THE 78TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT

FROM: NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Statement of National Labor Relations Board Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce on the 78th Anniversary of the Signing of the National Labor Relations Act

"Seventy-eight years ago this week, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act and declared that "a better relationship between labor and management is the high purpose of this Act." By guaranteeing the right of most of America’s workers to bargain collectively, FDR expressed his belief that the law would foster "the development of the employment contract on a sound and equitable basis."

"For 78 years, the National Labor Relations Board has worked to fulfill the promise made to working Americans by FDR and Congress when they enacted the National Labor Relations Act. Our job today, just as it has been since the Great Depression, is to ensure the right of millions of working men and women to organize and bargain collectively for better wages, benefits and working conditions, to protect companies from unfair labor practices and to resolve disputes by enforcing the law. We continue to play a vital role in defining the rules of the road, so that business owners and employees alike can prosper and improve the lives of their families, their communities and our country.

"The National Labor Relations Board is proud of our on-going work to guarantee democracy in the workplace and sustain a strong and expanding middle class. Across the country today, businesses and workers are pulling together to emerge from the worst economy since the 1930s. We look forward to continuing our work to help them resolve disputes and build an economy that works for every American family."