Freedom of Association and the Right to Contest: Getting Back to Basics
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Description
In the wake of union decline, scholars and activists have turned to the concept of ‘freedom of association’ (FOA)—the right of workers to form and join trade unions—as a basis for fortifying worker voice. Unlike recent work that seeks to build upon the FOA (to derive, e.g.,a right to strike), this chapter investigates its underpinnings. Drawing on Philip Pettit's philosophical work on civic republicanism and freedom as non-domination, we contend for the recognition of an individual right to contest employer power, free from state and employer interference. That fundamental right, coupled with a right to do collectively what one has the right to do individually, provides a normative foundation for protecting both informally concerted activity and more familiar trade union activity. We use this lens to map labour rights in the UK, US, and Canada, and to identify gaps in the law and scholarship regarding fundamental labour rights.
Source Publication
Voices at Work: Continuity and Change in the Common Law World
Source Editors/Authors
Alan Bogg, Tonia Novitz
Publication Date
2014
Recommended Citation
Bogg, Alan and Estlund, Cynthia, "Freedom of Association and the Right to Contest: Getting Back to Basics" (2014). Faculty Chapters. 435.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-chapt/435
