Reconceiving the Role of Section 8(b)(1)(a): 1947–1997: An Essay on Collective Empowerment and the Public Good

Abstract

The Taft-Hartley section 8(b)(1)(A)s union discipline cases are linked to the impending collapse of collective bargaining in two ways. At one level, they have helped cause it by denying union majorities an important tool to enforce solidarity during economic disputes with employers and thereby have contributed to the loss of worker empowerment. At another level, the union discipline cases reflect certain shifts in national sentiments with respect to the role of unions and collective bargaining in general and the accommodation of collective bargaining to the competing claims of individuals and employers in particular. This paper is about both linkages