The NIRA.

The first New Deal efforts to respond to corporate bankruptcies and the concomitant unemployment came in the form of an omnibus legislative bill. The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) was passed by Congress in mid June 1933. An extremely complex bill, the NIRA was intended to stop the crippling deflation that was ruining American industries. The NIRA suspended antitrust laws and allowed industries to collude in setting prices. The NIRA created the Public Works Administration (PWA), and in its now-famous section 7(a) allowed workers to organize into unions with the assurance that they could not be "coerced, harassed, or intimidated" by their employers. The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was established under the NIRA to set codes for industrial compliance. Under the capable leadership of Hugh S.Johnson, the NRA instituted codes calling for minimum wages, maximum hours, and an end to child labor. Industries...