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Unions in America: The Wagner Act & National Labor Relations Board

Before the rise of union power in the United States, labor relations were mostly directed by common law principles which made the working relationship "one of voluntary exchange contract between a willing employer and a willing employee."

But the common law concept of the employer/employee relationship began to lose force in the early twentieth century with the advance of the progressive movement. The arrival of World War I particularly spurred pro-union activity into action, with various pieces of legislation, such as the Clayton Act (1914) and President Woodrow Wilson's creation of the War Labor Board in 1917, whose purpose was to resolve "labor disputes without stopping production of things essential to the conduct of the war." The Board recognized the right of labor to union organization and collective bargaining.

Following the end of the war, the Board was dissolved (although Roosevelt re-established it in 1942), but rising incidence of labor-management disputes led to the passage of the Railway Labor Act (1926) in order to further collective bargaining rights as a way to reduce strikes and lockouts.

The rise of unemployment during the Great Depression put unions and workers’ rights front and center on the political stage. In 1932, the Norris-LaGuardia Act was enacted, allowing “Congress [to] declare … the policy of the United States to be that workers were free to join unions and bargain collectively.” The following year, President Franklin D. Roosevelt further advanced the state of labor unions by signing the National Industrial Recovery Act. In a short time, however, part of this act was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, which spurred calls for stronger measures to further union organization in the United States.

In response, Senator Robert F. Wagner began to advance legislation that would “provide … that employees, if they desire to do so, shall be free to organize for their mutual protection or benefit.” The result was the National Labor Relations Act, or the Wagner Act. The purpose of the Act was “to protect the rights of employees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining, and to curtail certain private sector labor and management practices, which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S. economy.” Specifically, the Act defined the following as "unfair labor practices" for an employer:

  • "to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights", i.e. the "right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection";
  • "to dominate or interfere with the formation or administration of any labor organization or contribute financial or other support to it";
  • "by discrimination in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization";
  • "to discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee because he has filed charges or given testimony under this Act";
  • "to refuse to bargain collectively with the representatives of his employees."

The Act also created a politically appointed board, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), to adjudicate labor disputes and enforce:

  • majority elections for union representation;
  • eligibility to vote in those elections;
  • NLRB-approved union members' exclusive hold on bargaining power on behalf of all employees in a unit;
  • employers' duty to bargain;
  • union pay rates for all employees regardless of union membership. 

President Roosevelt greeted the Act with much enthusiasm, declaring that it would “serve as an important step toward the achievement of just and peaceful labor relations in industry.” Against the expectations of some, this piece of New Deal legislation was not overturned by the Supreme Court, but was rather explicitly declared constitutional by the Supreme Court in National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp (1937) With the legality of the Wagner Act established, union membership began a rapid ascent.

Following World War II, increased labor strife, union violence, and corruption led to claims that the Wagner Act required amending. The Labor Management Relations Act, otherwise known as the Taft-Hartley Act, sought to accomplish this purpose by establishing “orderly and peaceful procedures for preventing the interference by either [employees or employers] with the legitimate rights of the other, ... to define and proscribe practices on the part of labor and management which affect commerce and are inimical to the general welfare, and to protect the rights of the public in connection with labor disputes affecting commerce.” The Act, however, met with decided opposition by President Harry Truman, who argued it “would reverse the basic direction of our national labor policy” and “would substantially increase strikes.” Truman vetoed the bill but was promptly overridden by Congress, allowing the bill to become law.

The Wagner Act was further amended in 1959 by the Landrum-Griffin Act. This Act recognized that some union tactics were getting out of hand, and as such, sought to “eliminate or prevent improper practices on the part of labor organizations, employers, labor relations consultants, and their officers and representatives which distort and defeat the policies of the Labor Management Relations Act.”

Meanwhile, in the years following the enactment of the Wagner Act, the National Labor Relations Board has become a forceful, albeit controversial, arbitrator of labor-management disputes. In fact, many of its cases went before the Supreme Court, some prominent examples being NLRB v. Babcock & Wilcox Co. (1956), NLRB v. Gissel Packing Co., Inc. (1969), First Nat'l Maintenance Corp. v. NLRB (1981), and Lechmere, Inc. v. NLRB (1992). Recently, the NLRB involved itself in another high profile dispute by filing a complaint against the Boeing airplane company for allegedly retaliating against union workers at its Washington facility by deciding to build a new plant in South Carolina, a right-to-work state.

