National Labor Relations Act [1935]

SECTION 1. The denial by employers of the right of employees to organize and the refusal by employers to accept the procedure of collective bargaining lead to strikes and other forms of industrial strife or unrest, which have the intent or the necessary effect of burdening or obstructing commerce by (a) impairing the efficiency, safety, or operation of the instrumentalities of commerce
(b) occurring in the current of commerce, (c) materially affecting, restraining, or controlling the flow of raw materials or manufactured or processed goods from or into the channels of commerce, or the prices of such materials or goods in commerce; or (d) causing diminution of employment and wages in such volume as substantially to impair or disrupt the market for goods flowing from or into the channels of commerce.

The inequality of bargaining power between employees who do not possess full freedom of association or actual liberty of contract, and employers who are organized in the corporate or other forms of ownership association substantially burdens and affects the flow of commerce, and tends to aggravate recurrent business depressions, by depressing wage rates and the purchasing power of wage earners in industry and by preventing the stabilization of competitive wage rates and working conditions within and between industries.
Experience has proved that protection by law of the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively safeguards commerce from injury, impairment, or interruption, and promotes the flow of commerce by removing certain recognized sources of industrial strife and unrest, by encouraging practices fundamental to the friendly adjustment of industrial disputes arising out of differences as to wages, hours, or other working conditions, and by restoring equality of bargaining power between employers and employees.
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States to eliminate the causes of certain substantial obstructions to the free flow of commerce and to mitigate and eliminate these obstructions when they have occurred by 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.

SEC. 2. When used in this

Act—
(I) The term "person" includes one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, corporations, legal representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, or receivers.
(2) The term "employer" includes any person acting in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, but shall not include the United States, or any State or political subdivision thereof, or any person subject to the Railway Labor Act, as amended from time to time, or any labor organization (other than when acting as an employer), or anyone acting in the capacity of officer or agent : of such labor organization.
(3) The term "employee" shall include any employee, and shall not be limited to it the employees of a particular employer, unless the Act explicitly states otherwise, and
shall include any individual whose work has inceased as a consequence of, or in connection with, any current labor dispute or because of any unfair labor practice, and who has not obtained any other regular and substantially equivalent employment, but shall not include any individual employed as an agricultural
laborer or in the domestic service of any family or person at his home, or any individual: employed by his parent or spouse....
(5) The term"labor organization" means
any organization of any kind, or any agency or employee representation committee or , in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part. of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work.
(6) The term "commerce" means trade, traffic, commerce, transportation, or comunication among the several States, . . .
(7) The term "affecting commerce" means
commerce, or burdening or obstructing commerce
or the free flow of commerce, or having led or tending to lead to a labor
te burdening or obstructing commerce or the free flow commerce....
(9) The term "labor dispute" includes any controversey
concerning terms, tenure or conditions of employment, or concerning the assocation
or representation of persons in negoating fixing, maintaining, changing, or
gotiating to arrange terms or conditions of employment, regardless of whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of
employer and employee....

RATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD

. 3. (a) There is hereby created a to be known as the "National Labor ons Board," which shall be composed of three members, who shall be appointed by resident. by and with the advice and theof the Senate. One of the original members shall be appointed for a term of one for a term of three years, and one for a term of five years, but their successors shall be appointed for terms of five years each, except that any individual chosen to fill a vacancy shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of the member whom shall succeed. The President shall designate one member to serve as chairman loard. Any member of the Board may be removed by the President, upon notice and hearing , for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause.... Sec 4. (a) Each member of the Board Live a salary of $10,000 a year, shall be eligable for reappointment, and shall not engage in any other business, vocation, or employment.... The Board may establish or utilize such regional, local, or other agencies, and utilize such voluntary and uncompensated services, as may from time to time be needed....

SEC. 6. (a) The Board shall have authority from time to time to make, amend, and rescind such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. Such rules and regulations shall be effective upon publication in the manner which the Board shall prescribe.

RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES

SEC. 7. Employees shall have the tight of self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities, for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.

SEC. 8. It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer—
(1) To interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 7.
(2) To dominate or interfere with the formation or administration of any labor organization or contribute financial or other support to it: Provided, That subject to rules and regulations made and published by the Board pursuant to section of (a), an employer shall not be prohibited from permitting employees to confer with him during working hours without loss of time or pay.
(3) By discrimination in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization: Provided, That nothing in this Act, or in the National Industrial Recovery Act (U. S. C., Supp. Vll, title 15, secs. 701712), as amended from time to time, or in any code or agreement approved or prescribed thereunder, or in any other statute of the United States, shall preclude an employer from making an agreement with a labor organization (not established, maintained, or assisted by any action defined in this Act as an unfair labor practice) to require as a condition of employment membership therein, if such labor organization is the representative of the employees as pro
vided in section 9 (a), in the appropriate collective bargaining unit covered by such agreement when made.
(4) To discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee because he has filed charges or given testimony under this Act.
(5) To refuse to bargain collectively with the representatives of his employees, subject to the provisions of Section 9 (a).

REPRESENTATIVES AND ELECTIONS

SEC. 9. (a) Representatives designated or selected for the purposes of collective bargaining by the majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for such purposes, shall be the exclusive representatives of all the employees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, or other conditions of employment: Provided, That any individual employee or a group of employees shall have the right at any time to present grievances to their employer.

(b) The Board shall decide in each case whether, in order to insure to employees the full benefit of their right to selforganization and to collective bargaining, and otherwise to effectuate the policies of this Act, the unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining shall be the employer unit, craft unit, plant unit, or subdivision thereof.

