Wagner Act Essay Research Paper Wagner Act

Wagner Act Essay, Research Paper

Wagner Act

What was the need for the Wagner Act? Before the WA, rights of workers

were protected by the National Industry Recovery Act of 1933. In 1935, the

Supreme Court declared the NIRA unconstitutional. By doing so, workers

lost their rights to join unions of their choice and to bargain collectively. In

1935 the unemployment rate was over 21% and more than 50% lived in

poverty as we measure it today. Large employers were said to have immense

control over their workers who had at best, one single place to work. Those

workers were paid less than their economic contribution measured by their

productivity. Before the WA, the federal government had refrained from

supporting collective bargaining over wages and working conditions and from

facilitating growth of trade unions. This new law marked a significant reversal

of this attitude. American Federation of Labor and CIO took advantage of

governmental encouragement by carrying out nationwide organizational

campaigns. What was the Wagner Act of 1935? The Wagner Act was

sponsored by Senator Robert f. Wagner, from New York. Passed in July

1935 with firm support from Franklin D. Roosevelt. The act is more

commonly known as the National Labor Relations Act. Some say the NLRA

is the single most important piece of labor legislation enacted in the 20th

century in the United States. The law governs the labor-management relations

of business firms engaged in interstate commerce. The general objective is to

guarantee employees the ?right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist

labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their

own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of

collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection? -New Deal

legislation designed to protect workers? right to unionization -implements the

national labor policy of assuring free choice and encouraging collective

bargaining as a means of maintaining industrial peace -Primary law governing

relations between unions and employers in the private sector -Established the

federal government as the regulator and ultimate arbitrator of labor relations.

It set up a permanent, three member National Labor Relations Board with

the power to protect the right of most workers(except agricultural,airlines,

railroads, and government) to organize unions of their own choosing and to

encourage collective bargaining. -gave NLRB power to order elections

whereby workers could choose which union they wanted to represent them.

-recognized employee rights to collective bargaining,to associate as a group

about hours, wages, and working conditions -guaranteed the right of workers

to form unions by majority vote and bargain as a unified group -allows

employees of certain companies to pick which union or person will negotiate

for them -employees may request the NLRB to figure out an election

between workers to choose a representative -prohibits employees from

interfering with union effort to bring them into unions. -specifies unfair labor

practices for employers -requires employers to bargain in good faith over

mandatory issues -employers have the right to negotiate with representatives

elected by the workers -prohibited anti-union tactics used by employers

-employers said Wagner act gave employees too much power–argued it

only allowed unions to force a business to hire only union members(which is a

closed shop) -prohibited employers from refusing to bargain with any such

union that had been certified by the NLRB as being the choice of a majority

of employees -Prohibited employers from engaging in such unfair labor

practices such as setting up a company union (formation of

company-dominated unions) and fire or discriminate against workers who

organized or joined unions. National Labor Relations Board… What is it?

What does it do? The National Labor Relations Board is an independent

federal agency created by Congress in 1935 to administer the national labor

relations act, the primary law governing relations between unions and

employers in the private sectors. Throughout the years, Congress has

amended the Act and the Board and courts have developed a body of law

drawn from the statute. -has two primary functions 1) to determine, through

secret ballot elections, the free democratic choice by employees whether they

wish top be represented by a union in dealing with their employers and if so,

by which union 2) to prevent and remedy unlawful acts(unfair labor practices)

by either employers or unions -processes only those charges of unfair labor

practices and petitions for employee elections that are filed with the NLRB in

one of its 52 regional, subregional, or resident offices. -has two major

separate components 1) the Board itself has 5 members and primarily acts as

a quasi-judicial body in deciding cases on the basis of formal records in

administrative proceedings. members are appointed by the president to 5

year terms, with senate consent, the term of one member expiring each year.

2) the General Counsel is appointed by the president to a 4 year term with

senate consent, is independent from the board and is responsible for the

investigation and prosecution of unfair labor practice cases and for the

general supervision of the NLRB field offices in the processing of cases.

