National Labor Relations Act

Definition of National Labor Relations Act

Further reading

The National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act (after its sponsor, New York Senator Robert F. Wagner) (Pub.L. 74-198, 49 Stat. 452, codified as amended at 29 U.S.C. § 151-169), is a 1935 United States federal law that limits the means with which employers may react to workers in the private sector who create labor unions, (also known as trade unions) engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in support of their demands. The Act does not apply to workers who are covered by the Railway Labor Act, agricultural employees, domestic employees, supervisors, federal, state or local government workers, independent contractors and some close relatives of individual employers.

Summary

President Roosevelt signed the legislation into law on July 5, 1935. It defined and prohibited five unfair labor practices. These prohibitions still exist, while others have been added under later legislation. The original employer unfair labor practices consisted of:

• Interfering with, restraining or coercing employees in their rights under Section 7. These rights include freedom of association, mutual aid or protection, self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively for wages and working conditions through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other protected concerted activities with or without a union. Section 8(a)(1)
• "Dominating" or interfering with the formation or administration of any labor organization . Section 8(a)(2)
• Discriminating against employees to encourage or discourage acts of support for a labor organization. 8(a)(3)
• Discriminating against employees who file charges or testify. 8(a)(4)
• Refusing to bargain collectively with the representative of the employer's employees. 8(a)(5)

The key principles of the NLRA are embodied in its concluding paragraph of section 1 including:

encouraging the practice and procedure of collective bargaining and by protecting the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment or other mutual aid or protection.

The key principles also include:

• Protecting a wide range of activities, whether a union is involved or not, in order to promote organization and collective bargaining.
• Protecting employees as a class and expressly not on the basis of a relationship with an employer. Sections 2(5) and 2(9).
• There can be only one exclusive bargaining representative for a unit of employees.
• Promotion of the practice and procedure of collective bargaining.
• Employers have a duty to bargain with the representative of its employees.

Enforcement

The National Labor Relations Board has two basic functions: overseeing the process by which employees decide whether to be represented by a labor organization and prosecuting violations. Those processes are initiated in the regional offices of the NLRB.

The National Labor Relations Act is enforced by the National Labor Relations Board and the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board.

The NLRB's website includes the text of manuals useful for those who are engaged in union organizing or in the practice of labor relations and law. These include Rules and Regulations.

The list of practice manuals whose text may be found on the NLRB Website include

• NLRB Casehandling Manual, Part 1, Unfair Labor Practice Proceedings
• NLRB Casehandling Manual, Part 2, Representation Proceedings
• NLRB Casehandling Manual, Part 3, Compliance Proceedings
• NLRB An Outline of Law and Procedure in Representation Cases
• NLRB Guide for Hearing Officers
• NLRB Bench Book
• NLRB Section 10(j) Manual (Redacted) (PDF*)
• NLRB FOIA Manual
• NLRB Style Manual
• Dos Idiomas -- Una Ley, Two Languages -- One Law (A Bilingual Guide)