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.
An unfair labor practice (ULP) in United States labor law refers to certain actions taken by employers or unions that violate the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 29 U.S.C. § 151–169 and other legislation. Such acts are investigated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
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).
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.
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.
New Process Steel,L.P. v. NLRB,560 U.S. 674 (2010),is a U.S. labor law case of the United States Supreme Court holding that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) cannot make decisions without at least three members on a panel.
The Labor Reform Act of 1977 was a proposed legislative act that would have amended the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The bill was introduced as H.R. 8410 in the U.S. House of Representatives and after passing through the House,it entered the U.S. Senate as S. 2467. In the Senate,the Act underwent amendments before failing to pass by a mere two votes.
Harry Alvin Millis was an American civil servant,economist,and educator and who was prominent in the first four decades of the 20th century. He was a prominent educator,and his writings on labor relations were described at his death by several prominent economists as "landmarks". Millis is best known for serving on the "first" National Labor Relations Board,an executive-branch agency which had no statutory authority. He was also the second chairman of the "second" National Labor Relations Board,where he initiated a number of procedural improvements and helped stabilize the Board's enforcement of American labor law.
John Cushman Truesdale Jr. was an American lawyer and civil servant who served two terms as executive secretary of the National Labor Relations Board,four terms as a board member,and one term as board chair.
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.
NLRB v. SW General,Inc.,580 U.S. ___ (2017),was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a person who has been nominated by the President of the United States for a position cannot hold the same job on an acting basis while awaiting Senate confirmation.
William Emanuel is an American lawyer and government official who formerly served as a member of the National Labor Relations Board. Prior to assuming that role,he was a shareholder at the law firm Littler Mendelson.
Philip Andrew Miscimarra is a partner in the labor and employment practice of Morgan,Lewis &Bockius LLP,and he is a former American government official who served as the chairman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). He first joined the NLRB as a board member appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013,and he was named chairman by President Donald J. Trump in 2017. Prior to his appointment to the NLRB,he worked as a Morgan Lewis partner in Chicago. After his service on the NLRB ended,Miscimarra joined Morgan Lewis in Washington,D.C.,and Chicago. Miscimarra is also a senior fellow in the Wharton Center for human resources at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
John F. Ring is a corporate lawyer and a former United States government official. He was a member of the National Labor Relations Board from 2018 to 2022,and was its 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.
Lauren McFerran is an American lawyer and government official who is a member and chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. She is one of three Democrats currently serving on the board. Prior to serving on the board,she worked as a law clerk,in private practice,and as a labor lawyer for the Senate Committee on Health,Education,Labor,and Pensions.
