A coffee-roasting company was experiencing a strike. Employees had wa

QUESTION

A coffee-roasting company was experiencing a strike.

Employees had walked out over dissatisfaction with the overtime policy even though the union had ratified the contract in which the policy was stated and the contract was still in effect. Management went to court. What most likely happened?
A) The company lost its bid for an injunction, and so it closed its doors permanently.
B) The company lost its bid for an injunction and was forced to renegotiate with the workers even though they had a contract currently in effect.
C) The company was able to prove just cause (that is, it proved that the strike was an illegal wildcat strike) and so was able to get an injunction allowing the company to fire all the workers and replace them with nonunion workers.
D) The company was able to prove just cause (that is, it proved that the strike was an illegal wildcat strike) and so was able to get an injunction requiring the workers to return to work for the duration of the contract.
E) The company was able to prove just cause (that is, it proved that the strike was an illegal sympathy strike) and so was able to get an injunction requiring the workers to return to work for the duration of the contract.

ANSWER

Answer: D
Explanation: D) A wildcat strike is a strike that is not authorized by the union during the period covered by the contract. Such strikes are not allowed because they remove strikers from the protection of national labor law. If management can show just cause (such as an unauthorized strike), then management can seek an injunction requiring striking workers to do or not to do something (in this case requiring them to return to work for the duration of the current contract).