Union Organizing and the Reagan NLRB

Abstract

President Reagan's appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have issued many controversial decisions. This has caused a debate between liberals viewing the Reagan NLRB as anti-union and conservatives viewing the recent NLRB decisions as a return to proven and appropriate policies. This paper investigates Reagan NLRB decisions over the years 1982-1986 so as to shed some light on the facts underlying the debate. The analysis reveals that the Reagan NLRB decisions have been either favorable to employers or unfavorable to unions. The NLRB's decisions undoubtedly contribute to the organizing difficulties faced by unions. Copyright 1987 Western Economic Association International.

The Mandatory-Permissive Distinction and Collective Bargaining Outcomes

“…Because permissive status means that an issue is outside the scope of compulsory negotiations, parties must rely solely on their bargaining power to compel discussions of, let alone concessions on, a permissive issue. For this reason, weaker parties may be at a greater disadvantage than are stronger parties when they attempt to negotiate over permissive items (Sockell 1986;Sockell and Delaney 1987).…”