In 2009, more than 15 million American workers belonged to unions.
"You can't do it unless you organize." These famous words of renowned American labor leader Samuel Gompers were spoken long before the first collective bargaining law was enacted in the United States. The three major labor laws affecting American workers are the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959. Finding information on these laws is as simple as a quick Internet search or a trip to the library.
Instructions
1. Research the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935. This is the landmark federal law supporting collective bargaining in America. Endorsed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the law made it legal to form unions and engage in collective bargaining. It also gave broad powers to the government to regulate labor relations; and it prohibited employers from penalizing workers for exercising their collective bargaining rights. Before the law was enacted, Americans had the right to join unions and strike. But American businesses also had the right to fire workers for joining unions or striking. An Internet search will reveal numerous resources describing the NLRA and analyzing its effects. You may also want to search for it as the Wagner Act, its informal name based on U.S. Sen. Robert F. Wagner who sponsored the bill.
2. Read up on the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, also known as the Labor-Management Relations Act. After 12 years of the Wagner Act, business fought back with the Taft-Hartley Act. Reviled by labor leaders and vetoed by President Harry Truman, the act amended the Labor-Management Relations Act by providing the government far more oversight over union activities, including the right of the U.S. president to stop a strike if it was deemed dangerous to national health. The act also stripped unions of their power in several ways, including forbidding unions from contributing to political campaigns and only allowing unions to organize after a majority vote by employees.
3. Research how the corruption of the labor unions led to President Dwight Eisenhower signing into law the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act in 1959. Also called the Landrum-Griffin Act, this law amended the Taft-Hartley Act to protect the rights of union members within their union and imposed new reporting requirements and codes of conduct on unions and employers.