In recent years, union membership in the private sector has been rapidly falling. Despite this fact, progressives continue to declare the immense need for organized labor, condemning libertarian and conservative attacks on unionization. At the same time, conservatives and libertarians argue that employers and employees should be free to make their own labor agreements without government, such as the NLRB, being an automatic third party to negotiations.

In light of their prominence in labor relations and union efforts, this topic explores the history of the Wagner Act and the National Labor Relations Board and examines how both have shaped American labor policy.

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"The National Labor Relations Board is in the news for meddling in Boeing’s decision to build some aircraft in South Carolina rather than in Washington state. To most economists, the idea that a small regulatory board in D.C. should try to centrally plan $1 billion of private business investment is crackers.

However, the vast bureaucratic state in D.C. was built by overactive left-wing...

"It may be a difficult case to prove, but the complaint filed last month by the National Labor Relations Board against Boeing is a welcome effort to defend workers’ right to collective bargaining."

"U.S. Rep. David Bonoir of Michigan left Congress a few years back after rising high in the Democratic leadership. Now he's the chairman of American Rights at Work, a new non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and promoting workers' rights to organize and collectively bargain. He tells Farai Chideya about his new job."

"President Barack Obama's National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is on a job-killing rampage. It's claiming unprecedented powers far beyond what federal law allows. Taken with Obama's other agencies, these executive actions paint a picture of what has become an imperial presidency.

A federal appeal is certain once NLRB's shocking attack on Boeing Co. goes through the administrative...

"The Taft-Hartley Act was a major revision of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (the Wagner Act) and represented the first major revision of a New Deal act passed by a post-war Congress."

"Of the enduring myths of economic history, few have hung on as tenaciously as the necessity and desirability of labor unions." Due to this fact, Robert Bidinotto praises Howard Dickman's book entitled Industrial Democracy in America. According to Bidinotto, the book "offers withering refutations of the historic, empirical, moral, legal, and economic arguments for compulsory...

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"In what may be the strongest signal yet of the new pro-labor orientation of the National Labor Relations Board under President Obama, the agency filed a complaint Wednesday seeking to force Boeing to bring an airplane production line back to its unionized facilities in Washington State instead of moving the work to a nonunion plant in South Carolina."

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This piece reports on a June 2011 hearing concerning the NLRB lawsuit against the Boeing company. According to Rob Bluey, "Boeing had already built its plant in South Carolina and hired workers when the NLRB sued to stop it. The NLRB’s action was viewed as retaliation against a right-to-work state in favor of heavily unionized Washington state."

"A federal agency wants to dictate exactly where businesses can create jobs.

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"Like all New Keynesians, I believe two things that are apparently contradictory:

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It only makes sense if you understand fallacies of composition. What is true of each part isn't necessarily true of the whole."

"Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin have become the target of a chilling email death threat.

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Chart or Graph

"Charges alleging Unfair Labor Practices are filed by individuals, unions or employers at NLRB regional offices, prompting an investigation by regional field examiners and attorneys. More than half of all charges are withdrawn or dismissed. In cases where an investigation finds probable merit, the majority settle by agreements between the parties. If no settlement can be reached, the Regional...

"The Board sets policy for the Agency primarily through adjudication. Members review cases on appeal from Administrative Law Judges and Regional Directors. This chart shows annual Board output in contested cases, separating Unfair Labor Practice cases (C Cases) from cases involving elections and questions of representation (R, UD, AC and UC Cases)."

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"Under Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act, the NLRB may seek temporary injunctions against employers and unions in federal courts to stop serious unfair labor practices while a case moves through the Board's process. The General Counsel must first obtain authorization from the Board before filing a petition for an injunction."

"Under Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act, the NLRB may seek temporary injunctions against employers and unions in federal courts to stop serious unfair labor practices while a case moves through the Board's process. The General Counsel must first obtain authorization from the Board before filing a petition for an injunction."

"Under Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act, the NLRB may seek temporary injunctions against employers and unions in federal courts to stop serious unfair labor practices while a case moves through the Board's process. The General Counsel must first obtain authorization from the Board before filing a petition for an injunction."

