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.
West Lebanon, New Hampshire, is a district (pop. approx 3,500) within the city of Lebanon on the Connecticut River. The area contains a major shopping plaza strip along New Hampshire Route 12A, serving the Upper Valley communities along Interstates 89 and 91. West Lebanon also hosts the Lebanon Municipal Airport, a number of small software and tech businesses, and a regional daily newspaper, the Valley News. The village, referred to by locals as "West Leb", serves as a bedroom community for nearby Dartmouth College. West Lebanon was the site of Lebanon's first settlement in 1761. Later the village became a regionally important rail hub, although at that time it was better known to rail travelers as Westboro. By the 1950s, however, the rail industry had shrunk significantly. The village of White River Junction, Vermont, across the Connecticut River, took most of the remaining services, and the rail service through West Lebanon was terminated. Today commerce has replaced transportation as the basis of the economy, and West Lebanon serves as the commercial hub for a United States micropolitan area of over 170,000 people.