By Ian Gaskins
The mutual aid and protection clause of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects workers from employer retaliation when engaged in “concerted activities for the purpose of . . . mutual aid or protection.” In Eastex v. NLRB, the Supreme Court recognized that political advocacy may also be protected under the clause when the advocacy advances “employees’ interests as employees.” This Note contends that, by framing climate change as a workplace issue, workplace climate advocacy can be protected under the mutual aid and protection clause.
Part I of this Note explores the impacts that climate change will have on workers, focusing on its impacts on occupational health and safety, and finances, and documents the ways that unions, workers, and governments have begun to recognize and address climate change as a workplace issue. Part II lays out the standard for when political activity is protected under Eastex. Applying this, Part III argues that, when properly framed, workplace climate advocacy falls within Eastex’s ambit. To illustrate the bounds of this approach, Part III also explores the ways that workplace climate advocacy could fall outside of the protections of Eastex. Finally, Part IV briefly explores the legal viability and effectiveness of a variety of forms of workplace advocacy that climate advocacy could take in practice, such as educational campaigns and climate strikes.