ABSTRACT
The "labor law" is more limited than it seems. It does not refer to the entire body of law that applies to workers and employers. Most Americans believe that the legislature makes the law, the executive puts the law into effect, and the courts decide whether the law has been violated. Employers have used the law to resist labor unions since the earliest days of the Republic. In the Nineteenth Century, labor relations were controlled by state, not federal, law. The Sherman Anti-trust Act of 1890 was enacted in order to eliminate business monopolies, but its words were broad enough to apply to labor unions as well. In 1932 Congress adopted the Norris-LaGuardia Act, which is in force today. With some exceptions, this statute prohibits federal courts from issuing injunctions in cases growing out of labor disputes. In 1935 Congress recognized the legitimacy of labor unions and created a major exception to employment at will.
