Citation

White AA. Working USA 2008; 11(1): 23-44.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1743-4580.2008.00185.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article concerns the role of criminal law in modern, post-New Deal labor relations. I emphasize the continuing function of the criminal law in limiting basic labor rights (to organize, strike, and provoke collective bargaining) as reflected in several common practices: the prosecution of labor organizing and protest activity as crimes; the persistent use of injunctions by the courts to curtail labor rights; and the indirect use of the criminal law by the courts and the NLRB to define unfair labor practices and to limit the scope of worker protections under the labor law. I hope to show how these functions reflect both change and continuity relative to the criminal law in pre-New Deal times.