Labor Laws and Unionization

In the following assignment you will analyze how some federal and state labor laws were reformed during the Great Depression. The Great Depression began on October 29, 1929 on a day known as “Black Tuesday”. Banks failed, companies went bankrupt and workers lost their jobs in droves. In 1933 President Franklin Roosevelt took office and quickly began to try and stabilize the economy. He began a series of programs which are known collectively as the New Deal. Union labor became an important focus of the New Deal and as such, the National Labor Relations Act, also known as the Wagner Act created a board to supervise union elections and supported unionization of the workforce in order to prevent businesses from treating their workers unfairly.

In Part 1 of our assignment we will see how courts began to support unions and create laws which protected the unionization process within the employment environment. In Part 2 of our assignment, we will examine how unions went into a slow decline after World War II. We will analyze the Taft Hartley Act which made major changes to the Wagner Act after World War II.

Using appropriate resources, address the following in a 3-4 page APA paper:

  • Part 1: Explain the significance of the case National Labor Relations Board v Jones and Laughlin Steel Corp. State the Facts, Issue, Court Analysis and Conclusion. What impact did this case have on labor unions and how did the case help to support the New Deal economic legislation?
  • Part 2: Explain the significance of the Taft Hartley Act. How did this Act affect unionization post World War II?
  • Use a minimum of 3 credible sources such as scholarly journal articles. Be sure to cite your resources and include an APA formatted title page and reference page.





Solution Preview

In the case of the national labor relations board, V. Jones and Laughlin Steel Corp. 301 U.S. (1937) the board had establishes laws that were comprehensive regarding labor. The board, therefore, sued the defendants Jones and Laughlin for violating these laws as they had fired an employee. The board had power as the rule of law stated that any acts that were in violation of law either directly or indirectly could be dealt with by the Congress.


The act enacted by the Congress had created the board which comes up with a comprehensive set of laws that was to govern and regulate labor relations.

(1,175 words)

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