Summary: The National Labor Relations Act

In 1947 it was revised to help better protect employees as well as employers. The revision stated that employees and managers must bargain “in good faith” with each other, and illegalized wild cat strikes, (refusing to work under a valid contract). These rights help employees as well as employers to be treated fairly. Forcing employees and employers to work together as a team can increase their understanding of where each side is coming from, as well as making it easier to compromise. The act also prevented businesses from becoming “closed shops,” (places where only union members were hired.) and prevented members from forcing others to join a union. Employees were also given the option to hold elections to certify and decertify unions. Employers were given the freedom to voice any concerns they had over unions so long as they did not interfere with the organization of unions. The revised act also gives the president the power to call off strikes in the event that it becomes a national emergency. A board may be hired to examine the situation of the strike so that the president may better understand why the situation has not been resolved. The president can then put an injunction on the strike; if a decision is not reached, the injunction can be extended.

This law is also known as the Wagner Act, named for Senator Robert F. Wagner, the man who championed it. In a nutshell this law protects employees’ rights to form and participate in labor unions. The book, Labor Relations: Striking a Balance identifies the central provisions of the Act. These provisions include the establishment of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) which answers representation questions and settles unfair labor practice claims. The act gives workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively. It identifies five unfair labor practices and “establishes exclusive representation for unions that have majority support and grants them rights of collective bargaining over wages, hours of employment and other conditions of employment” (Budd, 2010, pp. 119-121). The law also made it illegal for companies to fire employees for forming or joining unions and prohibited company managed unions.

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), also known as the Wagner Act, was enacted in Congress in 1935 and became one of the most important legacies of the New Deal. Prior to the passage of the NLRA, employers had been free to spy on, interrogate, discipline, discharge, and blacklist union members. Reversing years of federal opposition, the statute guaranteed the right of employees to organize labor unions, to engage in collective bargaining, and to take part in strikes. The act also created a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to arbitrate deadlocked labor-management disputes, guarantee democratic union elections, and penalize unfair labor practices by employers. The law applied to all employees involved in the interstate

Unions were formed to protect and improve the rights of workers. Their first order of business was to establish the eight-hour workday and in 1866, the national labor union was formed. Labor movements were around before 1866, but few organized up until this point. Unions created an environment for workers with difficult tasks, creating better pay, safer work conditions, and sanitary work conditions. Unions made life better for many Americans in the private sector. Collective bargaining became the way in which employers and a group of employees reached agreements, coming to a common consensus. From 1866 to the early 1900’s Unions continued to make headways increasing membership and power. The real gains started in 1933 after several pieces of legislature, which saved banks, plantations, and farmers. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) proposed an important, and controversial, amendment to the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933. It insisted that language from the pro-labor Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932 be added to the simple declaration of the right to collective bargaining. The setbacks the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) suffered in Little Steel and textiles in the latter half of 1937, and in Congress from 1938 to 1940, despite the gains made by the AFL, by 1940 the amendment had stalled. WWII created a rapid buildup within the industrial complex, creating more work for women and African Americans, overshadowing the union’s inability to project their power

In labor as in all things there is strength in numbers it is this strength that American labor unions provide. Labor unions provide a collective voice for those who had not previously been heard. As the professor in the “Frustrated Labor Historian” Dr. Horace P. Karastan is left with the dilemma what are the three most important events in American labor union history it would be difficult to choose with so many important moments. There are however several events that stand out as being turning points in giving employees unquestionable protections. The Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932 allowing employees the right to organize. Further the Wagner Act protecting employees from reprisal from employers for organizing spurring the growth of unionization. The Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 building on the Wagner Act as well as the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 which granted protections from the unions. It is these Acts that have changed the landscape of American labor union history and leave us with the unions that we have today.

All organizations are in business to make money, but there are rules that the employer and the employee must follow as well. Any influence that management and labor have over the organization should be equal. The “Landrum-Griffin Act also knows as the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.” Was passed in 1959 through U.S. Congress. This is the result of certain improper activities that was going on between labors, management, employers and certain union officials. Many of the officials in higher positions misused numerous labor funds as well as being involve in violent activities. This act regulated union affairs internally and also controlled the use of union funds.

