Drake And Keeler: Case Study

Under Section 7 of the Labor-Management Relations Act with the NLRB, “employees have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection (O’Brien, 2015).” Courts, however, have had a difficult time in deciding what exactly is concerted activities and if these activities are for employees rights and protection or if they are just personal complaints. When looking at the actual situation it was only Drake and Keeler who were complaining of the cold due to the machine shop door being open. When the other employees were asked if it
First, the employer might try to argue that what Drake and Keeler did was not a concerted activity. Although the “strike” was jointly arranged, it was not preplanned and not discussed prior to their scheduled lunch break and only after they were told ‘no’ to having the door closed after asking all other employees. Their actions were not preemptive strikes and almost seem to just be upset over not getting their way instead of actually being concerned about the conditions. The fact that the door was open was not a random act either. The plant manager made it a rule in order to help with the disposal of sawdust. The door was to remain open when the temperature in the machine shop exceeded 68 degrees, but would be closed if it was to get less than 68 degrees. In this situation, it was 72 degrees and they could not close the door at the temperature. Besides, the supervisor asked the other employees and no one else wanted the door closed. Also, since this was in fact a rule ahead of time, the employees should have been prepared on the proper way to dress or to at least have back up to have if it was too hot or too cold. Drake was wearing a sleeveless shirt and shorts; had he worn proper clothing he possibly would not have gotten cold. Next, the employer might try to argue that since none of management or any supervisors were notified that