Final answer:
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) provides most private-sector employees with the right to engage in concerted activities such as collective bargaining through labor unions. The act also established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to enforce these rights and ensure fair labor practices.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), also known as the Wagner Act, the right to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection is provided to most private-sector employees. This law, passed as part of the Second New Deal in 1935, was designed to protect workers' rights to form unions and to negotiate with their employers over wages, hours, and other terms of employment. It also established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to enforce its provisions and ensure that workers have the ability to exercise their rights without employer interference or discrimination.
Labor unions such as the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organization (AFL-CIO), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and United Auto Workers (UAW) are examples of organizations that benefit from the protections of the NLRA. These unions are critical in advocating for better working conditions, improved compensation, and workers' rights. The law, however, does have exclusions, including public-sector employees, agricultural and domestic workers, independent contractors, workers employed by a parent or spouse, and some employees covered by the Railway Labor Act.