The Norris-LaGuardia Anti-Injunction Act (1932), better known simply as the Norris-LaGuardia Act, restricted the power of FEDERAL COURTS to intervene in labor disputes. Until its passage, actions by groups of employees (UNIONs) such as picketing, strikes, or BOYCOTTS were considered criminal conspiracies and subject to prosecution. The Norris-LaGuardia Act was a major change, reducing industrial managers’ use of federal courts to seek INJUNCTIONS against union activity. At that time federal injunctions frequently lead to deputation of employer agents or the use of federal troops to disperse union groups, often resulting in violence and deaths. The Norris-LaGuardia Act reduced employers’ power over workers, specifically prohibiting federal court injunctions involving
• striking
• becoming a member of a labor organization
• paying or withholding strike or UNEMPLOYMENT benefits
• providing lawful assistance to people engaged in legal action in federal courts related to a labor dispute
• publicizing a labor dispute
• peaceful assembly associated with a labor dispute
• notifying or agreeing with another person to engage in labor-dispute actions
In cases where an injunction was sought against union activity, the act included specific procedural steps that must be taken by a federal court considering an injunction request. Injunctions could still be sought against acts of violence or FRAUD. The act also prohibited “yellow dog” contracts in federal courts, whereby workers agreed to not join a union as a precondition for their EMPLOYMENT. In 1932 the Norris-LaGuardia Act removed federal court jurisdiction over injunctions in labor disputes, but the TAFT-HARTLEY ACT (1947) gave the NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, a federally created agency, power to seek injunctions against unfair labor practices.