The Wagner Act

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Since the enactment of the Wagner Act, there has been a dramatic change in the way employment is handled between managers and employees. Employees have been given more of a chance to decide what they want at work, and are able to negotiate with their employers. They have the opportunity to discuss wage, hours, over time, etc. Previously, employees had little to no say in decisions that were made regarding their employment and basically had to be “yes men” for the employers. It prevented employers from firing people in unions, as well as people who were sympathetic to unions. Retracting these laws that have been put into place would be an egregious error. They are there in order to protect employees, regardless of whether they are in a union or not. It has been amended several times in order to better protect employees. The act put a stop to many unfair labor practices started by employers. The Wagner Act deemed it “unfair” for managements to “interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees” in exercising their now legally sanctioned right of self-organization (Sloane, Whitney, pg. 87.) It also ensured that employers could not discriminate on an employee based on the employees’ union involvement, in regards to hiring and firing. It also forced employers to bargain with their employees’ representatives. In the past, many employers had simply ignored any union organization. The employers would simply ignore any rights put in place by unions, and even go so far as to fire union employees and union sympathizers. Employers would use spies to find out who was sympathetic to unions, and then circulate the names to other employers. These “blacklists” were used to fire employees and for other employers to decide whether or not a person ... ... middle of paper ... ...ce to protect employers and employees alike. The laws put in place insure that employees are given specific rights that the employers are not allowed to take away; if there is any question as to who is “right,” the NLRB steps in to help decide what is fair given the situation. Without these laws, there would be very little stability in the work place, and employees would be at the mercy of their employers with no one to step in and help them. There is no question that the laws have been put in place have greatly helped the labor cause, and removing them would be a poor choice for everyone involved. Works Cited Sloane, Arthur. Witney, Fred. Labor Relations. 13th Edition. Prentice Hall. 2007. Taft-Hartley Act. From the Encyclopedia for Business. 2nd Edition. Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Str-The/Taft-Hartley-Act.html

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