NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT

Also cited NLRA or the Act; 29U.S.C. §§ 151-169

[Title 29, Chapter 7, Subchapter II, United States Code]

RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES

Sec. 73 [§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 157(a)(3) of this title]

UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES

Sec. 8 [§158.](a) [Unfair labor practices by employer] It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer--

(1) to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 7 [section 157 of this title];

.......

(5) to refuse to bargain collectively with the representatives of his employees, subject to the provisions of section 9(a)[section 159(a) of this title].

The foregoing provisions of the Act prohibit:

• Unilateral changes by an employer in terms and conditions of employment once a union has been certified [see U.S. Supreme Court case of NLRB v. Katz, 369 U.S. 736 (1962)]
• Refusal to bargain* with the union over mandatory subjects of bargaining, including wages, benefits, hours, working conditions, and similar terms of employment;
• Failure to bargain with the Union in good faith

* The duty to bargain under section 8(a)(5) arises upon the certification of the union.