Section 8(b)(4)(B) Limitations on Union Enforcement of Work Preservation Agreements

Authors

Diane Austin

Abstract

Work preservation agreements (in which an employer agrees not to use materials which have been prefabricated and thus displace union labor) are common in the construction industry. In practice, these agreements are sometimes difficult to enforce because the employer who has signed the collective bargaining agreement is not always the one who specifies which materials will be used at the jobsite. In NLRB v. Enterprise the Supreme Court held that work preservation agreements between a union and an employer may not be used to coerce a nonunion company to discontinue using prefabricated materials which violat the work preservation agreement, although the nonunion company has hired a union employer to install the prefabricated materials. The author examines the Court's decision and concludes that legal and economic considerations mandated the Court's holding.

Recommended Citation

Diane Austin, Section 8(b)(4)(B) Limitations on Union Enforcement of Work Preservation Agreements, 32 U. Mia. L. Rev. 721 (1978)
Available at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/umlr/vol32/iss3/10