Twentieth Century Labor Laws

Year	Act Name	Description
1908	Muller v. Oregon	In 1903, Oregon adopted a 10 hour working day law for women in industry. The law was challenged in 1908 in the Supreme Court where it was upheld.
1914	Clayton Anti Trust Act	Outlawed price discrimination, "tying" agreements (right of dealer to handle manufacturer's competitor), acquisition of competitor's stock, and "interlocking directorates of corporations ($1 million) or banks ($5 million). Exempted labor organizations if they were not trade restrictive. Injunction to not be handed down by federal Courts (unless to prevent property injury). "Right of unions to exist by forbidding their dissolution for being in restraint of trade"; injunctions can be made against individual workers, but not certain union activities.
1926	Railway Labor Act	Abolished Railway Labor Board, set up new Board of Mediation. Railway unions could be formed "w/o interference, influence, or coercion" (not give to other workers until 1930s); airlines were included in this act beginning 1936.
1932	Norris LaGuardia Act	Banned court injunctions in labor disputes
1935	National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act)	Workers gained right to bargain via their chosen union, kept employers from interfering w/ union activities. NLRB: Union activities / elections and employers actions.
1938	Fair Labor Standards Act (Wages and Hour Law)	Established minimum wage, a maxiumum work week of 40 hours, and forbade labor by children under age 16.
1943	War Labor Disputes Act (Smith-Connally Act)	Created in response to World War II, this act gave the government the power to seize plants that could be used in the war effort, and it restricted unions from making political contributions.
1947	Taft - Hartley Act	Created by Representatives Fred Hartley (NJ) and Sen. Robert Taft (OH) who had chairmanships over the labor-management legislation committees. Revived court injunctions, took away union's right to protect itself (v. criminals, extremists, spies, scabs) which led to limits on grounds for discharge; no secondary boycotts allowed during strikes; strike notice requirements; union officers had to take an oath of loyalty (later ruled unconstitutional). Truman tried to veto Taft Hartley, but it was overturned. Banned closed shop (only union workers can be hired), permitted union shop (new workers required to join union) unless prohibited by state law; Provisions against "unfair" union actions (secondary boycotts, jurisdictional strikes (excluding another union from a company / field), refusing to bargain in good faith, and contributing to political campaigns. Employers could sue unions for breaking contracts, petition NLRB for votes for or against a specific union as a collective bargaining agent. Led to foundation for "right to work" laws in several states.
1959	Landrum-Griffin Act (Labor Management & Disclosure Act)	Meant to protect union members from abuse of union power. Protected democratic procedures, penalized union officials who misused funds or coerced members, and made sure that people who had been convicted of various crimes were not allowed to hold office. More restrictions were placed on blackmail picketing and secondary boycotting, and payments that employers made to union office and labor-management consultants were monitored.
1963	Equal Pay Act	Equal wages for equal work in industries engaged in commerce or producing goods for commerce.
1970	Occupation Safety and Health Act (OSHA)	Act Created to set health and safety standards in the workplace, and to conduct research, information, and education on these issues.