(unfair labor practices… examples of… acts of interfernece,restraint, or

coercion upon employees with respect to \ right to organize and bargain

collectively; domination of or interference with the formation or administration

of any labor organization, or the contribution of financial or other support

thereto; discrimination in regard to hiring or dismissal of employees in order

to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organizations; refusal to

bargain collectively with the representative chosen by a majority of

employees in a bargaining unit deemed appropriate by the NLRB) How are

unfair labor practice cases processed? when a charge is filed, the appropriate

office conducts an investigation see whether there is reasonable cause that the

Act has been violated. It will be dismissed if the regional director thinks the

charge is lacking. A dismissal may be appealed to the General Counsel?s

office. if the regional director finds reasonable cause that a violation of the

Act has been committed, the region seeks a voluntary settlement to remedy

the violations. If this attempt fails, a formal complaint is filed and the case is

heard before an NLRB Administrative Law Judge. the judge issues a written

decision that is sent to the 5 member board for a final determination. The

board?s decision is subject to review in a US Court of Appeals.The General

Counsel?s goal is to complete investigations and, where further proceedings

are warranted, issue complaints if settlement is not reached within 7 to 15

weeks from the filing of the charge. Of the approximately 35,000 charges

filed each year, about one third are found to have merit of which over 90%

are settled. How has the Wagner Act helped or hurt? Current/future plans?

-number of organized workers rose from 3.5 million in 1935 to 15 million in

1947. -in 1995, over 600 lawyers working to pursue legal actions which

have the net effect of reducing job opportunities and raising unemployment

for American workers… these attorneys work for the NLRB, an increasingly

activist body that intervenes in labor disputes, often promoting cost-increasing

settlement that reduce employer incentives to hire workers. – live in a different

world today… in no year in the past half century has the unemployment rate

been half of what it was when the Wagner act was passes. poverty rate is

two thirds lower… proportions of Americans working in factory jobs has

fallen sharply. The share of labor force that was working in giant Fortune 500

corporations today is barely half of what it was 25 years ago. -with modern

transportation and new communication modes, everyone is very aware of

abundant job opportunities… most people do not work in a town where one

company dictates wages. -the whole rationale behind the Wagner act is

irrelevant in today?s world. the proportion of labor force in unions has fallen

from almost one-third in 1945 to under 15 percent today. The private sector

is even lower, but around half of union workers now are associated with the

government in some form. -the ?Law of Demand?… higher prices for labor

means employers will buy less of it. employers will substitute machines for

workers, reduce business volume, or switch productions to overseas to avoid

the higher labor costs. the Wagner act was designed to raise wages… it led to

a decline in the quantity of labor demanded, aggravating unemployment and

reducing job opportunities, while its impact on costs tended to raise prices to

consumers. -current Clinton administration is apparently trying to increase

union power by appointing activists to the NLRB, pressuring employers not

to hire replacement workers in strikes. the Clinton administration defends the

depression-era legislation that hinders job opportunities for Americans…

instead of adapting American labor law to meet the economic realities and

changing environment for the coming millennium. the time has come to repeal

the Wagner Act… Problems with the NLRA… small businesses are very

vulnerable when hit with frivolous charges of unfair labor. Often times it is the

result of a union organizing drive trying to financially squeeze the employer

into bowing into union demands. In such cases like this, the NLRB is no

longer the neutral arbitrator, but a union accomplice. (Congress is trying to

restore the desperately needed balance and fairness to the proceedings of the

NLRB, mainly for the benefit of small businesses. Some people were saying

that the NLRB was allowing its procedures to be abused by the unions to

inflict economic harm on small businesses and their employers. The acts were

the Truth in Employment Act– which would amend the NLRA to make clear

that an employer is not required to hire any person who seeks a job in order

to promote interests related to those of the employer, the Fair Access to

Indemnity and Reimbursement (FAIR) Act– amends the NLRA to

reimburse a small business or labor organization prevailing against an NLRB

action the attorney?s fees and expenses used to defend themselves (since

small employers cannot afford the qualified legal representation needed to

defend themselves), the Fair Hearing Act– , Justice on Time Act– would

shorten the often long delays in the processing of cases by the NLRB, would

be required to issue a decision within one year on all unfair labor practice

complaints in cases where it is alleged that an employer has discharged an

employee in an attempt to discourage or encourage union membership(at time

of passing, median time for processing of such cases is 546 days) The NLRA

is in major need of reevaluation and amending. It has not been amended in

over 40 years and unions are not as popular as they once were in the

1930?s… after W.W.II nearly 40% of the American workforce was

unionized and 90% of construction workers belonged to a trade union.

Today fewer than 1 in 8 belong to a union and 1 in 5 construction workers

belong to a trade union. Most union members now are of the semiskilled and

government workers. -pros of NLRA… gave employees to chance to

increase their economic power, decrease the economic power the employer

held. -cons of NLRA… employee involvement becomes difficult, teamwork is

difficult… with a union everyone must be treated the same and there is no

opportunity to reward for true merit.DataBase

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