The
Taft-Hartley Act (also known as the Labor-Management Relations Act)
was passed over the veto of Harry S. Truman
on 23rd June, 1947. When it was passed by Congress Truman denounced
it as a "slave-labor bill".
The act declared the closed shop illegal and permitted the union shop
only after a vote of a majority of the employees. It also forbade
jurisdictional strikes and secondary boycotts. Other aspects of the
legislation included the right of employers to be exempted from bargaining
with unions unless they wished to.
The act forbade unions from contributing to political campaigns and
required union leaders to affirm they were not supporters of the Communist
Party. This aspect of the act was upheld by the Supreme
Court on 8th May, 1950.
The Taft-Hartley Act also gave the United States Attorney General
the power to obtain an 80 day injunction when a threatened or actual
strike that he/she believed "imperiled the national health or
safety".
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