(c) Whenever a question affecting commerce arises concerning the representation of employees, the Board may investigate such controversy and certify to the parties, in writing, the name or names of the representatives that have been designated or selected. In any such investigation, the Board shall provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice, either in conjunction with a procedding under section 10 or otherwise, and may cake a secret ballot of employees, or utilize any other suitable method to ascertain such representatives.

(d) Whenever an order of the Board made pursuant to section 10 (c) is based in whole or in part upon facts certified following an investigation pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, and there is a petition for the enforcement or review of such order, such certification and the record of such investigation shall be included in the transcript calf the entire record required to be filed under subsections 10 (e) or 10 (f), and thereupon the decree of the court enforcing, modifying, or setting aside in whole or in part the order of the Board shall be made and entered upon the pleadings, testimony, and proceedings set forth in such transcript.

PREVENTION OF UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES

SEC. 10. (a) The Board is empowered, as hereinafter provided, to prevent any person from engaging in any unfair labor practice (listed in section 8) affecting commerce. This power shall be exclusive, and shall not be affected by any other means of adjustment or prevention that has been or may be established by agreement, code, law, or otherw ise.

(b) Whenever it is charged that any person has engaged in or is engaging in any such unfair labor practice, the Board, or any agent or agency designated by the Board for such purposes, shall have power to issue and cause to be served upon such person a complaint stating the charges in that respect, and containing a notice of hearing before the Board or a member thereof, or before a designated agent or agency, at a place therein fixed, not less than five days after the serving of said complaint. Any such complaint may be amended by the member, agent, or agency conducting the hearing or the Board in its discretion at any time prior to the issuance of an order based thereon. The person so complained of shall have the right to file an answer to the original or amended complaint and to appear in person or otherwise and give testimony at the place and time fixed in the complaint. In the discretion of the member, agent or agency conducting the hearing or the Board, any other person may be allowed to intervene in the said proceeding and to present testimony. In any such proceeding the rules of evidence prevailing in courts of law or equity shall not be controlling.

(c) The testimony taken by such member, agent or agency or the Board shall be reduced to writing and filed with the Board. Thereafter, in its discretion, the Board upon notice may take further testimony or hear argument. If upon all the testimony taken the Board shall be of the opinion that any person named in the complaint has engaged in or is engaging in any such unfair labor practice, then the Board shall state its findings of fact and shall issue and cause to be served on such person an order requiring such person to cease and desist from such unfair labor practice, and to take such affirmative action including reinstatement of employees f&Mac245;th or without back pay, as will effectuate Abe policies of this Act. Such order may further require such person to make reports from time to time showing the extent to which it has complied with the order. If upon the testimony taken the Board shall be the opinion that no person named in the complaint has engaged in or is engaging in or such unfair labor practice, then the Board shall state its findings of fact and shall issue an order dismissing the said compplaint. .

(e) The Board shall have power to petition any circuit court of appeals of the United States, or if all the circuit courts of appeals to which application may be made are in vacation any district court of the United States, within any circuit or district respectively, wherein the unfair labor practices &Mac245;n question occurred or wherein such person resides or transacts business, for the enforcement of such order and for appropriate temporary relief or restraining order, and shall certify and file in the court a transcript of decree entire record in the proceeding, including pleadings and testimony upon which such was entered and the findings and order Writhe Board. IJpon such filing, the court shall cause notice thereof to be served upon such person, and thereupon shall have jurisdiction of proceeding and of the question determined therein, and shall have power to grant such temporary relief or restraining order as it deems just and proper, and to make and enter upon the pleadings, testimony, and procedings set forth in such transcript a decree enforcing, modifying! and enforcing as so modified, or setting aside in whole or in part the order of the Board. No objection that has not been urged before the Board, its members agent or agency, shall be considered by the court unless the failure or neglect to urge such objection shall be excused because of extraordinary circumstances. The findings of the Board as to the facts, if supported by evidence, shall be conclusive.... The Board may modify its findings as to the facts, We new findings, by reason of additional so taken and fileds and it shall file such modified or new findings, which, if so ported by evidence, shall be conclusive, shall file its recommendations, if any, for modification or setting aside of its original order. The jurisdiction of the court shall exclusive and its judgment and decree shall be final, except that the same shall be subject to review by the appropriate circuit court of appeals if application was made the district court as hereinabove provid and by the Supreme Court of the Unit States upon writ of certiorari or cert ification....

(f) Any person aggrieved by a final or of the Board granting or denying in whole or in part the relief sought may obtain a view of such order in any circuit court appeals of the United States in the circ wherein the unfair labor practice in questi was alleged to have been engaged in wherein such person resides or transacts bt ness....

(g) The commencement of proceedir under subsection (e) or (f) of this secti shall not, unless specifically ordered by t court, operate as a stay of the Boar order....

(i) Petitions filed under this Act shall heard expeditiously, and if possible witl ten days after they have been docketed.

INVESTEGATORY POWERS

SEC. 11. For the purpose of all hearir and investigations, . . .
( I ) The Board, or its duly authoriz agents or agencies, shall at all reasonal times have access to, for the purpose examination, and the right to copy any e dence of any person being investigated proceeded against that relates to any mat under investigation or in question. Any member: of the Board shall have power to issue subpenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of a evidence that relates to any matter unc investigation or in question, before the Board its member, agent, or agency conducting thearing or investigation....

SEC. 12. Any person who shall willfully insist, prevent, impede, or interfere with a member of the Board or any of its agents agencies in the performance of duties pi suant to this Act shall be punished by a fine
of not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

LIMITATIONS

SEC. 13. Nothing in this Act shall be construed so as to interfere with or impede or diminish in any way the right to strike....

SEC. 15. If any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance, shall be held invalid, the remainder of this Act, or the application of such provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid shall not be affected thereby....