What Is a Strike in Law

Article 8 g) – Strike or picketing of a health institution without notice. Article 8 (g) prohibits a trade union organization from participating in a strike, picket line or other concerted refusal to work in a health institution without notifying the institution and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in writing for at least 10 days. If the Commission determines that strikers for economic or unfair labour practice who have submitted an unconditional application for reinstatement have been unlawfully refused reinstatement by their employer, the Commission may grant such strikers an additional payment that begins when they should have been reinstated. Illegal strikes for reasons. A strike may be illegal because an object or purpose of the strike is illegal. A strike in support of an unfair union practice or that would cause an employer to commit an unfair labour practice may be a strike for an illegal purpose. For example, it is an unfair labour practice when an employer dismisses an employee because he or she has not made certain legal payments to the union when no union security agreement is in effect (section 8(a)(3)). A strike to force an employer to do so would be a strike for an illegal object and therefore an illegal strike. Strikes of this type will be discussed in the context of the various unfair labour practices in a later section of this guide.

The phrase “Three shots and you`re out” is derived from baseball, where a batsman against whom three shots are recorded hits. In addition, section 8(b)(4) of the Act prohibits strikes for certain objects, although objects are not necessarily illegal if they are reached by other means. An example of this would be a strike to force Employer A to stop doing business with Employer B. It is not illegal for Employer A to voluntarily stop doing business with Employer B, nor is it for a union to simply ask employer to do so. However, it is illegal for the union to strike to force the employer to do so. These points are discussed in more detail in the Explanatory Note to section 8(b)(4). In any case, workers who participate in an illegal strike may be dismissed and not have the right to reinstatement. Strikes for a legitimate purpose. Employees who strike for a legitimate purpose fall into two classes, “economic strikers” and “unfair labor practices strikers.” Both classes remain employees, but strikers on strike for unfair labour practices have a greater right to reintegration into their jobs.

The practice of imposing longer prison sentences on repeat offenders (compared to first-time offenders who commit the same crime) is not new, as judges often consider past offences when sentencing. However, there is a recent history of mandatory prison sentences for repeat offenders. [7] For example, New York State had a long-standing law on repeat offenders of the early 20th century[8] (partially declared unconstitutional in 2010,[9][10], but soon after reaffirmed in the bench[11][12]). But such sentences were not mandatory in all cases, and judges had much more discretion over the prison sentence to be imposed. Note that the terms of a collective agreement between the employer and the union may limit or prohibit a union`s right to participate in a company strike. Legal and illegal strikes. The legality of a strike may depend on the purpose or purpose of the strike, its timing or the behaviour of the strikers. The object or objects of a strike and the legality of the objects are questions that are not always easy to determine. These issues often have to be decided by the National Labour Relations Board. The consequences can be serious for strikers and striking employers, leading to issues of reinstatement and additional remuneration.

An application of a three-strike law was the case of Leonardo Andrade in California in 2009. In this case, Leandro Andrade attempted to steal $153 worth of videotapes from two K-Mart stores in San Bernardino. He was charged under California`s Three Strikes Act for his criminal history of drugs and other burglaries. Due to his criminal record, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison without the possibility of parole after this latest burglary in K-Mart. Although this conviction of Erwin Chemerinsky, who represented Andrade, was challenged as a cruel and unusual punishment under the 8th Amendment, the Supreme Court ruled in support of the life sentence. [32] Nothing expressly provided in this Act, except as expressly provided in this Act, shall be construed as infringing or impeding or diminishing in any way the right to strike or affecting limitations or limitations thereof. Illegal strikes due to misconduct by strikers. Strikers who commit serious misconduct during a strike may be refused reintegration into their former workplace. This applies to both economic strikers and strikers with unfair labour practices. Serious misconduct includes violence and threats of violence. The U.S.

Supreme Court has ruled that a “sit-in strike” in which employees simply stay at the factory and refuse to work, depriving the owner of the property, is not protected by law. Examples of serious misconduct that could cause affected workers to lose their right to reinstatement include: The following strikes are illegal and workers participating in such strikes lose NLRA protection: In early June 2018, an attempt by the Labour-led coalition government to repeal the Crime and Probation Act was made by Labour`s supporting partner, New Zealand First, and the opposition parties National and ACT. Blocked. NZ First had signalled its opposition to the repeal of the Three Warnings Act, prompting Justice Minister Andrew Little to abandon the attempt. [46] [47] [48] On November 11, 2021, Justice Minister Kris Faafoi announced that the law would be repealed. [49] Some criticisms of the three strike laws are that they clutter the justice system, with defendants taking cases to court to avoid life sentences and cluttering prisons with defendants who must be detained pending these trials because the likelihood of life imprisonment makes them a flight risk. Life imprisonment is also an expensive and potentially ineffective prison option, as many prisoners serving these sentences are elderly and therefore both expensive to provide health services and statistically have a low risk of relapse. .