Legal Framework

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), amended by the Labor Management Relations Act (Taft-Hartley Act), is the federal agency governing labor relations in the private sector.

Since enactment of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935, nurses and other employees of private, for-profit healthcare institutions have been protected in their right to organize for collective bargaining purposes. Under the provisions of the Act, as amended in 1974 (Health Care Amendments), employees of voluntary, not-for-profit health care institutions also were granted the same rights and protections.

Section 7 of the NLRA states that employees have the right to self-organize; to form, join, or assist labor organizations; and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing.

Over the years, there has been considerable debate over the composition of bargaining units in the healthcare industry. After much deliberation, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued rules in 1989 on unit composition.

Under the rules, eight units (including one limited in its composition to registered nurses) were deemed appropriate. As expected, employer opposition to the NLRB's rulemaking resulted in litigation challenging and delaying the implementation of this ruling However, in April 1991, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the National Labor Relations Board's rule-making authority. This ruling is regarded as a significant victory in support of the workplace rights of nurses.