What are my rights as an ...employee, ...employer, ...union?
Employees have the right to form, join, support or assist unions, also known as labor organizations, who may bargain collectively with the employer on the employees’ behalf seeking to modify wages or working conditions. Employees also have the right to engage in other protected concerted activities without a union seeking to improve their wages and other working conditions. Employees also have the right to refrain from engaging in these activities or to seek removal of a union from the workplace. (However a union and employer may, in a State where such agreements are permitted, enter into a lawful union-security clause). Employees covered by the NLRA are protected from employer and union discrimination, also known as unfair labor practices.
Employers are also afforded rights under the NLRA protecting them from certain unlawful activities. For example, labor unions may not limit their productivity and insist that more workers be hired. For more information about the rights of employers covered by the NLRA, read The NLRB and You – Unfair Labor Practices (PDF*).
Unions are protected by the NLRA from unfair labor practices, and guaranteed the right to organize, or attempt to form a bargaining unit in private sector workplaces covered by the Act. Unions, chosen as employee representatives, are entitled to engage in collective bargaining with an employer on behalf of employees to modify their wages and other working conditions.
back to top