Union Officers and Wildcat Strikes: Freedom from Discriminatory Discipline

Abstract

doctrine which prevents the discriminatory discipline of union officers fol lowing wildcat strikes. The Board has held that, absent an express provi sion in the contract, no-strike clauses do no imply an affirmative duty owed the employer by union officers to prevent and/or quell unauthorized job actions. Similarly, union officers do not have an implied higher duty of loyalty to the contract than do other employees. However, the Board has recognized that because of their status in the shop, union officers, by their actions, can more easily give legitimacy to a wildcat strike. Under these circumstances officers, in effect, become leaders of the strike and can be disciplined, just as any other employee who led a strike. Strong criti cism from a Board minority and the courts has failed to grasp the distinc tions between these different approaches to discipline of union officers. Nevertheless, the Board doctrine comports with traditional agency law and with the realities of industrial relations.