Joy Silk was a doctrine of the US

National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces United States labor law, U.S. labor law in relation to collect ...

(NLRB) in effect from 1949 to 1966. The doctrine arose from ''Joy Silk Mills, Inc., 85 NLRB 1263'' (1949). The policy was modified in 1966, then in 1969 replaced by the Gissel doctrine following the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

case ''

NLRB v. Gissel Packing Co., Inc. ''NLRB v. Gissel Packing Co., Inc.'', 395 U.S. 575 (1969) was a unanimous United States Supreme Court case clarifying the application of the National Labor Relations Act after the Taft-Hartley Amendments, particularly the application of union au ...

'' Joy Silk held that "if a union provides evidence that a majority of workers want to unionize", the employer must recognize the union unless they have "

good faith In human interactions, good faith () is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case with , which i ...

doubt" regarding that evidence. Further, "if there's an

unfair labor practice An unfair labor practice (ULP) in United States labor law refers to certain actions taken by employers or unions that violate the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (49 Stat. 449) (also known as the NLRA and the Wagner Act after NY Senator ...

, meaning the employer broke the law, then it is presumed that the workers wanted to join a union".

Jennifer Abruzzo Jennifer Ann Abruzzo is an American attorney and former government official who served as General Counsel at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from 2021 to 2025. She previously was Special Counsel for Strategic Initiatives for Communicati ...

has proposed reinstating the Joy Silk standard, which would make it easier for workers to unionize. According to law professor Risa Lieberwitz, "Bringing Joy Silk back would be a doctrine that more fully respects workers' rights to unionize." In 2023 in response to the company

Cemex CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V., known as Cemex, is a Mexican multinational building materials company headquartered in San Pedro, near Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. It manufactures and distributes cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates in more than ...

having been found guilty of two dozen illegal labor practices, by interfering with a union election, the NLRB reinstated parts of Joy Silk. Under the new policy if a majority of workers demonstrate support for a union, the company must recognize them or ask the NLRB to conduct an election. However if they commit unfair labor practices, the union will automatically be recognized and the company will be required to bargain.

References

External links

Joy Silk Mills, Inc., 85 NLRB 1263 (1949)
United States labor law National Labor Relations Board

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Further reading

External links