The NLRA at Fifty: A Research Appraisal and Agenda

Abstract

A survey of fifty years of research on the Wagner and Taft-Hartley Acts reveals that researchers' conclusions about the NLRA and its enforcement have generally depended upon their perceptions of the law's purpose; most researchers do not seem to consult relevant research outside their own disciplines; and some important aspects of the NLRA have received little attention. The authors recommend, among other things, that future studies focus on the law's impact on workers, unions, and employers, rather than on the congressional intent behind the NLRA."The G-D Wagner Act"' FOR fifty years this phrase has summarized one of the few feelings that unions, employers, politicians, and employees have had in common regarding the law regulating U.S. private sector labor relations.

Union Organizing and the Reagan NLRB

“…Instead it has concerned itself with the employer's motive or purpose behind a conversation (e.g., to "open a conversation" or to "satisfy his curiosity"-a concern expressed by NLRB member Dennis in Michael's Markets, 1985). This subtle change permits the NLRB to find more interrogations lawful, and apparently subverts the purpose of section 8(a)(l) (Delaney et al, 1985).…”