Question

(a) What was the purpose of the Wagner Act? (b) What is the "NLRB" and what is its role in the economy?

Answer 1

a) The purpose of the Wagner Act was to establish the legal right of most workers to join labour unions and to bargain collectively with their employers. It also prohibited employers from engaging in unfair labour practices and it is the most important piece of labour legislation enacted in the United States in the 20th century.

b) The NLRB is an independent federal agency enforcing the National Labor Relations Act, which guarantees the right of most private sector employees to organize, to engage in group efforts to improve their wages and working conditions, to determine whether to have unions as their bargaining representative, to engage in collective bargaining, and to refrain from any of these activities.

Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA") in 1935 to protect the rights of employees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining, and to curtail certain private sector labor and management practices, which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S. economy.