ILO Finds NY Law Banning Public Sector Strikes Violates International Labor Rights

Employment Law

In the latest example of how long-established U.S. labor laws could be unsettled by adopting International Labor Organization conventions, an ILO committee has found that New York State violated international freedom of association principles when it fined the Transport Workers Union for engaging in a 60-hour strike that shut down New York City's subway and bus system.  The Committee on Freedom of Association urged the U.S. government to take immediate steps to make sure the union is “fully compensated” for the sanctions, including compensation for the former TWU union president, who was jailed for 10 days following the strike.  The Committee found that the U.S. violated ILO conventions 87 and 98, which deal with workers' freedom of association to join unions and bargain collectively, even though those two conventions have never been ratified by the U.S.  The committee, whose actions have no legally binding authority under U.S. domestic law, has said that when a state becomes an ILO member, it is bound by these conventions, whether or not it has ratified the conventions.  The reason the U.S. has not ratified them is due to a concern that, as treaties, the courts would rule that they overturn long-standing U.S. labor laws, such as the rule exempting supervisors from collective bargaining units.  The ILO’s decision in the New York case underscores the conflicts that would arise if those conventions were to be ratified.