National War Labor Board

Corporations that engaged in unfair labor practices were more or less barred from federal contracts, and the National War Labor Board, which arbitrated labor disputes at firms that were central to the war effort, supported unionization and ensured that employees were made union members.

Then, the National War Labor Board, a federal agency created to resolve labor disputes during wartime, ruled that health insurance would not count as wages; this allowed employers trying to compete for workers in a tight market to offer health insurance to prospective hires without violating the wage regulations.

An official with Saks & Co., he was active in civic life in the District and was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson to serve on the National War Labor Board.

Since women were doing work that men would ordinarily do, the National War Labor Board decided they should be paid the same: “If it shall become necessary to employ women on work ordinarily performed by men, they must be allowed equal pay for equal work.”

In 1942, the National War Labor Board allowed employers to get around wage and price controls by luring scarce workers with fringe benefits.