"In cases where employees are illegally fired for protected activity, the General Counsel often seeks an offer of reinstatement from the employer."

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This is not a coincidence: Unions directly cause these job losses. Employment falls between 5 percent and 10 percent when unions organize a...

"The number of union customers (i.e., dues-paying members) fell throughout the 1920s from a reported peak of 5 million in 1920 to fewer than 3 million in 1933. According to NBER figures, membership rose sharply to 7.2 million by 1940, then to 13.2 million by 1945, and 14.8 million by 1950. Figure 5-1 shows the pattern of membership from 1900 to 1951, a time span that includes the periods of...

"Clearly, the stylized facts of the post National Industrial Recovery Act and National Labor Relations Act of 1935 era are broadly consistent with the argument propounded by Rees. Thus, it seems appropriate to extend the earlier estimation of the deadweight economic losses associated with the existence of labor unions to encompass a more extended time period. This requires the developing of...

Analysis Report White Paper

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"Using a variety of statistical techniques, we conclude that labor unions have reduced U.S. output by significant amounts — trillions of dollars over time. Additionally, the employment-population ratio and the unemployment rate have been adversely affected by the presence of unions. From the very beginning, unionization materially lowered employment in the auto and steel industries, and union...

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"Present Federal law regulating labor-management relations is largely a product of the New Deal era of the 1930s. While Congress has acted to raise the Federal minimum wage and has considered labor law reform affecting both private and public employees, no major new labor laws have been passed over the past several decades."

"Since its inception, federal labor law has been understood as a means of introducing the principles of U.S. democracy into the workplace. Senator Robert F. Wagner, author of the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), explained the law’s core purpose. 'Only 150 years ago did this country cast off the shackles of political despotism,' Wagner declared. 'Today… we strive to liberate the common...

"This essay first outlines some basic principles of the common law of contract, property, and tort and explains what Norris-LaGuardia and the NLRA substituted for it. It then explains the ineffectiveness of the Taft-Hartley to ameliorate the worst excesses of Norris-LaGuardia and the NLRA despite its authors’ hopes. The third section discusses the phenomenon of government-sector unionism and...

"Under the Supreme Court's 1973 Enmons decision, vandalism, assault, even murder by union officials are exempt from federal anti-extortion law. As long as the violence is aimed at obtaining property for which the union can assert a 'lawful claim'--for example, wage or benefit increases--the violence is deemed to be in furtherance of 'legitimate' union objectives. By the Court’s peculiar logic...

"In a market economy, interactions between people take place within the context of voluntary exchange. The principal role for government in a market economy is to enforce the rules of voluntary exchange by protecting individual rights. That limited-government role allows for the largest degree of personal freedom, while also spurring economic growth and promoting general prosperity.

...

"Unions have a substantial impact on the compensation and work lives of both unionized and non-unionized workers. This report presents current data on unions' effect on wages, fringe benefits, total compensation, pay inequality, and workplace protections."

"Working people built America—its buildings, institutions, cultures and values. The history of work in this country helps us understand our social and economic status today and prepares us to navigate the economy and politics of the future."

"Lane Kirkland, the president of the AFL-CIO, recently claimed that the reason why labor unions are currently unpopular is 'for the same reason journalists are unpopular. We both assert our First Amendment rights.' In a 1984 monograph I argued that American labor unions enjoy more respectability than they deserve because most of the conventional wisdom regarding labor union history is in fact...

"The goal of labor laws is to equalize the bargaining power between employers and employees. The laws primarily deal with the relationship between employers and unions. Labor laws grant employees the right to unionize and allows employers and employees to engage in certain activities (e.g. strikes, picketing, seeking injunctions, lockouts) so as to have their demands fulfilled."

"Although labor unions have been celebrated in folk songs and stories as fearless champions of the downtrodden working man, this is not how economists see them. Economists who study unions—including some who are avowedly prounion—analyze them as cartels that raise wages above competitive levels by restricting the supply of labor to various firms and industries."

"During the 20th century, Congress passed a number of laws that affected the American
worker. Some laws provided a social safety net that protected workers against loss of
income due to unemployment, old age, or disability. Other laws protected workers’ rights to organize, bargain collectively, and be treated fairly by both their employers and union representatives. Separate laws...

