# UPS Strike "illegal and unauthorized" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799 "2014-04-10T15:42:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/1 "2014-04-10T15:42:31Z")
Regarding this article: [The 250 Workers That UPS Fired Last Week Just Got Their Jobs Back](http://finance.yahoo.com/news/250-workers-ups-fired-last-033600667.html) it claims: > [@](#): > > Union officials also acknowledged in the agreement that the strike was “illegal and unauthorized and will undertake other actions within the bargaining unit to correct the situation,” he said. First off, in what manner is a strike illegal? Last I checked, the only strikes that were illegal were for people in critical social functions like cops and firefighters. The second claim, that it was unauthorized, strikes me as similarly bogus. By whose definition is a strike “unauthorized?” Are striking workers required to ask their employer’s permission before they strike? Wouldn’t that kind of defeat the purpose? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/2 "2014-04-10T15:48:09Z")
[Wildcat strike action](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildcat_strike_action#United_States_of_America). Basically, a strike by workers that isn’t organised by their union. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/3 "2014-04-10T15:48:13Z")
A strike is unauthorized if the strike is not called by the collective bargaining unit (the union). There was a “no strike” clause in the latest labor contract, and as such the union did not call a strike. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/4 "2014-04-10T16:37:22Z")
Ditto Teachers by their collective bargaining agreements (and not because they are government employees) are usually not allowed to strike unless a whole chain of steps are taken beforehand hence the use of “the blue flu”. ---
**Author:** ![ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisUsernameIsForbidden)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/5 "2014-04-10T19:53:47Z")
If it’s illegal, what laws are being violated here? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/6 "2014-04-10T19:55:07Z")
The law that says you’re supposed to act in accordance with the contracts you have signed. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/7 "2014-04-11T04:28:06Z")
It’s not that it’s against the law as in “illegal” or “felony” or “misdemeanor”. Rather, it’s a violation of a contractual agreement. As a result, the employer can take the employees and the union to court and demand recompense. If the strike is by civil servants whose job is designated an “essential service” then it may be breaking the law, if the law defining essential services and removing the right to strike also contains penalties for violating that law. Of course, to prosecute you would have to prove that any particular individual was not “too sick to work” which I imagine especially for health care workers, or people whose job takes them outdoors in bad weather, would be difficult. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/8 "2014-04-11T05:14:05Z")
Not turning up for work is not an offence, generally. And it doesn’t become an offence if your motivation is to protest about an employment dispute. But organising or inciting people not to turn up for work may be an offence in many jurisdictions. (Whether it is in relation to the UPS dispute mentioned in the OP, I can’t say.) It’s not uncommom to have a legal regime which criminalises the organisation or conduct of strike action, and then creates exemptions and defences to cover trade unions who follow recognised procedures. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/9 "2014-04-11T05:14:11Z")
> [@](#): > > The law that says you’re supposed to act in accordance with the contracts you have signed. And what law would that be? Please cite the actual law for me. Last I checked, business contracts were enforced through civil court and lawsuits, not the police. I guess this goes back to what I was talking about in my earlier debate thread… All strikes are by definition unauthorized because you are telling your employer to get bent. The entire point of a strike is to coerce the employer to redress a grievance. Telling someone they can’t strike is basically saying, “You can’t protest the law because the law says you can’t protest it.” ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/10 "2014-04-11T05:17:26Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > ??? > > And what law would that be? Please cite the actual law for me. Are you serious? > [@](#): > > Last I checked, business contracts were enforced through civil court and lawsuits, not the police. Did anybody say anything different? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/11 "2014-04-11T05:21:44Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > I guess this goes back to what I was talking about in my earlier debate thread… All strikes are by definition unauthorized because you are telling your employer to get bent. No. An employee working without a contract (i.e. most employees) is under no obligation to show up if he doesn’t want to. On the other hand, his employer is under no obligation to give the employee his job back if he decides to show up again. Collective bargaining contracts typically contain a set of promises by each party (employer and the union) and an expiration date when those promises end and may be renegotiated. Often the union promises not to strike during that period if the employer lives up to their end. Further complicating this mess is that the employees in question went ahead and struck without the permission or oversight of their union, leading to an embarrassing clusterfuck for all concerned. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/12 "2014-04-11T06:04:24Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > An employee working without a contract (i.e. most employees) is under no obligation to show up if he doesn’t want to. On the other hand, his employer is under no obligation to give the employee his job back if he decides to show up again. I don’t follow. Employment is a contractual relationship. If he’s an employee, he has a contract. If there is no contract, in what sense is he an employee? The contract may, by its terms, be terminable at will without notice by either party. Or it may not. Either way, the employee usually cannot be compelled to work. If he fails to turn up for work and he’s in breach of the contract in not turning up, you can sue him for damages and you may possibly seek other remedies, e.g. rescission, or perhaps you can treat his failure to turn up as a repudiation of the contract, but in general you can’t get an order forcing him to work. ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/13 "2014-04-11T09:26:51Z")
Union contracts (even private sector contracts) are governed by a whole set of Federal laws and regulations–and there’s quite a few of them governing how strikes can occur, who can participate in strikes, etc. I don’t really have time to do any analysis of this particular situation, but it is possible in theory to violate a law or regulation by striking improperly. Post # 2 (by **Steophan** ) in this thread gives an example of a type of strike that potentially violates the National Labor Relations Act. ---
**Author:** ![ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisUsernameIsForbidden)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/14 "2014-04-11T15:31:48Z")
> [@](#): > > but it is possible in theory to violate a law or regulation by striking improperly Excluding criminal actions like damaging property or preventing scabs from going to work, what would be an example of such a law? I’m well aware that UNIONS are restricted by their strike actions because they have contractual obligations under their bargaining agreements, but we are talking about a group of employees acting outside of the union. This is not “illegal” activity, regardless of whether it is considered protected concerted activity by NLRB. ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/15 "2014-04-11T16:08:00Z")
> [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](#): > > Excluding criminal actions like damaging property or preventing scabs from going to work, what would be an example of such a law? > > I’m well aware that UNIONS are restricted by their strike actions because they have contractual obligations under their bargaining agreements, but we are talking about a group of employees acting outside of the union. The NLRA lists a bunch of “unfair labor practices.” Unfair labor practices are illegal under the NLRA. I have already pointed out that a wildcat strike can be considered an “unfair labor practice” in some circumstances. Secondary boycotts can also be illegal under certain circumstances. There’s a whole list of these. > [@](#): > > This is not “illegal” activity, regardless of whether it is considered protected concerted activity by NLRB. If it’s prohibited by law, it’s illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/16 "2014-04-11T16:11:22Z")
As well as violating the NLRA, it’s also a violation of the Clayton Act. The Act exempts labor organizations, but a wildcat strike is not an action by a labor organization. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/17 "2014-04-11T16:15:30Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Ditto > Teachers by their collective bargaining agreements (and not because they are government employees) are usually not allowed to strike unless a whole chain of steps are taken beforehand hence the use of “the blue flu”. Nitpick: “Blue Flu” refers to police absenteeism, not teachers. Cite: [blue flu noun absenteeism among police officers or firefighters who claim to be ill but are in fact absent to support union contract demands or negotiations: so called from the officers’ blue uniforms. Origin: 1965–70](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/blue+flu) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/18 "2014-04-11T16:22:42Z")
It is now used to refer to all types of government workers who are prohibited from striking. You’ll notice your own cite uses it in reference to firefighters as well. From the OED: > [@](#): > > A strike action, especially among police officers, in which workers are absent on the pretext of sickness. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/19 "2014-04-11T16:50:31Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It is now used to refer to all types of government workers who are prohibited from striking. You’ll notice your own cite uses it in reference to firefighters as well. From the OED: Huh. You are correct. I’d never seen “blue flu” used in a context other than cops/firefighters, but [indeed it is used that way.](http://articles.latimes.com/1990-03-27/local/me-77_1_teachers-call-sick) ---
**Author:** ![ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisUsernameIsForbidden)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799/20 "2014-04-11T18:59:54Z")
Where in the NLRA does it say people are not allowed to go on strike, unless it is sanctioned by an approved union? The Clayton Act? I’d love to see an employer file a suit against a group of employees for not returning to work. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-strike-illegal-and-unauthorized/685799.md?page=2)