Abstract
The Taft-Hartley Act gives the President and federal courts power to enjoin strikes that pose a threat to national health or safety. This Article shows that Taft-Hartley injunctions lowered public support for unions by portraying them as selfish economic actors who were harmful to the nation and altered the balance of bargaining power in critical strikes. Although the last Taft-Hartley injunction issued in 1978, this public policy remains relevant in two respects. When major strikes affect the nation, presidents respond to public pressure by threatening to invoke this power. In addition, the Article questions current theory that President Reagan's use of the striker replacement doctrine is responsible for the current strike decline by arguing President Carter's use of the Act caused the first decline. By showing the Act was intended to impair the right to strike, the Article shows the presidency plays a complex role in the dying right to strike.
How to Cite
43 Ariz. L. Rev. 63 (2001)
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