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National Labor Relations Board

National Labor Relations Board

1 4.1
An independent United States agency that helps settle disputes between employers and labor unions
  • proper noun
  • /ˈnæʃənl ˈleɪbər rɪˈleɪʃənz bɔrd/
  • Formal
translation icon : Junta Nacional de Relaciones Laborales
  • Labor leaders in my area say that lower-level managers are seeing National Labor Relations Board protection—weak as that might be—as increasingly attractive.
  • National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
  • National Labor Relations Board complaint

Examples

  • The National Labor Relations Board has asked a US judge to force them to rehire the workers immediately.

  • We've got the National Labor Relations Board.

  • The Orange County Musicians' Union then presented the case to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

    Academic text (1994)
  • Murphy, a former examiner for the National Labor Relations Board, intended to get a team to petition for labor board recognition whenever the ABG had a sufficient presence and when several "big name players" were already organizing on its behalf.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Yesterday marked the anniversary of Franklin Roosevelt signing the bill creating the National Labor Relations Board in 1937.

  • Five cases are pending before the National Labor Relations Board dealing with the status of 'alternative workers' as potential union members.

Synonyms

NLRB
vsNational Labor Relations Board
  • Formal
5 7.7

A government group that helps settle fights between employers and labor unions and enforces rules about work

mediates disputes but does not include enforcement responsibilities

How Official

National Labor Relations Board
  • Formal
1 4.1
trade union
12 2.8
works council
  • Jargon
6.1
shop steward
  • Jargon
3 5.8
spokesperson
123 3.5

Surface Forms

Morphology

national + labor + relations + board

The compound is transparently built from its parts: 'national' (country-level) + 'labor' (workers) + 'relations' (interactions) + 'board' (committee/agency) yields a national committee/agency overseeing worker relations. This institutional naming pattern is common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the MWE's basic meaning.

Etymology

National Labor Relations Board is a name that shows its job: picture a board (a group at a table) that deals with labor (work) and relations (how people get along) for the national (whole country). So, this government group helps 'solve fights between employers and workers' and makes sure both sides follow the rules.