National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)

Section 7 protects employees who organize, join unions or engage in concerted activity, whether or not a union exists. Employers may not interfere with those rights, discriminate against union supporters, or refuse to bargain with a certified union. The NLRB runs secret-ballot representation elections and prosecutes unfair labor practice charges. Remedies include reinstatement, back pay and orders to bargain. Railroad and airline workers fall under the Railway Labor Act instead.

The NLRA governs organizing campaigns at warehouses and fulfillment centers, which have grown in number since the 2022 union vote at Amazon's JFK8 building in Staten Island. Managers need to know what they may and may not say, because threats, promises or surveillance during a campaign can void an election. For example, a 3PL supervisor who bans workers from discussing pay or safety on breaks can violate Section 7 even at a site with no union, since protected concerted activity covers non-union workers too.

• Amazon Labor Union JFK8 Vote2022 · Staten Island workers win the first US Amazon union vote
• 2023 UPS-Teamsters Contract2023 · A five-year deal for 340,000 workers averts a strike

• Taft-Hartley Act1947 · 1947 law adding union limits and strike injunctions
• Railway Labor Act1926, extended to airlines 1936 · Federal labor law for railroads and airlines
• Fair Labor Standards Act of 19381938 · Federal minimum wage, overtime and child labor law

1. NLRB: National Labor Relations Act nlrb.gov
2. NLRB: Interfering with employee rights (Section 7 and 8(a)(1)) nlrb.gov