What is concerted activity?

Beyond the right to unionize and collectively bargain as a union, the Taft-Hartley Act gives employees the right to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. This right applies to employees acting together to improve their working conditions whether or not they are acting through a union and whether they are unionized or nonunion.

Although the Taft-Hartley Act does not define other concerted activities, a definition has evolved over the years through National Labor Relations Board decisions and court rulings. As a result, today there are many activities that employees engage in to improve their pay, benefits and working conditions that are protected as concerted activities.

Not all concerted activity is protected. But just because employees act in concert does not mean that they are protected by the National Labor Relations Act from discipline by the employer for their actions. The law also requires that employees act for mutual aid or protection as well as in concert with other employees, either by presenting concerns in a group or by raising concerns that affect a group of employees under a bargaining contract. Concerted activity must involve actual collective activity of some sort. And, the employees' activity must be both concerted and protected in order for employees to be protected from employer retribution.

The distinction between personal and concerted activity is important. In order to be protected, the activity must have been undertaken for the betterment of the working conditions of more than just the complaining employee. It must involve the betterment of conditions for other employees. Therefore, where a group of employees sabotaged one of their employer's trucks, they acted in concert but their activity-not designed for the betterment of working conditions-was not protected against employer discipline.