Newlands Labor Act
TheNewlands Labor Actwas a 1913 United States federal law, sponsored by SenatorFrancis G. Newlandsof Nevada and drafted byBureau of Labor StatisticsCommissionerCharles Patrick Neill.It created theBoard of Mediation and Conciliation(BMC). The BMC was a precursor to today'sNational Mediation Board(NMB).[1]
Background[edit]
In response to railroad strikes during the 1870s and 1880s,[2]Congresspassed theArbitration Act of 1888,which authorized the creation ofarbitrationpanels with the power to investigate the causes of labor disputes and to issue non-binding arbitration awards.[3]The Act was a complete failure: only one panel was ever convened under the Act, and that one, in the case of the 1894Pullman Strike,issued its report only after the strike had been crushed by afederal courtinjunctionbacked by federal troops.
Congress attempted to correct these shortcomings in theErdman Act,passed in 1898.[4]This law likewise provided for voluntary arbitration, but made any award issued by the panel binding and enforceable in federal court. It also outlawed discrimination against employees for union activities, prohibited "yellow dog" contracts (employee agrees not to join a union while employed), and required both sides to maintain the status quo during any arbitration proceedings and for three months after an award was issued. The arbitration procedures were rarely used.
Newlands Act and the BMC[edit]
PresidentWoodrow Wilsonsigned the Newlands Act on July 15, 1913.[1]The law created the Board of Mediation and Conciliation, which was administered by U.S. Commerce and District Court JudgeMartin Augustine Knappand assisted by U.S. Alabama District Court Judge and CommissionerWilliam Lea Chambers.The Board adjusted and arbitrated disputes between railroad companies and their operating employees, where those disputes threatened to interrupt operation of the carriers to the "serious detriment of the public interest." Voluntary arbitration was also provided for those disputes that could not be settled bymediation.
The Board was functionally replaced on December 26, 1917, by the creation of theUnited States Railroad Administration,although it continued to exist with its activities restricted toshort-line railroads.In 1920, theEsch–Cummins Act(formally called theTransportation Act) created a newRailroad Labor Boardwhich regulated wages and settled disputes, and permanently replaced the duties of the BMC.[5]
On May 20, 1926,Congressrepealed the Newlands Labor Act and Title III of the Esch–Cummins Act (which pertained to labor disputes), with the enactment of theRailway Labor Act.[6]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abUnited States.An Act Providing for mediation, conciliation, and arbitration in controversies between certain employers and their employees(Newlands Act). Ch. 6, 38Stat.103.Approved July 15, 1913.
- ^See, for example,Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
- ^United States. Arbitration Act of 1888, 25Stat.501,October 1, 1888.
- ^United States. Erdman Act of 1898, June 1, 1898, ch. 370, 30Stat.424.
- ^United States. Esch–Cummins Act, Pub.L. 66-152, 41Stat.456.Approved 1920-02-28.
- ^United States. Railway Labor Act,Pub. L.69–257,44Stat.577.Approved 1926-05-20.45 U.S.C.§ 151et seq.
