National Labor Relations Act NLRA

President Franklin Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act, sponsored by Senator Robert Wagner of New York, on July 5, 1935. It protects the right of private-sector employees to form or join unions, bargain collectively, strike, and act together to improve working conditions, even without a union. It bans unfair labor practices such as firing workers for organizing, and created the National Labor Relations Board to hold union elections and decide disputes. The Supreme Court upheld it in 1937 in NLRB v. Jones and Laughlin Steel.

The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, passed over President Truman's veto, added limits on unions, banned some strikes and boycotts, and let states pass right-to-work laws barring contracts that require workers to pay union fees, which 26 states now have. The law does not cover government workers, farmworkers, domestic workers, supervisors, or independent contractors. Union membership peaked at about a third of workers in the 1950s and was 10 percent in 2025, about 6 percent in the private sector.

The NLRB's rules shift with each administration, on issues such as how unions can win recognition and whether gig workers are employees. In 2025 the President removed a Democratic board member, leaving the board without a quorum for months, and in Trump v. Slaughter in June 2026 the Supreme Court overruled Humphrey's Executor and held that Congress cannot bar the President from removing commissioners of agencies like the Federal Trade Commission, a ruling widely seen as covering the NLRB. Union supporters seek stronger penalties and faster elections, while business groups favor secret-ballot protections and limits on organizing tactics.