The Taft–Hartley Act, enacted in 1947, restricted union activities and allowed states to pass right-to-work laws.
Its official name is the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947. Congress passed it over President Harry Truman’s veto on June 23, 1947. The law amended the National Labor Relations Act and added restrictions on unions, including bans on certain secondary boycotts, jurisdictional strikes, and closed shops.
The act also required union leaders to sign affidavits stating they were not Communist Party members and authorized the president to seek an injunction during certain national-emergency strikes. Its right-to-work provision permitted states to prohibit union-security agreements, so workers could not be required to join a union or pay equivalent dues as a condition of employment. The law remains a central dividing line in U.S. labor-policy debates.