The Taft-Hartley Act

When the Taft-Hartley Act was passed in 1947, collective bargaining in the United States bore little resemblance to the situation that prevailed when the NLRA was enacted in 1935. Union membership in 1935 was 3.5 million concentrated heavily in a few industries such as construction, mining, railroads and needle trades. Thirteen years later union membership stood at 14 million and the mass production industries of autos, steel, rubber and electrical equipment that had once been nearly devoid of unionism were solidly organized.

The success of organized labor set off a reaction among the American public. The public felt that the pendulum had swung too far. Where labor was once the underdog now it was too big and powerful. This sense of unease was heightened by a strike wave that hit the economy in 1946. In comparison presently the economy is not good. However, labor has not fared well with the assault on collective bargaining which is unprecedented by the state governments of Ohio, Wisconsin and New Jersey. Then in 1947 Congress enacted the Taft-Hartley Act alternatively described by its proponents as a way to restore the balance of power between management and labor and by its critics as a ‘slave labor’ law.

The Taft-Hartley Act did not repeal the Wagner Act, but it did amend the Wagner Act in some important ways. Maybe now is the right time to come with a new act to enhance the labor and collective bargaining.