Of the many laws and regulations that affect labor relations in the United States, few have had a greater impact than the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This law, passed in 1935, was designed to protect the rights of both employers and employees, while also discouraging certain workplace practices. But what did this law actually do, and how does it affect your company today? Our workforce specialists at Industrial Relations Consultants have your answers.

The National Labor Relations Act seeks to promote collective bargaining to resolve employer and employee concerns. Because many agreements between labor and management sometimes affect and/or restrain competition under the context of the Sherman Act of 1890, a

To help bring about congressional change, the National Labor Union was created in 1866 “to pressure Congress to make labor law reforms” (Library of Congress). It was composed of “national associations of unions” with “trade-printers, machinists, stone cutters” and others (American Federationist).

NLRA was considered to be the law that affected the relationship among the federal government and private enterprise; this measure considerably increased the government’s powers to arbitrate in labor relations. Prior to this law, employers had the emancipation to chastise, spy on, question for no reason and fire union members. Work stoppages commenced in the mid 1930’s (Gould, 1986), which included striking by factory and industrial occupational workers. By the time the strikes came to a halt, America had a more conservative Congress. This Congress led to balance the power between employers and unions. While the Wagner Act addressed only unfair labor practices by employers, it was added to the enactment of

The National Labor Union (NLU) was formed in 1866 by William H. Sylvis to help protect the working conditions of workers. The organization was formed in a convention in Baltimore, where skilled and unskilled labours, farmers, and reformers came together to pressure the Congress to pass laws to limit workday hours to eight hours. Furthermore, the organization not only helped workers, but fought for other rights such legislation banning prison labor, land reform laws to keep public holdings out of the hands of speculators, and national currency reform to raise farm prices.The NLU handled situations differently than all the other unions, the union would only improve the working conditions of workers through the process of the law rather than collective bargaining, which is a process of negotiation between representatives of workers and

Employees now had the right to strike, and the employer’s retaliatory powers were limited under the act’s unfair labor practice provisions. By legislating the recognition of employee representatives and protecting the right to strike, NLRB forced the employer to share the decision-making power with employees. Employers can’t decide Labor no longer depended on work stoppages to get to the bargaining table or on economic factors to determine its equality. (Carrell, 2010) Therefore, employers can’t change any agreement decision without negotiation with union representatives.

North Carolina is an at-will state, and this by no means gives any employer the right to act as they wish in the work place. Certain laws govern the workplace that have to be honored with each and every employee. One such law is the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This law was endorsed in July of 1935 and was modified by both the Taft-Hartley amendment in 1947, and Landrum Griffin amendments in 1959 (George Pozgar, 2012, p, 474). This law is responsible for stopping and relieving unfair labor practices by employers, their agents, and or organizations. The NLRA is independent of the Department of Labor, but entrusted to the National Relations Labor Board (NLB) (Pozgar, 2012, p. 474). To illustrate, in the setting of a hospital, there are two violations that would certainly grab the focus of the NRLA; discrimination against an employee who engages in union activity, and retaliation against an employees who file unfair labor practice charges. Furthermore, in the face of a strike certain rights of patients come into play to protect the patient and ensure they continue to receive quality care.

Individuals have been at work for thousands and thousands of years. Over the last century there have been many changes in the United States that protects workers in their positions and the duties they perform. There has been many changes for employers as well that protects companies and organization and offers beneficial information to keep them in compliance with changes and away from any from and form of discrimination. Over the last century there has been the organization of Unions (Bargaining Unit) in which are to protect workers in their positions, give them fair marketable pay and be the liaison between the employer and employee. Union organizations represent employees and negotiate contracts that

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) started in July 1935 to protect the rights of employees, rather, they be union or nor-union employees (Pozgar, 2012). The employees are protected under the Act or may employ in bubble-like, rigorous goings-on in situations other than the customary union organizations and cooperative bargaining. The National Labor Relations Board regulates the employers from interfering with the rights of the employees to implement or organize and join with a groups that offers assists with collective bargaining purposes like organization union or joining one (Pozgar, 2012). The employer may not restrain, coerce or stop employees