Basic Guide to the National Labor Relations Act

Section 8(b)(4)—Prohibited Strikes and Boycotts. Section 8(b)(4) prohibits a labor organization from 
engaging in strikes or boycotts or taking other specified actions to accomplish certain purposes or “objects” as they 
are called in the Act. The proscribed action is listed in clauses (i) and (ii), the objects are described in subparagraphs 
(A) through (D). A union commits an unfair labor practice if it takes any of the kinds of action listed in clauses (i) 
and (ii) as a means of accomplishing any of the objects listed in the four subparagraphs. 
Proscribed action: Inducing or encouraging a strike work stoppage or boycott. Clause (i) forbids a union to 
engage in a strike, or to induce or encourage a strike, work stoppage, or a refusal to perform services by “any 
individual employed by any person engaged in commerce or in an industry affecting commerce” for one of the 
objects listed in subparagraphs (A) through (D). The words “induce and encourage” are considered by the U. S. 
Supreme Court to be broad enough to include every form of influence or persuasion. For example, it has been held 
by the NLRB that a work stoppage on a picketed construction project was “induced” by a union through its business 
agents who, when they learned about the picketing, told the job stewards that they (the business agents) would not 
work behind the picket line. It was considered that this advice not only induced the stewards to leave the job, but 
caused them to pass the information on to their fellow employees, and that such conduct informed the other 
employees that they were expected not to work behind the picket line. The world “person” is defined in Section 2(1) 
as including “one or more individuals, labor organizations, partnerships, associations, corporations,” and other legal 
persons. As so defined, the word “person” is broader than the word “employer.” For example, a railroad company, 
although covered by the Railway Labor Act, is excluded from the definition of “employer” in the National Labor 
Relations Act and, therefore, neither the railroad company nor its employees are covered by the National Labor 
Relations Act. But a railroad company is a “person engaged in commerce” as defined above and, therefore, a labor 
organization is forbidden to “induce or encourage” individuals employed by a railroad company to engage in a 
strike, work stoppage, or boycott for any of the objects in subparagraphs (A) through (D). 
Proscribed action: Threats, coercion, and restraint. Clause (ii) makes it an unfair labor practice for a union to 
“threaten, coerce, or restrain any person engaged in commerce or in an industry affecting commerce” for any of the 
proscribed objects. Even though no direct threat is voiced by the union, there may nevertheless be coercion and 
restraint that violates this clause. For example, when a union picketed a construction job to bring about the removal 
of a nonunion subcontractor in violation of Section 8(b)(4)(B), the picketing induced employees of several other 
subcontractors to stop work. When the general contractor asked what could be done to stop the picketing, the 
union’s business agent replied that the picketing would stop only if the nonunion subcontractor were removed from 
the job. The NLRB held this to be “coercion and restraint” within the meaning of clause (ii). 
Subparagraph (A)—Prohibited object: Compelling membership in an employer or labor organization or 
compelling a hot cargo agreement. Section 8(b)(4)(A) prohibits unions from engaging in clause (i) or (ii) action to 
compel an employer or self-employed person to join any labor or employer organization or to force an employer to 
enter a hot cargo agreement prohibited by Section 8(e). Examples of violations of this section are: 
Examples of violations of Section 8(b)(4)(A). 
•
In an attempt to compel a beer distributor to join a union, the union prevents the distributor from obtaining 
beer at a brewery by inducing the brewery’s employees to refuse to fill the distributor’s orders. 
•
In an attempt to secure for its members certain stevedoring work required at an employer’s unloading 
operation, the union pickets to force the employer to join an employer association with which the union has 
a contract. 
•
A union pickets an employer (one not in the construction and garment industries), or threatens to picket it, 
to compel that employer to enter into an agreement whereby the employer will only do business with 
persons who have an agreement with a union.