Taft-Hartley Act Text
Full Text of the Taft Hartley Act:
TAFT-HARTLEY ACT
LABOR MANAGEMENT RELATIONS ACT
Also cited LMRA; 29 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 141-197
[Title 29, Chapter 7, United States Code]
short title and declaration of policy
Section 1. [Sec. 141.] (a) This Act [chapter] may be cited as the
``Labor Management Relations Act, 1947.'' [Also known as the ``Taft-
Hartley Act.'']
(b) Industrial strife which interferes with the normal flow of
commerce and with the full production of articles and commodities for
commerce, can be avoided or substantially minimized if employers,
employees, and labor organizations each recognize under law one
another's legitimate rights in their relations with each other, and
above all recognize under law that neither party has any right in its
relations with any other to engage in acts or practices which jeopardize
the public health, safety, or interest.
It is the purpose and policy of this Act [chapter], in order to
promote the full flow of commerce, to prescribe the legitimate rights of
both employees and employers in their relations affecting commerce, to
provide orderly and peaceful procedures for preventing the interference
by either with the legitimate rights of the other, to protect the rights
of individual employees in their relations with labor organizations
whose activities affect commerce, to define and proscribe practices on
the part of labor and management which affect commerce and are inimical
to the general welfare, and to protect the rights of the public in
connection with labor disputes affecting commerce.
TITLE I, Amendments to
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT
29 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 151-169 (printed above)
TITLE II
[Title 29, Chapter 7, Subchapter III, United States Code]
conciliation of labor disputes in industries affecting commerce;
national emergencies
Sec. 201. [Sec. 171. Declaration of purpose and policy] It is the
policy of the United States that--
(a) sound and stable industrial peace and the advancement of the
general welfare, health, and safety of the Nation and of the best
interest of employers and employees can most satisfactorily be secured
by the settlement of issues between employers and employees through the
processes of con
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ference and collective bargaining between employers and the
representatives of their employees;
(b) the settlement of issues between employers and employees through
collective bargaining may by advanced by making available full and
adequate governmental facilities for conciliation, mediation, and
voluntary arbitration to aid and encourage employers and the
representatives of their employees to reach and maintain agreements
concerning rates of pay, hours, and working conditions, and to make all
reasonable efforts to settle their differences by mutual agreement
reached through conferences and collective bargaining or by such methods
as may be provided for in any applicable agreement for the settlement of
disputes; and
(c) certain controversies which arise between parties to collective-
bargaining agreements may be avoided or minimized by making available
full and adequate governmental facilities for furnishing assistance to
employers and the representatives of their employees in formulating for
inclusion within such agreements provision for adequate notice of any
proposed changes in the terms of such agreements, for the final
adjustment of grievances or questions regarding the application or
interpretation of such agreements, and other provisions designed to
prevent the subsequent arising of such controversies.
Sec. 202. [Sec. 172. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service]
(a) [Creation; appointment of Director] There is created an
independent agency to be known as the Federal Mediation and Conciliation
Service (herein referred to as the ``Service,'' except that for sixty
days after June 23, 1947, such term shall refer to the Conciliation
Service of the Department of Labor). The Service shall be under the
direction of a Federal Mediation and Conciliation Director (hereinafter
referred to as the ``Director''), who shall be appointed by the
President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Director
shall not engage in any other business, vocation, or employment.
(b) [Appointment of officers and employees; expenditures for supplies,
facilities, and services] The Director is authorized, subject to the
civil service laws, to appoint such clerical and other personnel as may
be necessary for the execution of the functions of the Service, and
shall fix their compensation in accordance with sections 5101 to 5115
and sections 5331 to 5338 of title 5, United States Code [chapter 51 and
subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5], and may, without regard to the
provisions of the civil service laws, appoint such conciliators and
mediators as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the Service.
The Director is authorized to make such expenditures for supplies,
facilities, and services as he deems necessary. Such expenditures shall
be allowed and paid upon presentation of itemized vouchers therefor
approved by the Director or by any employee designated by him for that
purpose.
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(c) [Principal and regional offices; delegation of authority by
Director; annual report to Congress] The principal office of the
Service shall be in the District of Columbia, but the Director may
establish regional ofiices convenient to localities in which labor
controversies are likely to arise. The Director may by order, subject to
revocation at any time, delegate any authority and discretion conferred
upon him by this Act [chapter] to any regional director, or other
officer or employee of the Service. The Director may establish suitable
procedures for cooperation with State and local mediation agencies. The
Director shall make an annual report in writing to Congress at the end
of the fiscal year.
