The National Association of Manufacturers Helps Out

Abstract

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has long been a paragon of American business conservatism. Since its founding in 1895, the NAM has fought against unions, taxes, labor legislation, and the encroachment of the federal government into private enterprise. It opposed the New Deal and did everything in its power to subvert the prounion Wagner Act (1935). Its battle against the Wagner Act helped secure the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act (1947), which limited unions' power and signified a rightward shift in postwar domestic policy. In the 1950s, it continued its war against “creeping socialism,” standing athwart history, becoming in the eyes of the liberal establishment a bitter, extremist organization with little relevance in mainstream life. Yet the NAM endorsed fair employment with regard to racial minorities and women beginning in 1941, restated its commitment to equal opportunity in the 1950s, and helped implement the equal opportunity legislation of the 1960s. The NAM facilitated and encouraged compliance with civil rights legislation and worked closely with government agencies such as the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity (PCEEO), the Office of Contract Compliance (OFCC), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to publicize the new regulations among small and medium-sized businesses. The NAM generally opposed federal legislation, but it did not officially oppose Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act nor did it try to stop its passage. It did however prefer voluntary approaches to legislation and encouraged its members to take affirmative actions to integrate their companies.