"We estimate the effect of new unionization on the equity value of firms over the 1961-1999 period using a newly available sample of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) representation elections matched to stock market data. As in Dinardo and Lee (2004), the point estimates from a regression-discontinuity design – where we compare the stock market impact of close union election wins to close...

"In asserting that the Boeing Company is engaging in unfair labor practices by establishing a new aircraft assembly facility in South Carolina, a right-to-work state, instead of Washington State, which is heavily unionized, the National Labor Relations Board is twisting the law to benefit unions at the expense of the rule of law and the nation’s economy. The NLRB’s decision to issue a...

"From its inception in 1935, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) held out the promise that Americans may enjoy democratic rights in the workplace similar to those we count on as citizens. When the bill was passed, the U.S. Senate explained that its purpose was to guarantee rights to 'a worker in the field of industry' similar to those provided to 'a citizen in the field of government.'...

"Congress defined employee under the National Labor Relations Act to say that an employee is any employee and is not limited to employees of a single employer. It was the intent of Congress that worker rights and labor organizing was to extend beyond the scope of a single employer, because only in this way could the bargaining power of employers and employees be equalized. Only protections...

"What we have needed is a book that reconsiders the economic role of labor unions, and does so by challenging fundamental assumptions. Here it is, in Power and Privilege. Anyone who seeks a comprehensive treatment of the effects of labor unions, as well as the legal and economic reasons for those effects, would do well to read this book. Morgan Reynolds shows that unions prevent women and...

"In the early days of the American labor movement, numerous bloody confrontations between labor and management marred the workers' struggle for higher wages, shorter hours and safer working conditions. ... The passage of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act) ... in 1935 manifested the federal government's concern for labor peace and the concomitant reduction of industrial strife. ......

"Periodically the subject of criticism, the Act and the National Labor Relations Board today are again the target of strong attack. Nonetheless, while some changes may be necessary, the Act and the Board should be retained. Both have survived for over half a century, and it is now likely that their centennial will be celebrated rather than their demise. ...

While much of the recent...

"In this Article, we ask whether the National Labor Relations Act, enacted over 70 years ago, can remain relevant in a competitive economy where nonunion employer discretion is the dominant form of workplace governance. The best opportunity for the NLRA’s continued relevance is the modification of its language and interpretation to enhance worker voice and participation in the nonunion private...

"The classic from the great labor economist W.H. Hutt argues that it is not the strike but the strike threat that makes unions so incredibly costly to American prosperity. It hangs over unionized companies like the sword of Damocles, intimidating property owners into giving into demands at the expense of profitability.

'The strike is a form of warfare,' he writes, 'and the expectation...

"In 1930, W.H. Hutt demonstrated several spectacular points: labor unions cannot lift wages overall; their earnings come at the expense of the consumer; their effect is to cartelize business and reduce free competition to the detriment of everyone. He demonstrated these points with intricate logic that took on the main economic arguments for labor unions. In 1954,...

"This paper explores the relationship between economic performance and US unionism, focusing first on what we do and do not know based on empirical research handicapped by limited data on establishment and firm level collective bargaining coverage. Evidence on the relationship of unions with wages, productivity, profitability, investment, debt, employment growth, and business failures are all...

"The first section of this article covers the relationship between unions, the rule of law, and economic rents from the origin of the union movement through the changing patterns of the three phases of its growth cycle as measured by membership... The second section discusses this more recent, self-substituting union movement that grew from the change in union orientation away from private...

"CEOs of multinational corporations, exotic dancers, and children with lemonade stands have at least one thing in common. They all expect a return for their effort. Most workers get that return in a subtle and ever-changing combination of money wages and working conditions. This article describes how they changed for the typical U.S. worker during the twentieth century."

Video/Podcast/Media

This podcast gives an overview of the governmental policies and programs leading up to and through the Great Depression. The latter half of the program delves into details behind New Deal programs and initiatives such as the AAA and the Wagner Act.

"The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently filed a complaint against Boeing for allegedly retaliating against its workers in Washington state for exercising their statutory right to go on strike and collectively bargain. Since then, right-wing pundits and politicians, outraged by the complaint, have attempted to undermine the NLRB's authority. Jim DeMint, saying the NLRB 'smacks of a...

