Labor law is the body of law which address the legal relationship between trade unions, employees, and employers -- including collective bargaining, union organization activities, and the negotiation of strikes and lockouts. Labor law arose due to the demands for workers for better conditions, the right to organize, and the simultaneous demands of employers to keep labor costs low. Labor law attorneys may represent their clients in matters before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which hears disputes between employers and unionized employees.
Springfield is the largest city on the Connecticut River and the county seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2000 census, the city population was 154,082 with an estimated 2008 population of 150,640. It is the third largest city in Massachusetts and fourth largest in New England. Springfield has two nicknames — The City of Homes and The City of Firsts. Historically the first Springfield in the United States, it is the largest city in Western Massachusetts and the Pioneer Valley. Springfield is notable as the birthplace of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, as well as the city where James Naismith invented basketball. It is home to the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Springfield Falcons AHL ice hockey team. It also holds the western world's largest collection of Chinese cloisonnĂ© at the G.W. Vincent Smith Art Museum. The Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of three counties: Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin. At the 2000 census, the Springfield MSA had a population of 680,014 (though a July 1, 2007, estimate placed the population at 682,657). It is also part of a larger metropolitan area known as the Northeast megalopolis.