Which of the following statements is true of the Federal Labor Relations Authority?

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1.Criminal conspiracy laws: In the 1800s,many courts considered activity by workers such as striking and picketing to be common law criminal conspiracies.Workers were convicted for trying to improve working conditions through union efforts.If a group of employees attempted to exert pressure on an employer to increase wages,they would be charged with criminal conspiracy and,if convicted,subject to imprisonment or fines,as well as a threat of harsher sentences upon subsequent convictions.This acted to discourage and even eliminate union activity.
2.Injunctions: An injunction is a court order requiring individuals or groups of persons to refrain from performing certain acts that the court has determined will do irreparable harm.
Employers used this remedy to quash strikes and protests.During the late 19th and early 20th centuries,many judges came from the business class and were sympathetic to the arguments of employers and hostile to the union viewpoint.This resulted in abuses of power that outlawed union activities.Injunctions were used to enforce yellow dog contracts.In these contracts,an employee promised not to join a labor union.Employees signed yellow dog contracts so that they could get work.Later,if their employer was faced with a unionizing campaign,the employer could receive an injunction that would restrain anyone from encouraging these workers to join a union.
3.Antitrust attacks: Starting with the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890,Congress acted to eliminate monopolistic business practices that were taking control of the nation's economy.However,the antitrust laws were also used to limit union activities.Unions were prosecuted under various provisions that were interpreted to include them under the provisions that prohibited "every contract,combination ...or conspiracy,in restraint of trade...." When unions challenged the application of the Sherman Antitrust Act to their activities,the Supreme Court,in 1908,held that the Sherman Act applied to labor unions,giving business a new weapon to combat unionism.In addition,the case held that individual union members were responsible for the actions of its officers,making the rank and file liable for judgments against the union,and outlawed secondary boycotts.
4.Constitutional challenges: Early efforts by federal and state legislators to support organized labor were thwarted by the courts as a whole.Many state laws were declared unconstitutional by state supreme courts.Congress continued to recognize the rights of labor organizations and in 1898 passed the Erdman Act.The objective of the act was to set up a procedure by which conflicts in the railroad industry could be handled.Among other rights,it gave the railroad workers the right to self-organization and collective bargaining and outlawed the yellow dog contract.At this time,Congress targeted railroad workers for protection largely because of the Pullman strike,which had disrupted service in 1894.Feeling the need to ensure against further disruptions that had the effect of paralyzing the nation's transportation system,Congress thought it had found a way to make this issue one of constitutional dimension by making it one of interstate commerce.However,when confronted with the issue of whether Congress could regulate industry by regulating employer-employee relations in this way,the Supreme Court held that Congress could not and struck down this critical law.
The Federal Labor Relations Authority is the federal counterpart to the private sector's National Labor Relations Board. It was established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 to administer federal sector labor law.
Essay Questions
46. List and explain the four main weapons that employers could use against workers before the advent of modern labor law in the mid-20th century.

Which of the Following Statements Is True of the Federal