"Less than one in thirteen private sector workers belong to a labor union, and both businesses and unions believe that the National Labor Relations Act is no longer relevant to today's workers. Businesses argue that the NLRA's adversarial labor-management framework does not fit into modern workplaces, while labor organizations contend employer intimidation prevents workers from unionizing and...

This news clip reports on the disagreement between the NLRB and Boeing over a new Boeing plant in South Carolina. The complaint arose over the fact that South Carolina is a "right to work state" where Boeing would not have to deal with union workers.

"How labor unions engaged in political activism to combat corporate influence on the U.S. Congress in the years following World War II."

"Professor Hayek shares a subtle and sophisticated understanding on the real world dynamics of labor unions."

In this two-part lecture, Woods details the development of American labor unions' power. He addresses the role of the NLRB and various court decisions, effects on employer and employee freedoms, and some common myths about the need for unionization. Part 2 is available here.

"In response to a question, Professor Freidman discusses the line between persuasion and coercion."

This video discusses a hearing on the issue of the NLRB's suit against Boeing. The video goes on to describe Boeing's plans for its airline plant and the jobs which the plant will create for the people of South Carolina.

"Stephen Moore and Thea Lee debated the merits of public sector unions. In a mock trial, Ms. Lee, assisted by Professor Shoemaker, defended against a charge that public service employee unions have harmed the country. Mr. Moore prosecuted. They made opening and closing statements and examined witnesses. The jury found against Ms. Lee in a split decision. Jeffrey Verdon presided.

...

"When the Republicans took control of Congress in 1947, Taft focused on labor-management relations as Chair of the Senate Labor Committee. Decrying the effect of the Wagner Act in tilting the balance toward labor unions, he wrote the 1947 Taft--Hartley Act, which remains the basic labor law. It bans 'unfair' union practices, outlaws closed shops, and authorizes the President to seek federal...

"Until 1937, the Supreme Court confined its interpretation of the interstate commerce clause to transportation across state lines, such as railroads. As a result, it found much early New Deal regulatory legislation unconstitutional. This approach led to a confrontation with the Roosevelt administration. Roosevelt proposed 'packing' the Court with additional justices he could appoint beyond the...

This video documentary describes union violence during the 1970s and 1980s. According to the video's authors, "[c]ompulsory union violence [was] created by the 1935 Wagner Act ... [and] made the 'closed shop' a national law and gave union bosses mandatory powers only equaled by government powers to tax."

Primary Document

This case from 1935 marks one of the many times that the Supreme Court struck down New Deal legislation, this time dealing with the National Industrial Recovery act. The court ruled unanimously that the provisions of federal regulation authorized in this law were unconstitutional, as the Commerce Clause did not provide Congress with the power to regulate price and...

"Petitioner, operator of four shipyards, entered negotiations with the unions representing its employees for the purpose of securing a new agreement to replace the current contract, soon to expire. After a bargaining impasse was reached, petitioner temporarily closed down one yard and laid off employees at the others. The National Labor Relations Board found that the employer could not have...

Argued several years before the Wagner Act was even enacted, this case dealt with the issue of strikes and picketing in front of the American Steel Foundries in New Jersey. The American Steel Foundries alleged that the Tri-City Central Trades Council was "carrying on a conspiracy to prevent complainant from retaining and obtaining skilled laborers to operate its plant."

This economic classic is noted for providing us with terms for and expositions of such key economic ideas as the division of labor, "invisible hand," self-interest as a beneficial force, and freedom of trade.

"Members of a labor union, bent on unionizing a hosiery factory in which but a few of them were employed, forcibly, and in violation of civil and criminal laws of the State, took possession of the plant and held it during a protracted 'sit-down' strike, during which much of the machinery was willfully injured or destroyed and during which the business, largely interstate, was entirely...

In this speech, President Obama declared that he was a "prounion guy." In light of this, the President declared his support for labor and fair working practices, but he also declared that individuals should have the right to "look after ... [their] own interests" rather than join a union.

In a speech before a gathering of important AFL-CIO members, President Obama declared his support for unions and encouraged them to work together with the business industry. He also encouraged fair standards and practices for the labor movement.

In June of 2011, President Barack Obama hosted a press conference. One of the many issues he was asked about was the highly visible disagreement between the NLRB and the Boeing Company. The President refused to make a judgment call in the matter, but did say that "companies need to have the freedom to relocate. ... And if they're choosing to relocate here in the United States, that's a good...

