IV. THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD

A. THE BOARD

On August 24, 1935, the Senate confirmed the President's appointment of J. Warren Madden, of Pennsylvania; John M. Carmody, of New York; and Edwin S. Smith, of Massachusetts, as members of the National Labor Relations Board. Mr. Madden, a professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh, was appointed for a period of 5 years and was designated as Chairman. Mr. Carmody, a member of the National Mediation Board, which administers the labor relations provisions of the Railway Labor Act, was appointed for a 3-year term. Mr. Smith, a member of the National Labor Relations Board, which had been created pursuant to Public Resolution No. 44, was appointed for a 1-year term.

The appointment of the three Board members became effective on August 27, 1935, and their first formal meeting took place on September 4. The most immediate problems they faced were the creation of an organization and the adoption of procedural rules and regulations. Fortunately, the Board was not confronted with the task of building an entirely new organization. The National Labor Relations Act provided for the transfer of the staff of the old National Labor Relations Board to the newly created Board. Thus there was available, except in the field of court litigation, a staff experienced in the type of work to be done by the Board and a complete regional set-up to handle cases in the field. Some refinement of this organization and some personnel changes were necessary, but the Board was able to avoid a great deal of delay in commencing to function as a result of the continuance of the previous staff. After a conference with the Washington staff and the field staff and a survey of laborrelations conditions in the various regions the Board perfected its organization and adopted rules and regulations governing the procedure before it.

B. ORGANIZATION-WASHINGTON OFFICE

The Board created the following divisions in its Washington office: Legal, Administrative, Trial Examiner, Economic, and Publications. Certain functions and activities were assigned to each of these divisions.

The Legal Division, under the supervision of the general counsel, has charge of the legal work involved in the administration of the National Labor Relations Act. This work falls into two main sections, Litigation and Review.

The Litigation Section, headed by the associated general counsel, is responsible for the conduct of hearings before the Board and

1 On Aug. 31, 1936, Mr. Carmody resigned and on Sept. 23, 1936, Donald Wakefield Smith of Pennsylvania was appointed to fill Mr. Carmody's unexpired term.

advises the regional attorneys in their conduct of hearings before the agents of the Board in the field. It represents the Board in judicial proceedings seeking to enjoin the Board from holding hearings and taking other action in cases before it, and also represents the Board in proceedings brought by it in the United States circuit courts of appeals for the enforcement of its orders, and proceedings brought by parties for the review of the Board's orders. It prepares briefs for presentation to the courts in all judicial proceedings brought by or against the Board.

The Review Section, headed by the assistant general counsel, assists the analysis of the records of hearings in the regions and before the Board in Washington. It submits to the Board opinions and advice on general questions of law and problems of interpretations of the act and the Board's rules and regulations, and in response to inquiries from the regional offices submits to the regional attorneys opinions on the interpretation of the act as applied to specific facts. In collaboration with other divisions it prepares, for submission to. the Board, orders, forms, rules, and regulations, and it engages in the research incidental to the formulation of legal opinions.

In addition to the foregoing, the Legal Division exercises supervision over the legal work of the regional attorneys in the field.

The Administrative Division, under the supervision of the secretary, is responsible for the operation of the administrative, clerical, and fiscal activities of the Board, both in Washington and in the regional offices, and supervises the activities of the regional offices. The administrative work is done by the Accounts and Personnel Section, Docket Section, Files and Mails Section, Stenographic Section, and Library. Under this division falls the handling of liaison activities with other Government establishments; preparation of budget estimates and justifications; and the signing of orders, certifications, notices, etc. In addition, this Division is in charge of the correspondence and case development in the Washington office and the case development and handling of labor relations in the regional offices.

The Trial Examiners Division, under the supervision of the secretary, as acting Chief Trial Examiner, holds hearings on behalf of the Board. Members of this Division are assigned to preside over hearings on formal complaints and petitions for certification of representatives, to make rulings on motions, to prepare intermediate reports containing findings of fact and recommendations for submission to the parties, and to prepare informal reports to the Board.

The Economic Division, under the supervision of the Chief Industrial Economist, prepares the economic material necessary for use as evidence in the Board's cases, covering both the business of the particular employer involved in a case before the Board and the industry of which this business is a part. It also makes general studies of the economic aspects of labor relations for use of the Board in its formulation of policy and prepares the economic material needed for inclusion in briefs for the courts in cases where the Board is a litigant. The Publications Division, under the supervision of the Director of Publications, makes available to the public information regarding the activities of the Board, through releases and answers to oral and

written inquiries. Copies of the Board's decisions and orders, rules and regulations, statements concerning the status of cases before the Board and its regional offices, and similar information are sent out in the form of releases issued to the press and through mailing lists.

C. ORGANIZATION-REGIONAL OFFICES

The National Labor Relations Board retained the system of regional offices which had been in existence under the old National Labor Relations Board. Some changes in duties and additions to staff were necessitated by the change in the functions of the Board from those of the old Board. Originally, under the National Labor Board, each regional board was under the direction of a volunteer impartial chairman, assisted by representatives of labor and industry in connection with hearings and decisions, and by a paid, fulltime executive secretary in connection with the administrative work. When the first National Labor Relations Board took office it abolished the position of impartial chairman, made the executive secretary a regional director, put him in complete charge of the office (sometimes assisted by a field examiner or investigator), and established panels of representatives of the public, labor, and industry from which the regional director could choose individuals to hear specific cases.

Because of the stricter legal requirements of the National Labor Relations Act and the more formal procedure required under it, the present Board decided to dispense with the volunteer services of the panels and have the work in the regions handled entirely by trained members of its own staff. At present the following division of functions exists:

The regional director is the administrative head of the office, under the supervision of the Administrative Division in Washington. He is also in charge of the labor relations work, investigating charges of commission of unfair labor practices and petitions for certification of representatives, attempting to secure compliance with the law without formal procedure, issuing complaints, or refusing to issue complaints, upon the recommendation of the regional attorney, setting dates for hearing and arranging for the holding of hearings, and holding elections as agent of the Board.

The field examiner aids the regional director in his investigations and efforts to secure compliance, in holding elections as agent of the Board, and other nonadministrative duties. Only the larger and more active regional offices have field examiners assigned to them. The regional attorney is the legal officer in the regional office, under the supervision of the general counsel and the regional director. He advises the regional director on the desirability of issuing a complaint on the charge filed with the director, weighing the sufficiency of the evidence presented to the director or obtained by investigation. The regional attorney drafts complaints, in cases where the regional director directs the issuance of complaints. The regional attorney interviews witnesses, makes further investigation, and generally prepares cases for trial. He presents the Board's cases at hearings before trial examiners and prepares any briefs,

D. REGIONAL OFFICES-LOCATION, TERRITORY, AND