Which act limited the power of labor unions after World War II?

• A. Wagner Act
• B. Taft-Hartley Act
• C. National Labor Relations Act
• D. Fair Labor Standards Act

Answer: (B)

After World War II, lawmakers aimed to curb the growing influence of unions by tightening what unions could do and giving government authorities more tools to intervene in labor clashes. This act did several key things: it banned or restricted certain union practices like jurisdictional strikes and secondary boycotts, required union leaders to sign affidavits that they were not communists, and gave the president power to call a cooling-off period in strikes that risked public safety or national security. It also allowed states to pass right-to-work laws, which made union membership voluntary rather than mandatory and weakened union financial power in those states.

The other acts mentioned either build up union power or address issues outside union influence. The Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) from 1935 protected unions’ rights to organize and bargain collectively, rather than limit them. The National Labor Relations Act is another name for that same 1935 law, not a postwar limiter. The Fair Labor Standards Act deals with minimum wage and working hours, not union power.

So the Taft-Hartley Act is the one that directly restricted and limited labor union power after the war.