Strikes have been in the news recently. Employers faced with a strike, or a possible strike, often wish to know their legal options, including whether they may seek injunctive relief. The short answer is that federal law prohibits courts from enjoining employees’ exercise of their right to lawfully strike. However, courts may enjoin unlawful strike conduct, depending entirely on the facts of the labor dispute. This is illustrated in Warrior Met Coal Mining, L.L.C. v. United Mine Workers of America International, et al., No. CV-2021-900285.00 (Ala. Cir. Ct., Tuscaloosa Cnty. Oct. 27, 2021 ). There, an Alabama state court judge took a relatively unusual action in a violent labor dispute: temporarily prohibiting all picketing at the employer’s properties.

Courts have limited injunctive authority in labor disputes, with specific differences between state and federal laws. Federal law prescribes rigid procedural requirements for issuing an injunction in a private sector labor dispute. Under federal law, courts are prohibited from enjoining the following (among others): (i) striking or refusing to work in protest; (ii) becoming a union member; (iii) paying or withholding unemployment benefits, insurance, money, or things of value to a person participating in a labor dispute; (iv) providing legal assistance to those involved in a labor dispute; (v) picketing or other public displays of support for or opposition to labor practice; (vi) peacefully assembling in public or private;...

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