The AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) is a voluntary federation of 57 national and international labor unions, created in 1955 by the merger of the AFL and CIO. It aims to improve conditions for working people through legislation, political action, and community service.
An agency shop is an organizational arrangement in which employees who are not union members must pay a fee to the union to cover the costs of collective bargaining and other union services from which they benefit. This structure is subject to collective bargaining agreements and state laws.
A bargaining agent, also known as a bargaining representative, is a union or individual certified through a secret ballot process to be the exclusive representative of all employees in a bargaining unit or group.
The Davis-Bacon Act is a United States federal law mandating the payment of prevailing wages on public works projects. This legislation ensures that all federal government construction contracts, along with most contracts for federally assisted construction over $2,000, include provisions for paying on-site workers no less than the locally prevailing wages and benefits.
Double time refers to a payment condition in which employees are paid twice their regular hourly rates for specific types of work, including overtime, Sundays, or holidays.
A grievance is an allegation that something imposes an illegal burden, denies some equitable or legal right, or causes injustice. It often refers to formal complaints within an organizational context, particularly in workplaces subject to collective bargaining agreements.
Holiday pay refers to wages or salary paid to an employee during a period of vacation leave to which they are entitled. It ensures employees enjoy compensated time off from work.
An illegal strike is a work stoppage or strike action that violates the law. Most public-sector strikes are illegal, along with those that violate an existing labor contract, are not properly authorized by union membership, or contravene a court order.
The Labor-Management Relations Act, commonly known as the Taft-Hartley Act, is a significant U.S. labor law passed in 1947 that amended the Wagner Act of 1935. It includes provisions that regulate labor unions and employer practices, aiming to balance the power between employers and unions.
Management prerogative, also known as management rights, refers to the rights believed by management to be exclusively theirs and not subject to bargaining in a collective bargaining contract.
A pivotal federal statute aimed at promoting and protecting employees' rights to organize and collectively bargain while prohibiting certain unfair labor practices by employers.
The National Labor Relations Association (NLRA) is a foundational piece of federal legislation in the United States that governs the labor practices of private sector employers and their relations with labor unions. Enacted in 1935, the NLRA established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and granted employees the right to organize, engage in collective bargaining, and take collective action, including strikes.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent federal agency tasked with enforcing US labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices.
Retroactive refers to any policy, payment, or legal effect applied to a prior time period. For instance, retroactive pay can be granted based on the provisions of a new collective bargaining agreement for work completed before or at the start of the new contract's implementation.
A formal notification given by a union to an employer and relevant mediation agencies, signaling an imminent strike action due to unmet demands or rejected offers.
A strike vote is a vote cast by members of a union to authorize a strike against an organization. A clear majority is required for the vote to be effective, but the union leadership decides the timing and occurrence of the actual strike vote.
The Taft-Hartley Act, formally known as the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947, aims to protect employers' rights to resist unionization and restrict union activities, imposing on unions many of the conditions for good faith bargaining previously imposed on management by earlier laws.
Unfair labor practices by unions are specific actions prohibited by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, designed to protect workers and employers from coercive or discriminatory actions by unions.
A union is an employee association designed to promote employee rights and work-related welfare. Union organizations are formally recognized under the Railway Labor Act and the Wagner Act, as well as by related legislation.
A union shop is a type of workplace in which all employees must be members of a union. However, nonunion members may work provided they agree to join the union after a specified period.
A labor agreement providing that existing employees may continue as union or nonunion members, but new employees must join the union.
An in-depth exploration of wages, including definitions, examples, FAQs, related terms, references, and further reading.
A wage floor, or minimum wage, is the lowest legal remuneration that employers can pay their workers, established either by law or through an agreed-upon wage bracket in collective bargaining agreements.
Wage protection laws are legal measures that ensure employees receive timely and full payment for their work. These laws help safeguard workers' earnings from wrongful deductions, non-payment, and other forms of wage theft.
