Section 56 National Labor Relations Act?s Definition of ?Strike?

• Library: Employer-Employee Law 2008

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 151 et seq., defines a “strike” as any “concerted stoppage of work by employees (including a stoppage by reason of the expiration of a collective-bargaining agreement) and any concerted slowdown or other concerted interruption of operations by employees.” 29 U.S.C. § 142(2). The key to determining if a work stoppage is a strike under the NLRA is the degree to which the strike may be said to be “concerted.” The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) defines “concerted activity” as activity that is “engaged in with or on the authority of other employees, and not solely by and on behalf of the employee himself.” Meyers Indus., Inc., 268 N.L.R.B. 493, 497 (1984). Individual employees may engage in “concerted activity” when the individual is acting on behalf of group concerns. Id. Essentially, some nexus must exist between the employees’ conduct and fellow employees for the conduct to be defined as “concerted” and thus be protected by the NLRA. Lin R. Rogers Elec. Contractors, Inc.,
328 N.L.R.B. 1165, 1171 (1997).

It is not enough to warrant...