Thoughts on the Unification of U.S. Labor and Employment Law: Is the Whole Greater than the Sum of the Parts?


General Counsel, AFL-CIO. The ideas articulated in this Article are mine alone and do not represent the positions of the AFL-CIO. I wrote the Article prior to the election of November 8, 2016. I publish it now with some trepidation, knowing that bits and pieces of what I say here will be taken out of context by those who do not support the animating ideals of either labor or employment law. I proceed with the hope that a time of more even-tempered and rational discourse will return and that this footnote will serve as something of a hedge against any suggestion that I support knocking down any of the parts of the current law of the workplace when what follows argues for an integration of the parts so that, as a whole, the law can better realize its underlying purposes. I thank Cindy Estlund, Janice Fine, Kelly Ross, Ben Sachs, and Andy Strom for their comments on earlier drafts of this Article and Matt Finkin for his always generous sharing of his knowledge of comparative labor law.