"When negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement between petitioner employer and the union representing certain of its employees reached an impasse, some of the employees went out on strike, and petitioner then unilaterally granted a wage increase for employees who stayed on the job. Petitioner also advertised for and hired 'permanent' replacements for striking employees. Under...

"In its complaint, the labor board said that Boeing’s decision to transfer a second production line for its new 787 Dreamliner passenger plane to South Carolina was motivated by an unlawful desire to retaliate against union workers for their past strikes in Washington and to discourage future strikes." -...

A Supreme Court decision interpreting the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, Carter v. Carter Coal Co. ruled the Bituminous Coal Conservation Act unconstitutional and stated that labor boards haves powers over production, but not commerce.

"Section 8(a)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA), 49 Stat. 452, as amended, 29 U. S. C. § 158(a)(3), permits an employer and an exclusive bargaining representative to enter into an agreement requiring all employees in the bargaining unit to pay periodic union dues and initiation fees as a condition of continued employment, whether or not the employees otherwise wish to...

A statement by Dwight Eisenhower, released with a 1960 report that highlighted the effectiveness of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.

Eisenhower wrote, "It is indeed heartening to see how the provisions of this law are being utilized by America's working men and women to safeguard against the corruption and abuses of power it was designed to correct. While such...

"Established minimum wages, overtime pay, record keeping, and child labor standards for private sector and government workers."

"Must an employer, under its duty to bargain in good faith 'with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment,' §§ 8(d) and 8(a)(5) of the National Labor Relations Act (Act), as amended, 49 Stat. 452, 29 U.S.C. §§ 158(d) and 158(a)(5), negotiate with the certified representative of its employees over its decision to close a part of its business? In this case, the...

President Franklin Roosevelt's reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on the Wagner Act and the media's coverage to the ruling.

"There is hereby created in connection with the Department of Labor a board to be known as the National Labor Relations Board ....

The National Labor Board created by Executive Order of August 5, 1933, and continued by Executive Order No. 6511 of December 16, 1933, shall cease to exist on July 9, 1934 ....

The National Labor Relations Board shall have authority to conduct all...

"Whereas as a result of a conference of representatives of labor and industry which met at the call of the President on December 17, 1941, it has been agreed that for the duration of the war there shall be no strikes or lockouts, and that all labor disputes shall be settled by peaceful means, and that a National War Labor Board be established for the peaceful adjustment of such disputes:

...

"BY virtue of the authority vested in me under Tide I of the National Industrial Recovery Act approved June 16, 1933 (Public No. 67, 73d Congress), and in order to effectuate the purposes of said Act, it is hereby ordered as follows:

(1) The National Labor Board, created on August 5, 1933, to 'pass promptly on any case of hardship or dispute that may arise from interpretation or...

A letter from President Franklin Roosevelt dispelling the rumor that he was dissatisfied with the Wagner Act. Roosevelt wrote, "I wish to call to your attention the fact that I have no intention of appointing any commission to study the operation of the National Labor Relations Act."

A statement by President Franklin Roosevelt on the signing of the National Industrial Recovery Act.

Roosevelt said, in part, "History probably will record the National Industrial Recovery Act as the most important and far-reaching legislation ever enacted by the American Congress. It represents a supreme effort to stabilize for all time the many factors which make for the prosperity of...

In his Statement on Signing the National Labor Relations Act, President Franklin D. Roosevelt lauded the Act's promise. "A better relationship between labor and management is the high purpose of this Act. By assuring the employees the right of collective bargaining it fosters the development of the employment contract on a sound and equitable basis. By providing an orderly procedure for...

The National Labor Relations Board was preceded by the National Labor Board. President Roosevelt created the Board in 1933 in conjunction with the NIRA. This statement reveals Roosevelt's NLB appointees.

A statement by President Harry Truman, attached to the veto of the Taft-Hartley Labor Bill. The veto was overridden on June 23, 1947 and the Labor Management Relations Act passed into law.

"What is euphemistically called collective bargaining by union leaders and "pro-labor" legislation is of a quite different character. It is bargaining and the point of a gun. It is bargaining between an armed party, ready to use its weapons, and an unarmed party under duress. It is not a market transaction. It is a dictate forced upon the employer."

