STRIKES FAIL, CHICKS DIGS SCABS, BUT THE DUTY TO BARGAIN IN GOOD FAITH LASTS FOREVER: What The Replacements Can Teach About U.S. Labor Law, The Professional Football Union, And The Future of Both

Abstract

The 2000 sports comedy film The Replacements provides illustrative examples of conduct by opposing parties in a collective bargaining dispute that can wind up before the federal administrative law body the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Using the film as a backdrop--and at times a cautionary tale, this article introduces the reader to the unique area of administrative law that is the NLRB's domain under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The football theme orients the reader to the structure of the NLRA and the role each party plays in an administrative adjudication before the NLRB. Departing from the fiction on the screen, real-world examples are presented from actual labor disputes between the National Football League and the union, the NFL Players' Association. The article concludes by foreshadowing the imminent collective bargaining renewal negotiations between the NFL and the NFLPA. This briefly includes some of the issues the two sides will bargain over with the threat of a work stoppage looming on the horizon.