When the NLRA was enacted in 1935, it gave unions the legal right to bargain collectively for employees, but it did not impose any specific responsibilities or limits on unions to regulate their dealing both with employers and with the employees that they were charged with representing. There were no union unfair labor practices. So over time, some powerful unions engaged in conduct such as forcing employers to hire only persons who were already union members into new positions; coercing employers into discharging employees who were critical of union leadership by threats of reprisals; refusing to bargain in good faith with employers; threatening employees if they did not follow union directives; and even forcing employers to pay union employees when the employees did not perform any work.In response, Congress enacted the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. The intent of this legislation was to provide a more fair-and-even balance for labor-management bargaining and to protect employees from union abuses (to curb excesses by unions). The Act specifies several types of conduct by unions that would constitute unfair labor practice, including restraining or coercing employees in the selection of bargaining representatives; attempting to cause employers to discriminate against employees; and union refusals to bargain with employers in good faith. The Act also outlawed closed shop requirements, which required the employer to hire only persons who are already union members.The Act also opened the door for individual states to impose certain limits on unionization. Provisions of the Act authorized states to establish “right to work” laws, which provide employees with an absolute right to choose whether or not they will join a union that represents employees of their employer for collective bargaining. In such states, unions remain obligated to represent all of the employees in a bargaining unit, but the employees cannot be required to join the union or in some cases even be required to pay the equivalent of union dues to support the union’s efforts.In states that do not have right-to-work laws, the Act permits unions and employers to establish union shops, which do not require new employees to already be union members when they are hired, but does require employees to join the union within a specified period after hire, usually 30 to 60 days. Also the Act permits agency shop arrangements where there are no contrary right-to work-laws. Under agency shop, an employee is not required to join a union that represents her for collective bargaining, but she must pay an amount equivalent to union dues and fees to support the union’s bargaining activities on behalf of the employees.
The Act also gives the President of the United States the power to stop a strike or lockout if it threatens the security or health of the country.