A Primer on American Labor Law, By William Gould IV (2019) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 300 pages. ISBN: 978-1-10845-889-4

The latest edition of Professor Gould’s primer on American labour law follows the path and theme laid out in the first edition nearly 40 years ago. In response to feedback from both union and employer representatives in the U.S. and government officials, and other industrial relations specialists abroad, Gould set out to write a book providing a basic outline of the American labour law system. The preface contains a summary of significant developments since publication of the previous edition including, for example, the landmark Janus decision of U.S. Supreme Court, which held that non-union dues-paying employees or non-union members in the public sector “have a First Amendment Right under the Constitution not to pay dues as a condition of employment”. It also includes a new chapter on collective bargaining and dispute resolution in professional sports. Chapter 1 provides an overview of key features of the American industrial relations system (including selective comparisons with practices abroad) and Chapter 2 traces the evolution of American industrial relations and labour law leading to the modern era, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) or Wagner Act. For the most part, Chapters 3-7 focus on core elements of the NLRA (administration of the Act, union organizing and representation, unfair labour practices, the remedial powers of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and several unsuccessful legislative efforts to revise and update the NLRA). This is followed by a discussion of dispute settlement procedures in rights and interest disputes (Chapter 8) and the duty of fair representation (Chapter 9). Chapters 10-12 examine public sector collective bargaining laws, developments in public-interest labour law since the advent of modern labour legislation (e.g., employment discrimination, occupational safety and health, and the common law of wrongful discharge), as well as collective bargaining and dispute resolution in professional sports. In the concluding chapter, Gould suggests that given “American society is litigious and dynamic and because labor law will evolve and change in the coming years”, more attention will likely focus on the deficiencies as opposed to the strengths of the American system. He also anticipates the most rapid change will be in the area of public-interest labour law. As the foregoing description of the book indicates, the subject matter covered is sweeping and, as a result, this review will focus on three areas. The first area is how well the book achieves its stated objective. Second, I have chosen a few subjects for commentary. The third area considers the current state of American labour law and the prospects for the future. In the preface to the first edition, Gould’s stated purpose was to fill the gap in the literature and provide an outline of American labour law as opposed to more detailed volumes aimed at university students, academics and lawyers. The aim was to offer a “more descriptive than analytic” approach to the American labour law system, e.g., for those with a “special interest in the United States or industrial relations generally”. On this score, the book succeeds, although some readers might find its length (500+ pages) and case citations a little overwhelming. Nevertheless, the author does an admirable job following the historical path of the jurisprudence. The result is, at times, a detailed primer. As well, the volume is informed by the author’s scholarly background and his administrative experience as Chair of the National Labor Relations Board (1990s) and the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (2014-2017). The book is well written and meticulously organized. One small quibble: it would have been beneficial to include the subheadings within each chapter in the table of contents. One cannot help feeling demoralized …