For workers, the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 which later changed to the Wagner Act or National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) proved the most important piece of legislation he signed. Employees were given the right to organize and bargain collectively and could not be required, as a condition of employment, to join or refrain from joining a labor organization (National Archive, 2022).
After NLRA, union members received a massive upsurge and tripled the amount of strikes in the next decade. in this time when the basic labor right we currently have was born. This act allows workers to have better working conditions by mandating employers to set labor contracts according to the agreements that were set by the union, such as a minimum wage, a maximum of 40 hours of work a week, and child labor prohibition (Watcher, 2012).
While The NLRA was successful in protecting labor rights, it failed to alleviate the effects of the Great Depression.  The increase of wages outside of the trend stalled the recovery by creating rents and an inefficient insider-outsider friction that raised wages significantly and restricted employment. With the abandonment of the New Deal and its subsequent policies, it was expected to lead to a strong economic recovery 1940s  (Cole et al, 2004).
The Golden Age
The 1950s marked a golden era for labor unions, Union members rate was constantly above 20%. Â They secured a strong presence in negotiations with major industries like automobiles, steel, trucking, and chemicals. Regularly negotiated contracts ensured fair wages in exchange for good workplace relations. These agreements established clear rules for promotions, layoffs, and gave workers opportunities to voice concerns toward neutral parties (Friedman, 2008).
Wages increased consistently, averaging over 2 percent annually, with union workers earning approximately 20 percent more than their nonunion counterparts of similar age, experience, and education. Unions also secured an expanding range of benefits, including medical and dental insurance, paid holidays and vacations, supplemental unemployment insurance, and pensions. This pressure led many nonunion employers to offer comparable benefits to attract workers, although unionized employers still provided benefit packages valued at over 60 percent more than those offered by nonunion employers  (Friedman, 2008).
The peak of unionization coincided with the low-point of United States inequality and it is not a mere coincidence. Union focused on massive firms like General Motors, Ford, U.S. Steel, and AT&T which employed large numbers of workers. These companies often had low shares of revenue going to non-supervisory workers but high payouts to shareholders and executives. Unionization helped redirect more of these resources toward worker wages and benefits, reducing inequality. Â Unionization disproportionately benefited non-white workers who got more disparity in the workplace. (farber et al, 2018)
Their Decline
The rates of U.S. workers in unions peaked in 1954 and over the next decades, it would continuously decrease. Unions have mostly failed in the growing industry while traditionally unionized industries like autos, steel, and manufacturing were in decline. Â The only exception is unionization among public sector employees which has seen an increase since 1960.
