# Minnesota Labor Relations Act *Minnesota session law of 1939 establishing a structure for union–employer mediation.* The Minnesota Labor Relations Act is chapter 440 of the 1939 Laws of Minnesota. It passed as H.F. No. 352 and was approved on April 22, 1939.[^1] That was less than four months after Republican [[Harold Stassen]] took office as [[Governor of Minnesota]] on January 2, 1939.[^2] The State's own account of the act appears in the governor biography published by the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, which credits the text to the [[Minnesota Historical Society]]. It calls the act Stassen's major achievement and says it "created a structure for mediation between unions and employers, meant to reduce strikes."[^3] The record cited here establishes the act's chapter, bill number and approval date. It does not include the act's text, the roll-call votes, later amendments, or any strike count that would show whether the stated purpose was met.[^1][^3] The one documented output of the State's labor-mediation apparatus in this record comes from the Historical Society's finding aid for Stassen's papers. It describes a 1941 hearing over control of Teamsters Local Union 544, presided over by the State Labor Conciliator, which ended in a decision certifying the American Federation of Labor as the union's representative.[^4] ## Who Stassen was Minnesota's 25th governor and a Republican. He took office on January 2, 1939.[^2] The Minnesota Historical Society's finding aid records that he was elected in 1938 at age 31, the youngest governor in the state's history, and was reelected in 1940 and 1942.[^5] The record here does not identify the bill's legislative sponsors or the party composition of the 1939 [[Minnesota Legislature]]. It also documents no later governor or legislature, of either party, that amended, maintained or repealed the act.[^1] Stassen's labor-relations work predates the act. The Legislative Reference Library biography states that in 1933 he mediated a stockyards strike in South St. Paul and gained a reputation for level-headedness.[^6] The finding aid lists notes and correspondence relating to an Armour Packing House strike of 1933 among his papers.[^7] Stassen resigned the governorship and enlisted in the Navy on April 27, 1943.[^5] On February 13, 1945, the White House announced him as a member of the United States Delegation to the United Nations Conference at San Francisco.[^8] He was president of the [[University of Pennsylvania]] from 1948 to 1953.[^9] He was appointed Director of the [[Mutual Security Agency]] on January 27, 1953. He then served as Director of the [[Foreign Operations Administration]] from August 3, 1953, until March 19, 1955.[^10] On March 19, 1955, President Eisenhower announced his appointment as Special Assistant to the President on disarmament, a position of Cabinet rank.[^11] ## What The session-law record is held by the [[Revisor of Statutes]]. It lists the measure as Laws of Minnesota 1939, chapter 440 (H.F. No. 352), titled *Minnesota Labor Relations Act*.[^1] Wikipedia classifies it as a state labor relations statute dating from 1939.[^12] The Legislative Reference Library biography describes its content only as a structure for mediation between unions and employers.[^3] ## When The act was approved on April 22, 1939, during Stassen's first term.[^1][^2] The finding aid places Alfred P. "Pat" Blair as State Labor Conciliator during Stassen's second term, 1940–1941. It dates the Local 544 hearing he presided over to 1941.[^4] ## Why The only statement of purpose in the record is the Legislative Reference Library's: the act was meant to reduce strikes.[^3] The record contains no count of strikes before or after 1939. It does not establish whether the stated purpose was achieved.[^3] ## How The governor biography says the act worked by creating a structure for mediation between unions and employers.[^3] The record does not describe the act's procedures, administering office or enforcement provisions.[^1] The finding aid describes an unpublished work by Blair, *Storm Over the Union*. The work recounts 1941 events in [[Minneapolis]], including the arrests of some thirty people connected with the Socialist Workers Party on sedition charges. It also recounts a labor hearing on a related contest between the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations for control of Teamsters Local Union 544. Blair presided over the hearing, and a decision was handed down certifying the American Federation of Labor as the union's representative.[^4] The finding aid does not name the statute under which the conciliator acted. The record therefore does not establish that the hearing was held under chapter 440.[^4] ## Notes [^1]: Revisor of Statutes, Minnesota, *Laws of Minnesota 1939, Chapter 440 (H.F. No. 352)* (approved April 22, 1939) — session law titled "Minnesota Labor Relations Act"; chapter, bill number and approval date. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/1939/0/Session+Law/Chapter/440/pdf/ [^2]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Governor Harold Stassen* (n.d.) — Stassen assumed office January 2, 1939, as 25th governor; party Republican. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/mngov/govbio?govid=14 [^3]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Governor Harold Stassen* (biography courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society, n.d.) — describes the Minnesota Labor Relations Act (1939) as Stassen's major achievement, which "created a structure for mediation between unions and employers, meant to reduce strikes." https://www.lrl.mn.gov/mngov/govbio?govid=14 [^4]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Harold E. Stassen: An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society* (finding aid 00202) — entry for *Storm Over the Union*: Alfred P. "Pat" Blair as State Labor Conciliator (1940–1941); the 1941 Local 544 hearing and the decision certifying the AFL. http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00202.html [^5]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Harold E. Stassen: An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society* (finding aid 00202) — biographical note: elected governor 1938 at age 31, youngest in state history; reelected 1940 and 1942; resigned and enlisted in the Navy April 27, 1943. http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00202.html [^6]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Governor Harold Stassen* (n.d.) — 1933 mediation of a stockyards strike in South St. Paul. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/mngov/govbio?govid=14 [^7]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Harold E. Stassen: An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society* (finding aid 00202) — Political and Gubernatorial Activities, 1933–1942: notes and correspondence relating to Armour Packing House strike, 1933. http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00202.html [^8]: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1945, Vol. I, Document 17: Statement Released to the Press by the White House* (February 13, 1945) — names Commander Harold Stassen to the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Conference. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1945v01/d17 [^9]: University of Pennsylvania University Archives, *Harold Edward Stassen* (Penn People, n.d.) — university president 1948–1953. https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-people/biography/harold-edward-stassen/ [^10]: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, *Harold E. Stassen (1907–2001)* (last updated March 14, 2024) — Director of the Mutual Security Agency, appointed January 27, 1953; Director of the Foreign Operations Administration, appointed August 3, 1953, terminated March 19, 1955. https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/stassen-harold-e [^11]: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Vol. XX, Document 16: Editorial Note* (n.d.) — Eisenhower's March 19 announcement of Stassen as Special Assistant on disarmament, of Cabinet rank. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1955-57v20/d16 [^12]: Wikipedia, *Minnesota Labor Relations Act* (revision 1363343587, retrieved 2026-10-28) — describes the act as a Minnesota labor relations statute enacted in 1939. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Labor_Relations_Act