29 U.S.C. § 174
Section 174 · Co-equal obligations of employees, their representatives, and management to minimize labor disputes
This is § 204 of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 (Taft-Hartley Act)
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 7 court decisions — leading case National Labor Relations Board v. Truitt Manufacturing Co. (1956)
Most recently applied in Air Line Pilots Ass'n v. Trans World Airlines, Inc. (December 1989)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) 1 In order to prevent or minimize interruptions of the free flow of commerce growing out of labor disputes, employers and employees and their representatives, in any industry affecting commerce, shall—
(1) exert every reasonable effort to make and maintain agreements concerning rates of pay, hours, and working conditions, including provision for adequate notice of any proposed change in the terms of such agreements;
(2) whenever a dispute arises over the terms or application of a collective-bargaining agreement and a conference is requested by a party or prospective party thereto, arrange promptly for such a conference to be held and endeavor in such conference to settle such dispute expeditiously; and
(3) in case such dispute is not settled by conference, participate fully and promptly in such meetings as may be undertaken by the Service under this chapter for the purpose of aiding in a settlement of the dispute.