As organized labor gears up to the appeal the recent National Labor Relations Board ruling that broaden the definition of supervisor, Jesse Russell takes a look at the historical timeline leading up to the decision:

By Jesse Russell

When the Taft Hartley Act was adopted by Congress in 1947 it included a provision that protected lead workers from being classified as supervisors. Nearly 50 years later that long standing definition, upheld by courts and previous incarnations of the board has been over turned. In the past decade the NLRB has attempted to classify the workers twice, but both times the Supreme Court has rejected that definition. Fred Feinstein, counsel to the NLRB for the Clinton administration explains:

[Feinstein]: The Supreme Court rejected the particular way in which the board rationalized its decision. It said, “No, no these people might not be supervisors, but you haven’t come up with a god explanation for it.” And so they sent it back to the board and then the board again came up with an explanation as to why they thought these people aren’t supervisors. And again the Supreme Court said, “No, this doesn’t quite do it either. We aren’t saying these people are supervisors, but you have to come up with a better explanation as to what the distinction is.” So they sent it back to the board again and that brings us up to today.