A message to Congress by President Jimmy Carter calling for labor law (specifically the National Labor Relations) reform. Carter said, "I have pledged to make Federal regulatory agencies more responsive to the people they serve. Government regulation only works well if it is fair, prompt and predictable. Too often this has not been the case with the regulatory process that governs collective...

This legislation was the first of two acts that have amended the National Labor Relations Act.
The Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act was the second act (after the Labor Management Relations Act) to amend the National Labor Relations Act.

"The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) guarantees employees 'the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, § 7, and makes it an unfair labor practice for an employer 'to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees' in the exercise of their § 7 rights, § 8(a)(1). Petitioner Lechmere, Inc., owns and operates a retail store located in a shopping plaza in a...

Composed and signed by a handful of Senate members, this letter urges President Obama to reject the NLRB's actions against the Boeing Company. The senators argue that the actions against Boeing by the President's own NLRB nominees clearly contradict the President's ambition to outperform the rest of the world in economic progress and job creation.

In a Labor Day statement, President Lyndon Johnson lauded the Wagner Act's role in America's economic triumphs. "America's record prosperity stands as a monument to labor's unflagging efforts to guarantee working men and women, and their families, their rightful stake in our national life.

It was not by mere accident that America's major thrust for social justice came after the Wagner...

The National Industrial Recovery Act of June 16, 1933 was a forerunner of the Wagner Act. Signed by President Franklin Roosevelt, the act was implemented by the National Recovery Administration and the Public Works Administration until it was ruled unconstitutional, in part, in May of 1935.

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT

cited NLRA or the Act; 29 U.S.C. §§ 151-169

[Title 29, Chapter 7, Subchapter II, United States Code]


FINDINGS AND POLICIES

1.[§151.] The denial by some employers of the right of employees to organize and the refusal by some employers to accept the procedure of...

Compiled to mark the 75th anniversary of the National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act), this piece gives a concise history of the events leading up to and following its passage. This collection also details the various pieces of labor-related legislation that preceded the Act.

"Respondents were members of a multiemployer bargaining group with a history of successful bargaining. After the union struck another member of the group, which continued operations using temporary replacements, respondents locked out their employees and utilized temporary replacements to continue business operations. The National Labor Relations Board found that, while the use of temporary...

National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation was a U.S. Supreme Court case that reversed the judgment of the Circuit Court of Appeals and ruled the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 constitutional.

"The Circuit Court of Appeals has jurisdiction to entertain a petition for rehearing, filed at the same term and in time under its rules, of a judgment denying an application of the National Labor Relations Board for enforcement of an order, and the three months within which a petitioner must apply to this Court for certiorari to review the decision in such case runs from the date of the order...

According to Oyez, the details surrounding this case concerned the following:

"The union representing employees at a New Process Steel plant in Butler, Indiana failed to reach an agreement over a new contract with New Process Steel. The union subsequently filed unfair labor practices claims with the...

"In the circumstances of these cases, the nondiscriminatory refusal of the employers to permit distribution of union literature by nonemployee union organizers on company-owned parking lots did not unreasonably impede their employees' right to self-organization in violation of § 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act, because the locations of the plants and of the living quarters of the...

"The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certified unions as bargaining agents for lay teachers in schools operated by respondents, which refused to recognize or bargain with the unions; the NLRB issued cease-and-desist orders against respondents, holding that it had properly assumed jurisdiction over the schools. Exercise of jurisdiction was asserted to be in line with its policy of...

The Supreme Court ruled in the affirmative for all of these questions. This signified a major victory in the progression towards "card check."

"In the course of holding that respondent company committed 'unfair labor practices' when it refused to interview or retain 11 job applicants because of their union membership, the National Labor Relations Board determined that all of the applicants were protected 'employee[s]' as that word is defined in the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. 152(3), even though they intended to try to...

A precursor to the National Labor Relations Act, the Norris-LaGuardia Act "curbed the power of the courts to issue injunctions or restraining orders against strikes, absent violence or fraud." Furthermore, "Congress declared the policy of the United States to be that workers were free to join unions and bargain collectively."

