Taft-Hartley Act

What Is the Taft-Hartley Act?

The Taft-Hartley Act is a 1947 U.S. federal law that extended and modified the 1935 Wagner Act. It prohibits certain union practices and requires disclosure of certain financial and political activities by unions. The bill was initially vetoed by President Truman, however Congress superseded the veto.

Understanding the Taft-Hartley Act

The Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA), regularly known as the Taft-Hartley Act, amended the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), or Wagner Act. Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, abrogating President Harry Truman's veto.

Union pundits at the time called it the "slave-labor bill," however the Republican-controlled Congress — energized by the business entryway — considered it to be important to counter union maltreatments, to end a string of enormous scope strikes that broke out after the finish of World War II, and to stifle Communist influence in the labor movement.

The Taft-Hartley Act, similar to the Wagner Act before it, doesn't cover domestic assistance or farmworkers.

The Taft-Hartley Act Key Amendments and Changes

Taft-Hartley framed six unfair practices by labor unions and provided cures, as amendments, for protecting employees from hurt coming about because of these practices.

Beforehand the Wagner Act had just tended to unfair labor practices executed by employers. In 1947, President Harry Truman amended parts of the NLRA when he passed the Taft-Hartley Act. This Act made current right-to-work laws, which permit states to prohibit compulsory enrollment in a union as a condition for employment in the public and private sectors of the country.

1. One amendment protected employees' rights under Section 7 of the Wagner Act, giving them the right to form unions and participate in collective bargaining with employers. This amendment protected employees from unfair pressure by unions that could bring about discrimination against employees.
2. A subsequent amendment said that an employer can't decline to hire prospective employees since they won't join a union. Nonetheless, an employer has the option to consent to an arrangement with a union that requires an employee to join the union at the latest the employee's 30th day of employment.
3. A third amendment stipulated that unions have a requirement to bargain sincerely with employers. This amendment balanced the provisions of the Wagner Act, which required entirely pure intentions bargaining by employers.
4. A fourth amendment prohibited secondary blacklists by unions. For instance, in the event that a union has a dispute with an employer, the union can't, under the law, pressure or desire one more entity to stop working with that employer.
5. A fifth amendment prohibited unions from exploiting their individuals or employers. Unions were prohibited from charging their individuals inordinate commencement fees or enrollment duty. Additionally, unions were prohibited from making employers pay for work that its individuals didn't perform.
6. A 6th amendment added a free discourse clause for employers. Employers reserve the privilege to express their perspectives and sentiments about labor issues, and these perspectives don't comprise unfair labor practices, provided the employer isn't taking steps to withhold benefits or participate in other retaliation against employees.

In February 2021, Congress once again introduced the National Right to Work Act, giving employees cross country a decision to opt out of joining or paying contribution to unions. The Act was additionally presented in 2019 and 2017 yet stalled.

In March 2021, the United States House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act). The pro-union legislation supersedes right-to-work laws and would make it simpler to form unions. The PRO Act faces a daunting task in the Senate, as most Republicans go against it.

The accompanying states have right-to-work laws: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Changes to Union Elections

The Taft-Hartley Act additionally made changes to union election rules. These changes excluded supervisors from bargaining gatherings and gave special treatment to certain professional employees.

The Taft-Hartley Act likewise made four new types of elections. One gave employers the right to vote on union requests. The other three gave employees the right to hold elections on the situation with incumbent unions, to decide if a union has the power to go into agreements for employees, and to pull out union representation after it's conceded. In 1951, Congress revoked the provisions administering union shop elections.

Features

• This act is otherwise called the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) and is an amendment to the 1935 Wagner Act.
• The Taft-Hartley Act has had six amendments including later updates to right-to-work laws.
• The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 prohibits certain union practices and expects that they uncover their financial and political activities.