The Mackay Doctrine

The second area that has had a substantial impact on shaping the US labor policy is the Mackay Doctrine. The Mackay Doctrine is a decision that was made by the Supreme Court in 1938 in relation to the workers at the Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co. “Mackay”. Employees at Mackay were dissatisfied and voted to strike. While they were on strike, the company replaced some of the workers with employees from other facilities. When the workers decided to end the strike and return, the company allowed all but eleven of the employees to return as they had hired replacements for their positions while they were on strike. The employees that were not rehired were notified they could reapply but would only be hired as job openings became available. All employees …show more content…
Furthermore, employers were allowed to retain these workers as permanent replacements if the strike was for economic reasons. This meant they were not required to rehire employees that went on strike unless the reason was considered an unfair labor practice. Rather, they were only required to allow them to reapply if and when a job opening became available. Finally, employers could ask for a decertification vote twelve months after an economic strike. Any permanent replacements that were still employed could participate in this decertification …show more content…
The right to strike without interference or discrimination is granted in the NLRA. In section 8 it states that an employer is considered to have conducted an unfair labor practice if they “interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees”4 who exercise their right to strike. By allowing employers to hire permanent replacement workers and not reinstate employees that strike, they are hindering an employee’s right to strike. This seems to contradict the intent of the law and create a strong argument that the Mackay Doctrine interferes with a worker’s right to strike and should be considered an unfair labor practice. Thereby requiring reinstatement per the