Labor Unions and the Law

 

Department of Labor 1913:

            created to

                        “foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of the US”

                        improve their working conditions

                        advance their opportunities for profitable employment

            it gathers statistics and makes studies, publishes pamphlets and periodicals,

                        and enforces most federal labor law

 

Clayton Anti-Trust Act 1914:

            strengthened govt power against big business

            labor is NOT subject to anti-trust laws in legitimate union actions

            prohibited the use of federal injunctions unless “necessary to prevent

                        irreparable injury”

            guaranteed trial by jury for those accused of contempt of court for violating an

                        injunction

            many courts used the “irreparable injury” clause to issue injunctions

 

Norris-LaGuardia Act 1932:

            prohibited federal courts from granting injunctions against workers engaging in

                        strikes, boycotts, or peaceful picketing

            made yellow-dog contracts unenforceable (a contract that stipulated that you

                        would not join and did not belong to a union)

 

National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) 1933

            called for National Recovery Administration codes to be enforced

                        prohibiting child labor andset max hours and minimum wages

            guaranteed workers the right to “organize and bargain collectively through

                        representatives of their own choosing”

            many bosses formed company unions and forced workers to join them (they

                        were of course controlled by??? the boss)

            1935 the Supreme Court declared this act unconstitutional

 

Wagner (National Labor Relations) Act 1935

            replaced sections of the defunct NIRA

            prohibited employers in interstate commerce from committing unfair labor

            practices such as

                        interfering with labor’s right to organize

                        interfering in the operation of unions

                        using blacklists to deny jobs

                        hiring labor spies to secure confidential info from the union

                        organizing company unions

                        discriminating against union members

                        refusing to bargain collectively

            also created the National Labor Relations Board to oversee these conditions