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FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE NATIONAL LABORRELATIONS BOARDI. INTRODUCTIONA. WORK OF THE BOARDThe Board is gratified to report that its record for the year endedJune 30, 1940, continues to show a marked increase in the percentageof cases disposed of and closed within the fiscal period. The percentageof cases on docket closed during the year was 72, contrastedwith 62 percent for the preceding year. Somewhat fewer cases werepending at the close of the past year than had been pending on June30, 1939.During the past year the Board was able to close without formalaction 83 percent of all cases finally disposed of. Forty percent ofthe cases were closed by settlement. Slightly less than half of theunfair labor practice cases disposed of during the year were closedthrough settlements voluntarily accepted by the parties and throughsubstantial compliance with the Act. Nearly 38 percent of the representationcases disposed of during the year were closed by informaldetermination of bargainino. representatives. Thus, a large numberof elections were held with the consent of the interested parties makinghearings unnecessary, facilitating quick determinations, and encouragingcollective bargaining.Of the new cases filed during the year, an increasing proportioninvolved representation disputes. Unfair labor practice cases remained,as heretofore, the most numerous group. However, thenumber of representation cases, as a percentage of the total numberof cases filed, increased from 33 to 36 percent between 1938-39 and1939-40.Comparatively few petitions were filed by employers during thefiscal year, 2 74 involving close to 12,000 workers. Contrastedwith these small numbers are 2,243 petitions filed by labor organizationsduring the year, affecting over 400,000 workers.The number of elections conducted by the Board during the pastyear and the number of workers eligible to vote increased almost 60percent over the corresponding figures for the preceding year. Again,as in the past, the secrecy of the ballot was not questioned in the manyelections in which over 500,000 workers participated. The Board'sA detailed statistical record of the Board's work during the past fiscal year will befound in ch. IV, pp. 13-30.The Board's amended Rules and Regulations, issued July 14, 1939, permit the filing ofpetitions by employers faced with conflicting claims to exclusive recognition by two or morelabor organizations.1
2 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARDelection machinery received frequent praise for its competence,thoroughness, and efficiency, both from employers and unions.There was a notable increase during the year in the number ofdecisions issued by the Board, particularly in unfair labor practicecases. The number of hearings, however, declined. The proportionof Board decisions dismissing unfair labor practice cases continuedto increase. The unfair labor practice cases in which compliancewas secured with Board orders and decisions also increased innumber.B. RELATION OF BOARD ACTIVITIES TO INDUSTRIAL PEACEPast reports have contrasted the record of industrial disputes withthe record of Board cases to indicate possible effects of the act's administration.Available statistics provide only a partial measure ofindustrial strife. The use of such data to measure the effects ofBoard activity is limited for an additional reason : the Board is confinedto disputes over the right to organize and bargain collectively.Thus, the immediate effect of Board activity is evident only from therecord of strikes for recognition or against discrimination.4Earlier reports noted the low volume of Board cases and widespreadstrikes during the period immediately following passage of the Act,until April 1937 when it was validated by the Supreme Court. Thisinitial effect was attributed to the difficulty of administering the Actin the face of employer opposition and court injunctions restrainingthe Board. After April 1937 the volume of Board cases rose steadily.Strike activity declined.During the past fiscal year, the number of Board cases taperedoff from ranges of 500-800 monthly during the preceding year toa monthly average of 514. The total number of strikes remained atthe relatively low level established during 1938 and early 1939. Thenumber of strikes involving recognition and discrimination declinedfrom a monthly average of 75 during the preceding fiscal year toan average of 57 in 1939-40. During the latter year the ratio ofBoard cases to strikes involving causes related to the act was relativelyhigh; in December there were 13 Board cases for everystrike involving recognition or discrimination.The number of workers involved in Board cases and the numberinvolved in strikes fluctuated during the year. Board cases duringJuly involved more than 200,000 workers, recording a high figure forthe period. The number declined to slightly more than 50,000 in thefollowing month, increased in succeeding months, and averaged 92,056monthly for the entire year. The number of workers involved instrikes was less than the number involved in Board cases during eachmonth except August and October.A detailed monthly and annual record of strike activity and Board cases is found intables appended to this report, on pp. 159-162. The record covers the period October 1985—June 1940 and includes the number of strikes, the number of Board cases, the numberof workers involved in strikes, the number involved in Board cases, and man-days ofidleness attributable to industrial disputes. The number of strikes and of workers involvedare given separately for strikes involving recognition and discrimination and for strikesarising out of all causes. The former measure is the more significant one in its relationto Board activity.4 Indirectly there may be a larger effect, but the relationship between the act and allstrikes is a tenuous one. That record is influenced by the attitude of employers, by theattitude and policies of labor unions, by labor disunity, by the stage of the business cycle,and by differences over the substantive conditions of employment.
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VI. JURISDICTIONThe decisions of th
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IX. DIVISION OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1
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XII. FISCAL STATEMENTThe expenditur
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