US Laws Support Collective Bargaining

The Taft-Hartley Act, which can also be referred to as the labor management relations act was implemented in 1947 (Legal Dictionary, 2015). The purpose of this act was to resolve unfair labor practices that were being exercised in unions. This act served to act as an amendment to previous laws, which were established under the Wagner act of 1935. The changes that were included focused on prohibiting secondary boycotts, required equal treatment between independent and affiliated unions, and altered the conditions on collective bargaining which

As previously discussed from the textbook, the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 (known as Taft-Hartley Act) was an amendment to the Wagner Act of 1935. The Taft- Hartley Act was basically created to benefit the employer, the employee and the labor unions. When the Wagner Act of 1935 was created, it gave the rights to employees who only participated in union activities. The Wagner act protected the employees from being fired for joining the union. Whereas the Taft-Hartley Act protected the employees from losing their jobs for not joining a union.

One of the principal acts occurring during the 1980s and early 1990s as a result of Republicans stepping in and extending their authority over unions involved the NLRB saying that unions were no longer able to force an employer to bargain with them as long as it did not represent the largest part of the individuals within the company. This practically meant that unions were left with little to no power to act in some situations and employees simply had to accept laws that their managers imposed, regardless if they were justified or not. Matters were especially confusing because it had only been a few years since the NLRB

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.

The laws that were related was Wagner Act. It made the federal government the arbiter of employer-employee relations through the creation of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). This allowed rights for workers to organize and bargain collectively with their employees for the first time in history. This act would overturn the court decide that asserted the union labor violated an employee's. This was passed after the New Deal and had a major impact on the employee's

Union organizers were dismissed and union meetings forbidden as indicated by Fossum (2012) who writes that “employers used security forces to police the workforce, forcibly kept out organizers, or ferreted out internal union activists or sympathizers from the late 1800s to World War II” (p. 196).

The Taft-Hartley Act was passed in 1947 to protect the employee’s rights from the union and their unfair practices ("1947 Taft-Hartley Substantive Provisions | NLRB," n.d). The ACT changed the language of the Wagner ACT, to protect the employees who did not want to participate in union activities but they were required to become a member as one of the conditions when they were hired ("1947 Taft-Hartley Substantive Provisions | NLRB," n.d.). Another change made to protect the employees was stopping the union from overcharging the dues and fees. The amendment also noted that unions had an obligation to all members to bargain in good faith ("1947 Taft-Hartley Substantive Provisions | NLRB," n.d.).

Taft-hartley act is also known as the labor management relations act, it amended Wagnet to be able to address the concerns of employees. With this act, the new language was added in order to provide employers the ability to limit or stop employees from participating in union or mutual aid practices and events except that they could be required to become member in a union as a condition of their employment. The amendment additionally imposed on unions to bargain in good faith that the Wagnet act placed on employers. The act could prevent secondary boycotts, making it unlawful for a union that has a primary dispute with one employer to pressure a neutral employer to stop doing business with the first employer.

The Taft-Hartley Act (also known more properly as the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947) as issued to amend the Wagner Act of 1935 and discontinued parts of the Federal Anti-Injunction Act of 1932. This law helped to reinforce flaws that were in the Wagner Act. Where the Wagner Act had only spoken of the right to participate in union activities, the Taft-Hartley Act helped to fill in the gaps by allowing for the right to refrain from union activities.

Employers used coercion and intimidation while refusing to recognize unions. When a union was formed the employer would either lock-out, or hire scab workers. Police and military were often called in by employers to intervene.

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.

In 1935, New York Senator Robert F. Wagner introduced the National Labor Relations Act (also known as the Wagner Act). This Act provided workers with more federal protection, and provided a crucial enforcement mechanism. Things started to turn in the other direction in 1947, when the Labor-Management Relations Act was passed (also known as the Taft-Hartley Act). This was an attack on the Wagner Act, and it made it illegal for there to be a workplace in which no one can be hired without first being a member of a union. The Taft-Hartley act also gave the president the power to call for a cooling off period before a strike by declaring an injunction against work stoppage that put the nation in any sort of harm or danger.

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 Wagner Act had great impact on industrial relations as the first part of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. The National Labor Relations Act was created out of the necessity and demand for new foundations of authority and new forms of participation in the political dimension and legalization of industrial life (Selznick & Nonet, 1983). This statement supports the idea that people are the key to industry and they must be recognized and respected. Carrell & Heavrin states that the entire thrust of the Wagner Act was to protect employees from employers and to establish a balance of bargaining power between the two (2013, p. 63). Some of these protections included preventing employers from setting up a company union and punishing or firing employees who organized or joined unions. Industry must also have clear boundaries that control the behavior of employers and employees in an industrial environment. In addition to giving employees the right to organize, the Wagner Act required employers to meet and negotiate with their employees. By allowing for strikes, the

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