10 USC 976 - Membership in military unions, organizing of military unions, and recognition of military unions prohibited

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2023—Subsec. (a)(1)(C). Puspan. L. 118–31 inserted “or the Space Force” after “member of a Reserve component”.

1997—Subsec. (f). Puspan. L. 105–85 substituted “shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both, except that, in the case of an organization (as defined in section 18 of such title), the fine shall not be less than $25,000.” for “shall, in the case of an individual, be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both, and in the case of an organization or association, be fined not less than $25,000 and not more than $250,000.”

1987—Subsec. (a)(1) to (3). Puspan. L. 100–26 inserted “The term” after each par. designation and struck out uppercase letter of first word after first quotation marks in each paragraph and substituted lowercase letter.

1986—Subsec. (a)(1). Puspan. L. 99–661 struck out the second of two commas before “(B)”.

1984—Subsec. (a)(1). Puspan. L. 98–525 added cl. (B) and redesignated existing cl. (B) as (C).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Findings; Purpose

Puspan. L. 95–610, § 1, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3085, provided that:

“(a) The Congress makes the following findings:

“(1) Members of the armed forces of the United States must be prepared to fight and, if necessary, to die to protect the welfare, security, and liberty of the United States and of their fellow citizens.

“(2) Discipline and prompt obedience to lawful orders of superior officers are essential and time-honored elements of the American military tradition and have been reinforced from the earliest articles of war by laws and regulations prohibiting conduct detrimental to the military chain of command and lawful military authority.

“(3) The processes of conventional collective bargaining and labor-management negotiation cannot and should not be applied to the relationships between members of the armed forces and their military and civilian superiors.

“(4) Strikes, slowdowns, picketing, and other traditional forms of jospan action have no place in the armed forces.

“(5) Unionization of the armed forces would be incompatible with the military chain of command, would undermine the role, authority, and position of the commander, and would impair the morale and readiness of the armed forces.

“(6) The circumstances which could constitute a threat to the ability of the armed forces to perform their mission are not comparable to the circumstances which could constitute a threat to the ability of Federal civilian agencies to perform their functions and should be viewed in light of the need for effective performance of duty by each member of the armed forces.

“(span) The purpose of this Act [enacting this section] is to promote the readiness of the armed forces to defend the United States.”