Provisions of Major Labor Laws

Labor laws are effective since they mediate the prevailing relationship between the employment entities, workers, the government and trade unions. This paper provides a description of the fundamental labor laws such as the Railway Labor Act, Norris-LaGuardia Act, Wagner Act, Taft-Hartley Act, and Landrum-Griffin Act.  The impact that the laws have on organizations will also be examined alongside how they influence the union-management association.

Railway Labor Act

            The Railway Labor Act is a piece of federal legislation established to govern the prevailing labor relations the employers and workers available within the rail sector. The fundamental role of the Railway Labor Act is to encourage and observe peace and order between the parties as a way of preventing any form of interruption likely to be experienced in the commercial process under carried on an interstate basis (Trotter, 2013). The Act has been in operation for more than a decade. During this time, the Congress devised a comprehensive policy set to address associated transport labor concerns. With this, the law was provided with an increased potential of addressing associate labor concerns within the Railway sector. The legislation imposes positive duties on the employees and the carriers on the same rate (Trotter, 2013). Additionally, it also offers a definition of the parties’ rights and generates provisions which will guarantee that they are always safeguarded. Moreover, the Railway Labor Act recommends the various methods that can be considered to settle disputes and provides a set up for the agencies which can ensure that the differences are handled (Trotter, 2013).

            The Railway Labor Act positively influences an organization since it reduces instances of potential conflict likely to be experience between the employer and the workers, thus creating a positive work climate. The law also fosters a positive union-management relationship reflected by the reduced cases of employee complaints while in the workplace.

 Norris-LaGuardia Act

            The Norris-LaGuardia Act is an effective piece of federal legislation which outlawed the yellow dog contracts (Tronsor, 2018). Additionally, the law prevented the federal courts from  providing injunctions against any form of non-violent labor disputes. As a result, the employers were positively prevented from interfering with the workers who sought to become members of trade unions. Before the enforcement of this act, the employers had a negative relationship with the workers since they required the employees to sign against a condition that they would not join unions (Tronsor, 2018). However, after the passage of Norris-LaGuardia Act, the relationship between the two parties changed for the better as the workers were granted the right to join the unions without  fear that they will lose their jobs. The Norris-LaGuardia Act also enhanced the union-management association (Tronsor, 2018). This is founded on the fact that the employers were prevented from interfering with the actions of the unions as  long as they were nonviolent.

Wagner Act

            The Wagner Act is also referred to as the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (Esquenazi, 2018). This legislation forms a basis of the United States Labor law statute that provides a guarantee that the employees within private firms have the right to legally take part in collective bargaining. Moreover, the law grants the employees with the power to become trade union members and engage in collective actions such as be a part of an on-going labor strike (Esquenazi, 2018).

Despite the benefits derived under the Wagner Act, it is evident that the legislation overlooked the cases of domestic service workers, agricultural workers, independent contractors, and employees working under a spouse or parent. Notably, these people could not legally rely on the provisions of the law to take part in collective bargaining with the labor unions and employers (Esquenazi, 2018). The Wagner Act significantly influenced the rights of the employees in the workplace and established a positive relationship between the employers and the workers. Noticeably, the Act established a balance between the two parties by ensuring that the employers could bargain in good faith, and hence doing away with unfair labor practices (Esquenazi, 2018). The Act also resulted to a positive union-management relationship since it prevents any form of violent confrontations between the unions and the management through a desirable collective bargaining procedures (Esquenazi, 2018).

Taft-Hartley Act

            The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947  is a federal legislation which prevents some union practices and requires that the body offers a disclosure of specific political and financial activities. It is evident that the Taft-Hartley Act, thus limits the power of the labor unions (Abraham, 2017). Although the Taft-Hartley Act maintained various elements of the Wagner Act, it is evident that it is focused on discouraging some of the labor union activities. One of the activities discouraged under the law includes discriminating against members who have not registered to be a part of the union (Abraham, 2017). This action weakened the unions by preventing them from engaging in organizing actions. Additionally, the provisions under the Taft-Hartley Act granted the president of the unions with an increased power when interacting with the striking workers, thus empowering the firms to have more control over the labor agreements (Abraham, 2017). Consequently, the Taft-Hartley Act negatively influences the relationship that the employers have with the employees in the workplace. Moreover, it also negatively influenced the employer-union association.

Landrum-Griffin Act

            The Landrum-Griffin Act, also referred to as the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act focuses on enhancing the existing relationship between the union and its members (Abraham, 2017). The law ensures that certain rights are provided to union members while guaranteeing that their interests are safeguarded through the promotion of democratic procedures available within the labor organizations (Abraham, 2017). The Landrum-Griffin Act focused on observing the rights of the members by ensuring that they were provided with an equal right when it comes to voting or nominating candidates within the labor organization. In addition, the Act guarantees that the members are safeguarded and provided with the protection of the right to sue. Furthermore, members are also safeguarded against any form of an improper disciplinary actions (Abraham, 2017).

            The Landrum-Griffin Act has been effective in the interests of the employees who are union members from unfair workplace practices (Abraham, 2017). Through this, a positive relationship is enhanced between the union member employees and the employers in the workplace. More so, the Act has been effective in enhancing the association between the union and the employers because of the protection from unfair labor practices.

Conclusion

Conclusively, the labor laws have been effective in transforming how the employers and the employees relate in  the workplace as well as the nature of the relationship between employers and unions. The laws focus on protecting the rights of the workers when it comes to unions, thus creating an equal opportunity for them to advocate for better workplace conditions and rights.