Taft-Hartley Act

The Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, known as the Taft-Hartley Act after its Senate and House sponsors Robert Taft and Fred Hartley, is a United States federal law that amended the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 to restrict the power of labor unions. It outlawed the closed shop, under which only existing union members could be hired, permitted states to pass right-to-work laws banning mandatory union membership as a condition of employment, gave the president authority to seek an 80-day injunction halting strikes that endangered national health or safety, and required union officers to sign affidavits disavowing membership in the Communist Party. Congress passed the act over the veto of President Harry Truman, who called it a dangerous intrusion on free collective bargaining. It remains in force today as a central part of the federal statutory framework governing labor relations in the United States.