Frequently Asked Questions

Who were exempt from the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act?

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, was a significant piece of labor legislation in the United States. It was applicable to all firms and employees involved in activities affecting interstate commerce. However, there were certain groups that were exempt from the provisions of the NLRA. These included agricultural laborers, government employees, and those persons subject to the Railway Labor Act. The NLRA guaranteed covered workers the right to organize and join labor movements, to choose representatives and bargain collectively, and to strike. It established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), an independent Federal agency, which was given the power to determine whether a union should be certified to represent particular groups of employees. However, agricultural laborers, government employees, and those subject to the Railway Labor Act were not covered by these provisions. This means that these groups did not have the same protections and rights under the NLRA as other workers. For example, they may not have had the same rights to organize and join labor movements, or to bargain collectively.