(d) [Transfer of all mediation and conciliation services to Service;
effective date; pending proceedings unaffected] All mediation and
conciliation functions of the Secretary of Labor or the United States
Conciliation Service under section 51 [repealed] of title 29, United
States Code [this title], and all functions of the United States
Conciliation Service under any other law are transferred to the Federal
Mediation and Conciliation Service, together with the personnel and
records of the United States Conciliation Service. Such transfer shall
take effect upon the sixtieth day after June 23, 1947. Such transfer
shall not affect any proceedings pending before the United States
Conciliation Service or any certification, order, rule, or regulation
theretofore made by it or by the Secretary of Labor. The Director and
the Service shall not be subject in any way to the jurisdiction or
authority of the Secretary of Labor or any official or division of the
Department of Labor.
functions of the service
Sec. 203. [Sec. 173. Functions of Service] (a) [Settlement of
disputes through conciliation and mediation] It shall be the duty of
the Service, in order to prevent or minimize interruptions of the free
flow of commerce growing out of labor disputes, to assist parties to
labor disputes in industries affecting commerce to settle such disputes
through conciliation and mediation.
(b) [Intervention on motion of Service or request of parties;
avoidance of mediation of minor disputes] The Service may proffer its
services in any labor dispute in any industry affecting commerce, either
upon its own motion or upon the request of one or more of the parties to
the dispute, whenever in its judgment such dispute threatens to cause a
substantial interruption of commerce. The Director and the Service are
directed to avoid attempting to mediate disputes which would have only a
minor effect on interstate commerce if State or other conciliation
services are available to the parties. Whenever the Service does proffer
its services in any dispute, it shall be the duty of the Service
promptly to put itself in communication with the parties and to use its
best efforts, by mediation and conciliation, to bring them to agreement.
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(c) [Settlement of disputes by other means upon failure of concilia-
tion] If the Director is not able to bring the parties to agreement by
conciliation within a reasonable time, he shall seek to induce the
parties voluntarily to seek other means of settling the dispute without
resort to strike, lockout, or other coercion, including submission to
the employees in the bargaining unit of the employer's last offer of
settlement for approval or rejection in a secret ballot. The failure or
refusal of either party to agree to any procedure suggested by the
Director shall not be deemed a violation of any duty or obligation
imposed by this Act [chapter].
(d) [Use of conciliation and mediation services as last resort] Final
adjustment by a method agreed upon by the parties is declared to be the
desirable method for settlement of grievance disputes arising over the
application or interpretation of an existing collective-bargaining
agreement. The Service is directed to make its conciliation and
mediation services available in the settlement of such grievance
disputes only as a last resort and in exceptional cases.
(e) [Encouragement and support of establishment and operation of joint
labor management activities conducted by committees] The Service is
authorized and directed to encourage and support the establishment and
operation of joint labor management activities conducted by plant, area,
and industrywide committees designed to improve labor management
relationships, job security and organizational effectiveness, in
accordance with the provisions of section 205A [section 175a of this
title].
[Pub. L. 95-524, Sec. 6(c)(1), Oct. 27, 1978, 92 Stat. 2020, added
subsec. (e).]
(f) [Use of alternative means of dispute resolution procedures;
assignment of neutrals and arbitrators] The Service may make its
services available to Federal agencies to aid in the resolution of
disputes under the provisions of subchapter IV of chapter 5 of title 5.
Functions performed by the Service may include assisting parties to
disputes related to administrative programs, training persons in skills
and procedures employed in alternative means of dispute resolution, and
furnishing officers and employees of the Service to act as neutrals.
Only officers and employees who are qualified in accordance with section
573 of title 5 may be assigned to act as neutrals. The Service shall
consult with the Administrative Conference of the United States and
other agencies in maintaining rosters of neutrals and arbitrators, and
to adopt such procedures and rules as are necessary to carry out the
services authorized in this subsection.
[As amended Nov. 15, 1990, Pub. L. 101-552, Sec. 7, 104 Stat. 2746;
Aug. 26, 1992, Pub. L. 102-354, Sec. 5(b)(5), 106 Stat. 946.]
[It appears that Sec. 173(f) terminated on October 1, 1995, pursuant
to a sunset provision. As of the date of this publication, it does not
appear that it was reenacted. Persons having an interest in the
application of Sec. 173(f) to proceedings commencing after October 1,
1995, should check to see whether the provision was renewed.]
