What did the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 do?

• A. It guaranteed the right to strike and organize
• B. It restricts the activities and power of labor unions; Over Truman's veto; called 'slave-labor bill'
• C. It exempted unions from taxes
• D. It created the Department of Labor

Answer: (B)

Taft-Hartley Act reduced the power and activities of labor unions in the late 1940s. It limited union tactics (banning things like certain strikes and boycotts that harmed others, and restricting the use of closed shops), and it added provisions aimed at curbing Communist influence by requiring union leaders to sign non-Communist affidavits. It also gave the president authority to intervene in strikes that threatened national welfare through a cooling-off period. Additionally, it allowed states to enact right-to-work laws, further weakening unions in those states. Because of these restrictions and the anti-Communist measures, critics called it the "slave-labor bill." Truman vetoed it, but Congress overrode the veto, and it became law.