A new study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce finds that, when it comes to “threatening or disruptive behavior,” union members have far more rights—or, at least, far more license—than their fellow Americans. The Chamber’s study, “Sabotage, Stalking, and Stealth Exemptions: Special State Laws for Labor Unions,” examines little known state laws that favor organized labor, even to the point of exempting union members from laws prohibiting “conduct that would otherwise be considered criminal activity.”
Although none of the laws highlighted by the Chamber’s report condone violence, the report suggests that state laws facilitate or even encourage the circumstances in which a labor dispute might become violent—or even deadly. The report highlights exemptions for violations such as stalking, trespassing, and other kinds of behavior that can be intimidating or seriously disturbing.
