LABOR-LAW AS AN IMPEDIMENT TO LABOR-RELATIONS REFORM - LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD

Reforming labor law has been arduous task. The foundations of American labor law are now over fifty years old and rooted in a series of premises that may no longer be correct. Designed for smokestack industries and predicated on the adversarial framework, labor law today may be dated and out of synchronization with the nature of unionized employment relationships. This research suggests seven areas in need of change if the ''playing field'' upon which labor relations is contested is to be made more impartial. These include requirements of bargaining agent certification, the entitlement to exclusive representation, the legality of employee involvement schemes, developments in wrongful discharge and employment-at-will, the right to strike, the status of scope of bargaining, and job security for supervisory and managerial employees.