There is a natural relationship between the National Labor Relations Act and arbitration. Congress passed the NLRA to level the playing field between management and labor by fostering and protecting collective bargaining. The fruit of the collective bargaining process is the labor contract, and it is the purpose of arbitration to resolve disputes that arise over alleged violations of the contract. From Congress's vantage point the whole scheme of protection of the bargaining process through the NLRB and interpretation of the contract by the arbitrator is to preserve labor peace. 1 In many instances the arbitration clause in a labor contract is the quid pro quo for a no-strike clause.
As already noted, the fundamental focus of the NLRA is on group activity and the balance of interests is between management and the group. 2 The role of the individual employee is covered in Section 9(a) of the NLRA. That section gives employees the right to present grievances to their employer and have those grievances adjusted as long as the adjustment is not inconsistent with the terms of a collective bargaining contract or agreement then in effect and further that the union representative has been given an opportunity to be present at any adjustment. Thus there is a concern about the individual, but the concern does not seriously color the NLRA's mission of fostering and protecting the collective bargaining process.
Publication information: Book title: The Legal Side of Private Security:Working through the Maze. Contributors: Leo F. Hannon - Author. Publisher: Quorum Books. Place of publication: Westport, CT. Publication year: 1992. Page number: 81.