Can my employer prevent me from forming or joining a union?

What the Law Says

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) guarantees most private-sector employees the right to organize, form, join, or assist labor unions — and prohibits employers from interfering with those rights.

Under Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA, it is an unfair labor practice for an employer 'to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 157 of this title.'

Section 157 explicitly states that 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.'

This protection applies to all private-sector employees — including part-time, temporary, and undocumented workers — but excludes supervisors, independent contractors, agricultural workers, and most public-sector employees (who are covered by separate state or federal laws).

Statutory Text

to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 157 of this title

— 29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1) — Unfair labor practices

Statutory Text

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

— 29 U.S.C. § 157 — Employees' rights

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