First Amendment Protection for Union Appeals to Consumers

Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society, Vol. XXVII, No. 2, Summer 2012

Boston Univ. School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 12-56

18 Pages Posted: 5 Feb 2013

See all articles by Michael Harper

Michael Harper

Boston University - School of Law

Date Written: 2012

Abstract

This article explains why decisions of the National Labor Relations Board under President Obama holding non-picketing secondary appeals to consumers not to be illegal under the National Labor Relations Act were necessary under a 1988 decision of the Supreme Court, Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. v. Florida Gulf Coast Building & Construction Trades Council. The article also explains why both the Supreme Court decision and the Board’s recent decisions were compelled by the first amendment and could not be based on the language of § 8(b)(4)(ii)(B) of the National Labor Relations Act as interpreted by the Court in other cases. The article presents a compelling argument for first amendment protection of a union’s appeals to consumers to shun businesses because of their relations with employers with union-criticized labor policies. This argument is founded on a consumer right to engage in concerted boycotts.

Keywords: consumer boycotts, secondary consumer appeals, secondary boycotts, first amendment protection of union appeals, § 8(b)(4)(ii)(B), freedom of speech, handbilling, picketing, National Labor Relations Board

JEL Classification: K30, K31

Suggested Citation

Harper, Michael Conrad, First Amendment Protection for Union Appeals to Consumers (2012). Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society, Vol. XXVII, No. 2, Summer 2012, Boston Univ. School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 12-56, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2211754

Michael Conrad Harper (Contact Author)

Boston University - School of Law ( email )

765 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
United States

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