NLRA § 7, 29 U.S.C. § 157, guarantees employees certain rights:

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 . . . .

Under NLRA § 8(a)(1), 29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1), it is an unfair labor practice for an employer to interfere with § 7 rights.

Picketing and handbilling represent the most potent weapons in labor’s arsenal. They simultaneously publicize the facts of a labor dispute, enlist the support of fellow employees, and place economic pressure on the targeted employer. With the exception of certain limitations that are either imposed by...