National Labor Board
| NLB | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | August 5, 1933 |
| Dissolved | June 29, 1934 |
| Superseding agency |
|
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Parent agency | Executive Office of the President |
The National Labor Board (NLB) was an independent agency of the United States Government established on August 5, 1933 to handle labor disputes arising under the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA).
The American labor movement, encouraged by the protections guaranteed under Section 7(a) of the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), undertook a wave of organizing not seen in almost two decades. A series of strikes overtook the country in the summer of 1933.
The NIRA established the National Recovery Administration (NRA), and General Hugh S. Johnson was named the agency's administrator.
Gen. Johnson had initially expressed the hope that the NIRA would be self-policing system. But that had clearly not happened, and formal governmental machinery was needed to handle the sudden wave of labor activity.
Subsequently, Johnson—acting on a joint motion from the NRA's Industrial Advisory Board and Labor Advisory Board—created the NLB. President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the NLB's formation on August 5, 1933. Roosevelt issued no executive order defining the Board's powers, duties or procedures, but he did assert that the board should 'consider, adjust, and settle differences and controversies' arising in labor disputes.
The NLB had seven members. Three members represented labor: American Federation of Labor (AFL) president William Green; United Mine Workers of America president John L. Lewis; and Leo Wolman, formerly director of research for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and chairman of the Labor Advisory Board of the NRA. Three members represented industry: General Electric president Gerard Swope; Louis Kirstein, the vice president of Filene's of Boston (a department store); and Walter C. Teagle, president of Standard Oil of New Jersey. The chairman of the NLB was United States Senator Robert F. Wagner.
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