National Labor Relations Board

The National Labor Relations Board is cited as a public critic of Ford Motor Company's labor policies during the company's 1931–1937 labor conflict. Its condemnation gives an institutional measure of the severity of conditions at River Rouge, where efforts to organize workers met company violence and intimidation.

Role in the Ford Labor Conflict

The account names the National Labor Relations Board in connection with the labor dispute at Ford Motor Company, rather than describing the Board's internal structure or its procedures. Its specific reported role is to condemn the company's labor policies as organizing efforts by the United Auto Workers encountered resistance at River Rouge.

The Conditions Under Criticism

The labor conflict unfolded amid speedup, job insecurity, and labor espionage at River Rouge. The United Auto Workers' attempts to organize Ford workers, alongside workers at General Motors and Chrysler, met violence and intimidation from Ford. The Board condemned Ford's policies and regarded them as the worst in the automobile industry.

Significance in the Account

The Board's condemnation places an official institutional judgment alongside the account's description of workplace pressure and anti-union violence. It establishes that the conditions at Ford were not presented merely as a dispute between the company and organizers: a federal labor authority judged the company's policies to be exceptionally poor within the industry. The evidence does not detail particular Board proceedings or remedies.