AFFECTING COMMERCE -- Test to see if the National Labor Relations Act applies to your organization. If a labor dispute might interfere with interstate commerce, the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) comes into play.

AGENCY SHOP -- A clause in a union contract requiring employees who are not members of the a union to pay a sum equal to union dues to a charity or other group.

ARBITRATION -- The method of deciding a controversy where the parties have agreed in advance to accept the opinion a third party.

AUTHORIZATION CARD -- A small card signed by employee designating a union as their agent in collective bargaining.

BARGAINING UNIT -- A group or class of employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

BUSINESS AGENT -- Paid union representative who handles its grievance actions and negotiations with employers, enrolling of new members, and other membership and general business affairs.

"CAPTIVE AUDIENCE" SPEECH -- Speech given at a meeting that employees are required and paid to attend. Typically, an employer makes an appeal to employees to vote against the union.

CARD CHECK -- Checking union authorization cards against employer's payroll to determine whether union actually represents a majority of the employees.

CERTIFICATION -- Official designation by the National Labor Relations Board of a labor organization entitled to bargain as exclusive representative of employees in a unit.

CHARGE -- Formal allegation against employer or union -- usually referred to as an UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE charge or ULP.

CHECKOFF -- Arrangement under which an employer deducts from pay of employees the amount of union dues and turns over the proceeds to the treasurer of the union.

CLOSED SHOP -- Arrangement between an employer and a union under which only members of the union may be hired. Also known as UNION SHOP. "Closed shops" are unlawful.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT (or CONTRACT) -- Written agreement covering wages, hours, and conditions of employment entered into between an employer and a union.

CONCERTED ACTIVITIES -- Joint actions undertaken jointly by employees for the purpose of union organization, collective bargaining, or other mutual aid or protection. These activities are "protected" under the Taft-Hartley Act. Also referred to as "protected, concerted activity".

CONSENT ELECTION -- Election held by the NLRB after an informal hearing in which the parties agree on terms (who is eligible to vote/date and time(s) of election).

DECERTIFICATION -- Withdrawal of bargaining authority from a union after a vote by employees that they no longer wish to be represented by union. This is an employee-initiated action that management may not encourage or support.

ECONOMIC STRIKE -- Economic strikes deal with money (more pay, increased benefits.) and they are different from strikes that are not caused by unfair labor practice of an employer (refusal to bargain, lockouts, etc.). Employers may permanently replace employees who engage in an economic strike.

EMPLOYEE ELECTION -- Balloting by employees for the purpose of choosing a bargaining agent or unseating a currently certified bargaining representative.

EXCLUSIVE RECOGNITION -- A clause in most contracts that gives a single union exclusive rights to act as bargaining agent for employees.

FREE RIDERS -- A term used by unions to describe non-members in a bargaining unit The implication of the term is that they do not pay for the benefits of a contract obtained through the efforts of the dues-paying members.

GENERAL COUNSEL -- Officer of the National Labor Relations Board whose chief duty is to issue and prosecute complaints in unfair labor practice cases presented to the Board.

GOOD-FAITH BARGAINING -- The type of bargaining an employer and a union must engage in to meet their bargaining obligation under the law. The parties are required to meet at reasonable times and to confer and discuss wages, hours, benefits and all terms and conditions to employment. Neither party is required to agree to a proposal or to make a concession but they must bargain.

GRIEVANCE - An employee complaint or allegation by an employee, union, or employer that a collective bargaining contract has been violated.

INITIATION FEES - Fees required by unions as a condition of membership. When these fee are found to be excessive or discriminatory, an employer may not be held to the obligation to discharge employees who do not join the fees.

INJUNCTION -- Court order telling parties to perform or cease a specified activity, because the complaining party will suffer irreparable injury from unlawful actions of the other party.

LABOR DISPUTE -- A controversy involving unions, employers and others.

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD -- Federal agency set up under National Labor Relations Act to investigate and settle complaints alleging unfair labor practices; to certify bargaining agents. Also known as the NLRB or “the Board“.

LOCAL -- A unit or group of union members that holds a “charter” from a national or international labor organization. A local is usually confined to union members in one geographic area.

LOCKOUT -- Closing down of a business as a form of economic pressure on employees to enforce acceptance of employer's terms, or to prevent “whip-sawing” where the union bargains with an association of employers.

MANAGEMENT RIGHTS CLAUSE -- A collective bargaining contract clause that expressly reserves to management certain rights and specifies that the exercise of those rights are not subject to the grievance procedure or arbitration.

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT -- Act passed July 5, 1935, known popularly as Wagner Act; amended form of the same incorporated as Title I of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, which became law June 23, 1947; also amended by Title VII of the Landrum-Griffin Act in 1959.

ORGANIZER -- A paid sales representative of a union who solicits employees to sign AUTHORIZATION CARDS that can be used to prove an ADEQUATE SHOWING OF INTEREST to the National Labor Relations Board.

ORGANIZATIONAL PICKETING - Picketing to force the employer to recognize the union.

PETITION -- A document filed by a union to request the National Labor Relations Board to conduct an election among employees to settle the question of union representation.

PICKETING -- A form of publicly demonstrating or advertising, the existence of a labor dispute.

RECOGNITION -- Dealing with a union as bargaining agent for employees, either for all employees or for those only who are members of the union.

RECOGNITION PICKETING -- Picketing to force the employer to recognize the union as bargaining agent for the employer's employees. Recognition picketing conducted under certain circumstances (longer than 30 days without filing a PETITION) was made an unfair labor practice by the 1959 amendments to the Taft-Hartley Act.

RIGHT TO WORK -- A term used to describe laws that prohibit union-security agreements by forbidding contracts making employment conditional on membership in a union. Based on the theory that people have a “right” to work without having to pay dues or fees as a condition of employment.

SHOP STEWARD -- An employee designated by a union to deal with management over issues raised by members of a bargaining unit. Stewards are appointed to serve an entire organization or individual departments/divisions. Stewards usually enjoy "super-seniority" status that favors them in layoffs or re-organization of job functions, transfers, etc.

SHOWING OF INTEREST -- Support that a union must show among employees in bargaining unit before NLRB will process union's election PETITION. The Board requires a union that is seeking an election to make a showing of interest among one-third of the employees in a purposed bargaining unit.

STRIKE -- Concerted cessation of work as a form of economic pressure by employees, usually carried out to enforce acceptance of their demands. (See also: "economic strike" and "unfair labor practice strike").

SUPERVISOR -- A management employee with authority to direct employee activity (such as assignment of work, schedule work hours, discipline, etc.). Supervisors are not covered under the Taft-Hartley Act and it is unlawful for them to engage in concerted activity with or in support of a union.

SURVEILLANCE - Keeping watch on employees to detect evidence of union activity. Surveillance is an unfair labor practice.

TAFT-HARTLEY ACT -- Popular name of Labor Management Relations Act of 1947.

UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE - Acts by any party prohibited by the National Labor Relations Act. Includes: interference with employee rights under the law; threats, interrogation, promising benefits, surveillance; refusal to bargain, etc.

UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE STRIKE -- Strike caused or prolonged by an employer's unfair labor practices. In ULP strikes, the employer must reinstate the strikers in their jobs, upon unconditional application by a union.

UNION SECURITY -- A clause that guarantees the financial security of a union by requiring all employees in a bargaining unit to pay dues to the union certified as the bargaining agent. These clauses typically give new-hires 30 days to start paying union dues or be terminated by the employer. A union security clause may not be included in union contracts in jurisdictions with Right to Work laws.