Know Your Rights

Section 8(a) of the National Labor Relations Act prohibits employers from engaging in certain actions, known as “unfair labor practices.”

Here are a few things that are violations of the Act, and which constitute unfair labor practices:

To refuse to bargain in good faith with the employee’s union on matters pertaining to wages, hours, and conditions of employment
To require employees to attend captive audience meetings
To threaten to close a facility, work site, or group when workers form a union
To say that unionization will force the company to layoff employees
To tell employees that the company will fire or punish them if they engage in union activity
To say that bargaining will start from scratch
- Employer cannot state that job conditions will become worse, or suggest that it will take regressive positions at the bargaining table due to employees’ decision to unionize
To ask other workers to threaten, harass, intimidate or spy on pro-union workers
- Employer cannot ask about internal union or organizing committee issues, leadership
To promise benefits, pay increases or future job promotions to induce workers to oppose the union
- Record any changes to any job condition between now and election, or any promises of changes to any job conditions
To question employees about union activities in such a manner as to coerce or intimidate them
- Employer can offer information or to answer employees’ questions
To have or enforce work rules which prevent or intimidate workers from discussing or acting on unionization or other workplace issues.
- If you can talk about football at the water cooler, or on email or other employer-controlled communication system, you can discuss the election and union with your coworkers there
- Employer cannot forbid you from sharing information about the union or about any workplace issue or complaint with your coworkers, consistent with above
To threaten employees with job loss, demotion, transfer, or re-assignment to more difficult work tasks because workers form a union
To spy or pretend to spy on union gatherings
To discriminate against employees because they have shown favorable opinions towards the Union
- Employer cannot treat anti-union employees better