Taft-Hartley Act

Examples of Taft-Hartley Act in the following topics:

• Partisan Cooperation and Conflict

  • For example, although Truman vetoed it, the Taft-Hartley Act significantly curtailed the power of the labor unions.
  • This Act prohibits unfair practices by labor unions.
  • However, Taft-Hartley also allows states to pass what are called right-to-work laws which prohibit union shops; about half of all states have passed such laws.
  • Taft-Hartley also prohibits what is called featherbedding, union practices requiring an employer to pay for unnecessary work or unnecessary workers.
  • As he readied for the 1948 election, Truman made clear his identity as a Democrat in the New Deal tradition, advocating national health insurance, the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, and an aggressive civil rights program.

• Peacetime Politics

  • Cold War strategy, Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 and reorganized military forces by merging the Department of War and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment (later the Department of Defense) and creating the U.S.
  • The act also created the CIA and the National Security Council.
  • The Republican Congress significantly curtailed the power of labor unions by the Taft–Hartley Act, which was enacted over Truman's veto.
  • The parties did cooperate on some issues; Congress passed the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, making the Speaker of the House rather than the Secretary of State next in line to the presidency after the vice president.
  • As he readied for the 1948 election, Truman made clear his identity as a Democrat in the New Deal tradition, advocating national health insurance, the repeal of the Taft–Hartley Act, and an aggressive civil rights program.

• The Fair Deal

  • The most important proposals of the Fair Deal were aid to education, universal health insurance, legislation on fair employment and repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act.
  • Truman's multitudinous proposed measures included federal aid to education, a large tax cut for low-income earners, the abolition of poll taxes, an anti-lynching law, a permanent FEPC, a farm aid program, increased public housing, an immigration bill, new TVA-style public works projects, the establishment of a new Department of Welfare, the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, an increase in the minimum wage from 40 to 75 cents an hour, national health insurance, expanded Social Security coverage and a $4 billion tax increase to reduce the national debt and finance these programs.
  • Taft under the 1949 National Housing Act, which funded slum clearance and the construction of 810,000 units of low-income housing over a period of six years.
  • Except for nondiscrimination provisions of the Housing Act of 1949, Truman had to be content with civil rights' gains achieved by executive order or through the federal courts.

• The Truman Presidency

  • Cold War strategy, Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, which reorganized the military, and also created the CIA and the National Security Council.
  • As he readied for the 1948 election, Truman made clear his identity as a Democrat in the New Deal tradition, advocating national health insurance and the repeal of the Taft–Hartley Act.
  • Only one of the major Fair Deal bills, the Housing Act of 1949, was ever enacted.

• Toward Permanent Unions

  • Rapid growth came in 1900-1919, but was followed by a long decline until the Wagner Act of 1935 led to an invigoration of the labor movement, which finally became a permanent factor in heavy industry.
  • The conservative Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 weakened the unions.

• Empowering Labor

  • One important attempt were labor protection and regulation provisions included in the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA, June 1933).
  • In the aftermath of NIRA's failure, the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA; known also as the Wagner Act) was passed.
  • All of them failed or were vetoed until the passage of the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, which introduced and specified unfair labor practices for labor organizations (additionally to those introduced in 1935 for employers).  
  • The 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is another critical piece of labor legislation passed under the New Deal.
  • Historians estimate that the Act's provisions covered not more than 20% of labor force.

• The Rise of Wilson

  • During Taft's administration, a rift grew between Roosevelt and Taft as they became the leaders of the Republican Party's two wings: the progressives, led by Roosevelt, and the conservatives, led by Taft.
  • Taft acknowledged this, saying, "the longer I am President, the less of a party man I seem to become."
  • In part, Taft's defeat resulted from his weakness as a campaigner.
  • In his first term as President, Wilson persuaded a Democratic Congress to pass major progressive reforms: the Federal Reserve Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Federal Farm Loan Act, and an income tax.
  • He also had Congress pass the Adamson Act, which imposed an 8-hour workday for railroad workers.

• Tariff Reform

  • In 1908 Republicans promised to lower unpopular tariffs on U.S. imports, but the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act further divided Republicans.
  • During Taft's election campaign in 1908, Republicans promised to lower unpopular tariffs on U.S. imports.
  • Once elected, Taft called a special session of Congress in 1909 to discuss lowering the tariff.
  • Taft's public support of the bill, instead of preserving party unity, further split the Republicans.
  • Roosevelt in particular criticized Taft over the Payne-Aldrich Act, and led a faction of progressive Republicans away from Taft's conservative Republicans .

• Anti-Trust Laws

  • Wilson sought to encourage competition and curb trusts by using the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the Clayton Antitrust Act.
  • For instance, the 1916 Federal Farm Loan Act provided for issuance of low-cost, long term mortgages to farmers, and the Adamson Act imposed an eight-hour workday in the railroad industry (prompted by the 1916 summer strike by railroad employees).
  • Wilson also attempted to curtail child labor with the Keating-Owen Act.
  • This legislation fulfilled both the Progressive aims of Roosevelt and Taft while deviating from their approach to breaking monopolies.
  • Rather than the piecemeal success of Roosevelt and Taft in targeting certain trusts and monopolies in lengthy lawsuits, the Clayton Antitrust Act effectively defined unfair business practices and created a common code of sanctioned business activity.

• Modern Republicanism

  • The first Republican president in 20 years, Eisenhower was a moderate conservative who challenged Taft's international policies.
  • Taft on foreign policy issues.
  • While they differed on foreign policy, Taft and Eisenhower were not far apart on domestic issues.
  • His enduring innovations include his launching of the Interstate Highway System, DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which lead to the internet among other things), NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, driving peaceful discovery in space), the establishment of strong science education via the National Defense Education Act, and the encouragement of peaceful nuclear power use via amendments to the Atomic Energy Act.
  • Compare and contrast Taft and Eisenhower's approaches to foreign and domestic policy.