Seyfarth Synopsis: Though the NLRA provides robust
protections for striking employees, the Board's decision in
Consolidated Communications demonstrates some of the limits of
those protections. On October 2, 2018, the NLRB held that
inherently dangerous acts calculated to intimidate do not fall
within the broad scope of the NLRA's protections.
The National Labor Relations Board, in a recent decision, has
provided further guidance on the limits of protections for
strike-related activities. In Consolidated Communications, Cases 14-CA-094626,
14-CA-101495 (NLRB Oct. 2, 2018), the Board found that
striking employees' use of vehicles to intentionally obstruct
non-striking employees traveling on the road was an
"inherently dangerous" activity calculated to intimidate
non-strikers, and thus forfeited the National Labor Relations
Act's protections.
