The National Labor Relations Act of 1935,also known as the Wagner Act,is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions,engage in collective bargaining,and take collective action such as strikes. Central to the act was a ban on company unions. The act was written by Senator Robert F. Wagner,passed by the 74th United States Congress,and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935,the NLRB has the authority to supervise elections for labor union representation and to investigate and remedy unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of protected concerted activity.
Graduate student employee unionization,or academic student employee unionization,refers to labor unions that represent students who are employed by their college or university to teach classes,conduct research and perform clerical duties. As of 2014,there were at least 33 US graduate employee unions,18 unrecognized unions in the United States,and 23 graduate employee unions in Canada. By 2019,it is estimated that there were 83,050 unionized student employees in certified bargaining units in the United States. As of 2023,there were at least 156 US graduate student employee unions and 23 graduate student employee unions in Canada.
NLRB v. Hearst Publications,322 U.S. 111 (1944),was an administrative law case heard before the United States Supreme Court. The case concerned the meaning of the term "employees" in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
NLRB v. J. Weingarten,Inc.,420 U.S. 251 (1975),is a United States labor law case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. It held that employees in unionized workplaces have the right under the National Labor Relations Act to the presence of a union steward during any management inquiry that the employee reasonably believes may result in discipline.
The Blue Eagle at Work:Reclaiming Democratic Rights in the American Workplace is a legal treatise written by Charles J. Morris which analyzes collective bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA),the federal statute governing most private sector labor relations in the United States. Published in 2005 by Cornell University Press,the text claims that the NLRA guarantees that employees under that Act have the right to bargain collectively through minority unions—but only on a members-only basis—in workplaces where there is not an established majority union,notwithstanding that the present practice and general understanding of the law is that only majority-union employees are entitled to engage in collective bargaining on an exclusivity basis. Contracts resulting from such minority-union bargaining would apply to union members only,not to other employees.
NLRB v. Truck Drivers Local 449, 353 U.S. 87 (1957),is an 8-0 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held that a temporary lockout by a multi-employer bargaining group threatened by a whipsaw strike was lawful under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA),as amended by the Taft-Hartley Act.
NLRB v. Mackay Radio &Telegraph Co.,304 U.S. 333 (1938),is a United States labor law case of the Supreme Court of the United States which held that workers who strike remain employees for the purposes of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The Court granted the relief sought by the National Labor Relations Board,which sought to have the workers reinstated by the employer. However,the decision is much better known today for its obiter dicta in which the Court said that an employer may hire strikebreakers and is not bound to discharge any of them if or when the strike ends.
Hoffman Plastic Compounds,Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board,535 U.S. 137 (2002),is a United States labor law decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States denied an award of back pay to an undocumented worker,JoséCastro,who had been laid off for participating in a union organizing campaign at Hoffman Plastics Compounds plant,along with several other employees. The case was originally filed against Hoffman by Dionisio Gonzalez,an organizer with the United Steelworkers.
Paul M. Herzog was an American lawyer,educator,civil servant,and university administrator. He was chairman of the United States National Labor Relations Board from 1945 to 1953.
Communications Workers of America v. Beck,487 U.S. 735 (1988),is a decision by the United States Supreme Court which held that,in a union security agreement,unions are authorized by statute to collect from non-members only those fees and dues necessary to perform its duties as a collective bargaining representative. The rights identified by the Court in Communications Workers of America v. Beck have since come to be known as "Beck rights," and defining what Beck rights are and how a union must fulfill its duties regarding them is an active area of modern United States labor law.
Joseph Warren Madden was an American lawyer,judge,civil servant,and educator. He served as a judge of the United States Court of Claims and was the first Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. He received the Medal of Freedom in 1947.
National Labor Relations Board v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corporation,306 U.S. 240 (1939),is a United States Supreme Court case on labor laws in which the Court held that the National Labor Relations Board had no authority to order an employer to reinstate workers fired after a sit-down strike,even if the employer's illegal actions triggered that strike.
NLRB v. Columbian Enameling &Stamping Co.,306 U.S. 292 (1939),is a US labor law case where the US Supreme Court held 5-to-2 that the National Labor Relations Act required decisions of the National Labor Relations Board (Board) to be based on substantial evidence. The Supreme Court overturned a ruling of the Board for not being based on substantial evidence. The Court also held that only the representative of the workers could issue collective bargaining proposals under the law,and that proposals transmitted by a third party did not trigger the Act's protections or duties.
National Labor Relations Board v. Sands Manufacturing Co.,306 U.S. 332 (1939),is United States labor law case,decided by a majority of 5 to 2 by the Supreme Court of the United States,which overturned a decision by the National Labor Relations Board because it was not supported by substantial evidence. The Court defined collective bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act to mean that proposals and responses to proposals were pending,and that future meetings were being planned. Absent such conditions,bargaining was not occurring. The Court also held that an employer did not violate the Act if it chose to deal with the employees on an individual basis.
Guy Otto Farmer was an American lawyer and civil servant. He was Chairman of the United States National Labor Relations Board from July 1953 to August 1955. After leaving government service,he represented the Bituminous Coal Operators Association,the collective bargaining arm of the bituminous coal mining industry in the United States.
Marvin Elliot Kaplan is an American lawyer and government official who is a member and former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. Prior to assuming his current role,he was the chief counsel of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. In June 2017,President Donald Trump nominated Kaplan to be a member of the NLRB for a term expiring on August 27,2020. He was confirmed by the Senate on August 2,2017,by a vote of 50–48. On March 2,2020,Trump announced that he would renominate Kaplan for a second five-year term expiring on August 27,2025. On July 29,2020,Kaplan was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 52–46,thereby keeping the NLRB in solid Republican control.
Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis,584 U.S. ___ (2018),was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States on how two federal laws,the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA),relate to whether employment contracts can legally bar employees from collective arbitration. The Supreme Court had consolidated three cases,Epic Systems Corp. v Lewis,Ernst &Young LLP v. Morris (16-300),and National Labor Relations Board v. Murphy Oil USA,Inc. (16-307). In a 5–4 decision issued in May 2018,the Court ruled that arbitration agreements requiring individual arbitration and prohibiting class action lawsuits are enforceable under the FAA,regardless of allowances set out within the NLRA.
Peter Barr Robb is an American lawyer who was the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). He was appointed to the position by President Donald Trump. He was fired by President Joe Biden on January 20,2021,after he refused to resign. Both in and out of government,Robb has advanced pro-business and anti-labor causes.
John F. Ring is a corporate lawyer and former government official. Ring was a member of the National Labor Relations Board from 2018 to 2022,serving as chair from 2018 to 2021. He was formerly co-chair of the labor and employment law practice at Morgan,Lewis &Bockius,a pro-management law firm,where his practice included representing employers in collective bargaining,labor contracts,multi-employer benefit funds,and corporate restructurings.