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Sec. 204. [Sec. 174. Co-equal obligations of employees, their
representatives, and management to minimize labor disputes] (a) In
order to prevent or minimize interruptions of the free flow of commerce
growing out of labor disputes, employers and employees and their
representatives, in any industry affecting commerce, shall--
(1) exert every reasonable effort to make and maintain agreements
concerning rates of pay, hours, and working conditions, including
provision for adequate notice of any proposed change in the terms of
such agreements;
(2) whenever a dispute arises over the terms or application of a
collective-bargaining agreement and a conference is requested by a
party or prospective party thereto, arrange promptly for such a
conference to be held and endeavor in such conference to settle such
dispute expeditiously; and
(3) in case such dispute is not settled by conference, participate
fully and promptly in such meetings as may be undertaken by the
Service under this Act [chapter] for the purpose of aiding in a
settlement of the dispute.
Sec. 205. [Sec. 175. National Labor-Management Panel; creation and
composition; appointment, tenure, and compensation; duties] (a) There
is created a National Labor-Management Panel which shall be composed of
twelve members appointed by the President, six of whom shall be elected
from among persons outstanding in the field of management and six of
whom shall be selected from among persons outstanding in the field of
labor. Each member shall hold office for a term of three years, except
that any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the
expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall be
appointed for the remainder of such term, and the terms of office of the
members first taking office shall expire, as designated by the President
at the time of appointment, four at the end of the first year, four at
the end of the second year, and four at the end of the third year after
the date of appointment. Members of the panel, when serving on business
of the panel, shall be paid compensation at the rate of $25 per day, and
shall also be entitled to receive an allowance for actual and necessary
travel and subsistence expenses while so serving away from their places
of residence.
(b) It shall be the duty of the panel, at the request of the Director,
to advise in the avoidance of industrial controversies and the manner in
which mediation and voluntary adjustment shall be administered,
particularly with reference to controversies affecting the general
welfare of the country.
Sec. 205A. [Sec. 175a. Assistance to plant, area, and industrywide
labor management committees]
(a) [Establishment and operation of plant, area, and industrywide
committees] (1) The Service is authorized and directed to provide
assist
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ance in the establishment and operation of plant, area and industrywide
labor management committees which--
(A) have been organized jointly by employers and labor organizations
representing employees in that plant, area, or industry; and
(B) are established for the purpose of improving labor management
relationships, job security, organizational effectiveness, enhancing
economic development or involving workers in decisions affecting their
jobs including improving communication with respect to subjects of
mutual interest and concern.
(2) The Service is authorized and directed to enter into contracts and
to make grants, where necessary or appropriate, to fulfill its
responsibilities under this section.
(b) [Restrictions on grants, contracts, or other assistance] (1) No
grant may be made, no contract may be entered into and no other
assistance may be provided under the provisions of this section to a
plant labor management committee unless the employees in that plant are
represented by a labor organization and there is in effect at that plant
a collective bargaining agreement.
(2) No grant may be made, no contract may be entered into and no other
assistance may be provided under the provisions of this section to an
area or industrywide labor management committee unless its participants
include any labor organizations certified or recognized as the
representative of the employees of an employer participating in such
committee. Nothing in this clause shall prohibit participation in an
area or industrywide committee by an employer whose employees are not
represented by a labor organization.
(3) No grant may be made under the provisions of this section to any
labor management committee which the Service finds to have as one of its
purposes the discouragement of the exercise of rights contained in
section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 157)
[section 157 of this title], or the interference with collective
bargaining in any plant, or industry.
(c) [Establishment of office] The Service shall carry out the
provisions of this section through an office established for that
purpose.
(d) [Authorization of appropriations] There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out the provisions of this section $10,000,000 for
the fiscal year 1979, and such sums as may be necessary thereafter.
[Pub. L. 95-524, Sec. 6(c)(2), Oct. 27, 1978, 92 Stat. 2020, added
Sec. 205A.]
national emergencies
Sec. 206. [Sec. 176. Appointment of board of inquiry by President;
report; contents; filing with Service] Whenever in the opinion of the
President of the United States, a threatened or actual strike or lockout
affecting an entire industry or a substantial part thereof engaged in
trade,
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commerce, transportation, transmission, or communication among the
several States or with foreign nations, or engaged in the production of
goods for commerce, will, if permitted to occur or to continue, imperil
the national health or safety, he may appoint a board of inquiry to
inquire into the issues involved in the dispute and to make a written
report to him within such time as he shall prescribe. Such report shall
include a statement of the facts with respect to the dispute, including
each party's statement of its position but shall not contain any
recommendations. The President shall file a copy of such report with the
Service and shall make its contents available to the public.
