Protecting Concerted Action Outside the Union Context

This article argues that a feature of the National Labour Relations Act (U.S.) should be adopted by Canadian jurisdictions. This feature is the protection of employees for "concerted action" in their mutual aid, contained in s. 7 of the NLRA, and applied to all employees whether or not they are a member of a union or attempting to organize one. We argue that this is a modest expansion of the existing Wagner Act model in Canada, is consistent with Canadian constitutional norms, and would provide an additional tool encouraging worker voice and representation in the workplace. We conclude with a caution that such an amendment would not result in profound changes in the balance of power between employers and workers, and that problems associated with worker voice and representation require more systemic solutions