Pamphlets issued by opponents of the Labor Management Relations Act (also known as the Taft-Hartley Act). The pamphlet’s rhetoric included, "Common pickpockets are frowned upon in decent society. That's why it take [sic] something fancy, and even downright unreadable, like the Taft-Hartley law to make thievery appear respectable… But labor's house is built of bricks and won't blow in so easily...

This case emerged following a Pattern Makers strike in Rockford, Illinois and Beloit, Wisconsin. After several union members resigned during the strike and chose to go back to work, the union attempted to fine them. The NLRB declared that this was an unfair practice inconsistent with the law, a decision with which the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court agreed.

"The National War Labor Board was created as part of the war machinery of the country and it is passing out of existence as the need for war machinery is passing. Its existence has covered a term of barely 13 months, only one-half of which was a period of active hostilities. The War Labor Board served as a means of adjusting labor disputes without stopping production of things essential to the...

Addressing foreign labor leaders, President Richard Nixon said, "You have all heard of the American Revolution, of Washington and Jefferson and Lincoln, and many get the impression that it sprang full blown with a free trade union movement and all the other institutions that we now have in this country.

However, any student of American history knows that is not the case. There was no...

In a speech before a potentially hostile audience, President Ronald Reagan highlighted the similarities between himself and his unionized listeners. "Some people would have forgotten-except your president very graciously reminded you—that I am the first man to attain this high office who was formerly president of an AF of L-CIO union."

A photo of the author of Wagner Labor Act, Senator Robert E. Wagner, with the Act's administrator, NLRB Chairman J. Warren Madden, during a hearing before the Senate Judicial Subcommittee on January 27, 1938.

This document presents a speech by the initiator of the National Labor Relations Act. According to Senator Wagner, his bill "merely provides that employees, if they desire to do so, shall be free to organize for their mutual protection or benefit."

Over the decades, the Board has revised its rules periodically, looking for ways to achieve a broadly-shared goal: making the representation process work as well as possible.

"Mr. Chairman, Members of the House Committee on Education and Labor, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. My name is Bradley W. Kampas. I have actively participated in collective bargaining and labor contract administration for over 25 years. My experience includes negotiations on behalf of educational institutions, and I have negotiated in many first contract settings. While...

"My name is Clyde Summers, and I am Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law school. I have been asked to come here today by Chairman Boehner.

My limited purpose today is to provide some background on the Labor-Management Reporting Act of 1959, more commonly known as the Landrum-Griffin Act. I want to focus particularly on the fundamental premises and purposes of the...

"The Indiana State Building and Construction Trades Council and the Central Indiana Building and Construction Trades Council appreciate the opportunity to appear before this Subcommittee and express their views on one of the lawful, peaceful and effective means of Union organizing called 'salting.' This Union organizing tool is a highly successful method for labor unions to communicate with...

"The NLRB is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1935 to administer the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the primary law governing relations between unions and employers in the private sector. The statute guarantees the right of employees to organize and to bargain collectively with their employers, and to engage in other protected concerted activity with or without a...

"The labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce. Nothing contained in the antitrust laws shall be construed to forbid the existence and operation of labor, agricultural, or horticultural organizations, instituted for the purposes of mutual help, and not having capital stock or conducted for profit, or to forbid or restrain individual members of such organizations from...

In the early 1940s, Congressman Howard Smith pursued a variety of hearings on the issue of the National Labor Relations Board. This article from TIME Magazine depicts some of the sentiments over the hearings and the labor industry at that time.

"To revise, codify, and enact without substantive change certain general and permanent laws, related to public buildings, property, and works, as title 40, United States Code, 'Public Buildings, Property, and Works'."

According to the U.S. Justice Department, the Hobbs Act "prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce. Section 1951 also proscribes conspiracy to commit robbery or extortion without reference to the conspiracy statute at 18 U.S.C. § 371....

A precursor to the National Labor Relations Act, the Railway Labor Act sought "to avoid any interruption of interstate commerce by providing for the prompt disposition of disputes between carriers and their employees." It also "protects the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively."

"AN ACT To provide conditions for the purchase of supplies and the making of contracts by the United States, and for other purposes."

According to this Supreme Court decision, "The Hobbs Act, which makes it a federal crime to obstruct interstate commerce by robbery or extortion, does not reach the use of violence (which is readily punishable under state law) to achieve legitimate union objectives, such as higher wages in return for genuine services that the employer seeks."

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