Sec. 207. [Sec. 177. Board of inquiry]
(a) [Composition] A board of inquiry shall be composed of a chairman
and such other members as the President shall determine, and shall have
power to sit and act in any place within the United States and to
conduct such hearings either in public or in private, as it may deem
necessary or proper, to ascertain the facts with respect to the causes
and circumstances of the dispute.
(b) [Compensation] Members of a board of inquiry shall receive
compensation at the rate of $50 for each day actually spent by them in
the work of the board, together with necessary travel and subsistence
expenses.
(c) [Powers of discovery] For the purpose of any hearing or inquiry
conducted by any board appointed under this title [29 U.S.C.S.
Sec. Sec. 171-183], the provisions of sections 9 and 10 (relating to the
attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, and
documents) of the Federal Trade Commission Act of September 16 [26],
1914, as amended (U.S.C. [19], title 15, secs. 49 and 50, as amended),
are hereby made applicable to the powers and duties of such board. (June
23, 1947, ch 120 Title II, Sec. 61 Stat. 155.)
Sec. 208. [Sec. 178. Injunctions during national emergency]
(a) [Petition to district court by Attorney General on direction of
President] Upon receiving a report from a board of inquiry the
President may direct the Attorney General to petition any district court
of the United States having jurisdiction of the parties to enjoin such
strike or lockout or the continuing thereof, and if the court finds that
such threatened or actual strike or lockout--
(i) affects an entire industry or a substantial part thereof engaged
in trade, commerce, transportation, transmission, or communication
among the several States or with foreign nations, or engaged in the
production of goods for commerce; and
(ii) if permitted to occur or to continue, will imperil the national
health or safety, it shall have jurisdiction to enjoin any such strike
or lockout, or the continuing thereof, and to make such other orders
as may be appropriate.
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(b) [Inapplicability of chapter 6] In any case, the provisions of
sections 101 to 115 of title 29, United States Code [chapter 6 of this
title] [known as the ``Norris-LaGuardia Act''] shall not be applicable.
(c) [Review of orders] The order or orders of the court shall be
subject to review by the appropriate circuit court of appeals [court of
appeals] and by the Supreme Court upon writ of certiorari or
certification as provided in sections 239 and 240 of the Judicial Code,
as amended (U.S.C., title 29, secs. 346 and 347). (June 23, 1947, ch
120, Title II Sec. 208, 61 Stat. 155.)
Sec. 209. [Sec. 179. Injunctions during national emergency; adjustment
efforts by parties during injunction period]
(a) [Assistance of Service; acceptance of Service's proposed
settlement] Whenever a district court has issued an order under section
208 [section 178 of this title] enjoining acts or practices which
imperil or threaten to imperil the national health or safety, it shall
be the duty of the parties to the labor dispute giving rise to such
order to make every effort to adjust and settle their differences, with
the assistance of the Service created by this Act [chapter]. Neither
party shall be under any duty to accept, in whole or in part, any
proposal of settlement made by the Service.
(b) [Reconvening of board of inquiry; report by board; contents;
secret ballot of employees by National Labor Relations Board;
certification of results to Attorney General] Upon the issuance of such
order, the President shall reconvene the board of inquiry which has
previously reported with respect to the dispute. At the end of a sixty-
day period (unless the dispute has been settled by that time), the board
of inquiry shall report to the President the current position of the
parties and the efforts which have been made for settlement, and shall
include a statement by each party of its position and a statement of the
employer's last offer of settlement. The President shall make such
report available to the public. The National Labor Relations Board,
within the succeeding fifteen days, shall take a secret ballot of the
employees of each employer involved in the dispute on the question of
whether they wish to accept the final offer of settlement made by their
employer, as stated by him, and shall certify the results thereof to the
Attorney General within five days thereafter.
Sec. 210. [Sec. 180. Discharge of injunction upon certification of
results of election or settlement; report to Congress] Upon the
certification of the results of such ballot or upon a settlement being
reached, whichever happens sooner, the Attorney General shall move the
court to discharge the injunction, which motion shall then be granted,
and the injunction discharged. When such motion is granted, the
President shall submit to the Congress a full and comprehensive report
of the proceedings, including the findings of the board of inquiry and
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