Labor Law -- 1961 Tennessee Survey

In considering basic rights in connection with labor organization, it must be noted that there may be a fundamental conflict between giving dominant emphasis to the interest of the group of organized workers in advancing and maintaining the standards applicable to the group as opposed to giving comparable emphasis to the wishes of the individual employee of a particular employer. The various policy statements contained in the Wagner Act, the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 indicate a public interest (within the scope of federal authority) in the protection of employees' right to organize, to choose their own representatives, to bargain collectively, and otherwise to engage in concerted activities for mutual aid and protection.' At the same time, section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act makes clear that, in general, the basic right protected by federal legislation is the uncoerced freedom of employees to make a choice with regard to participation in employee organization and engagement in concerted activities.