particle board: see composition board.

composition board, wood product produced in the form of a board or sheet, formed of cellulose fibers or particles derived from wood or other sources, and used principally as a building material. The oldest type of composition board is a relatively dense material known as hardboard, discovered accidentally in 1924 by the American scientist William Mason. After obtaining wood fibers by using high-pressure steam, Mason attempted to dry a matlike mass of them in a steam press. Because of a faulty valve, the press remained hot longer than had been planned and thus the first piece of hardboard was formed. In other forms of composition board the fibers are not as closely packed, and the density is correspondingly lower. Some of these boards find application as insulating and soundproofing materials. Other similar types are treated with waterproofing material, e.g., asphalt applied under pressure, and are usable as the sheathing of buildings. Such materials typically have a resistance to shearing forces exceeding that of plywood. Particle board, another form of composition board, is made by binding wood particles ranging in size from flakes to sawdust together with a suitable adhesive, such as a plastic resin, and pressing or extruding them to form sheets. Particle board is used as a cheaper substitute for plywood in some applications; but even though it has a higher density, it is less resistant to puncture and the effects of weather. When properly veneered it is suitable for making furniture. In its raw form it makes an excellent subflooring for dry locations.

War Production Board (WPB), former U.S. government agency, established (Jan., 1942) by executive order to direct war production and the procurement of materials in World War II. The chairman (Donald M. Nelson, 1942-44; Julius A. Krug, 1944-45) was granted sweeping powers over the nation's economic life. The WPB converted and expanded the peacetime economy to maximum war production; controls included assignment of priorities to deliveries of scarce materials and prohibition of nonessential industrial activities. During its three-year existence the WPB supervised the production of $185 billion worth of weapons and supplies. Businessmen serving with the WPB were sharply criticized by a Senate committee headed by Harry S. Truman. WPB organization changed frequently, and disputes with the armed services occurred. After the defeat of Japan, most restrictions were quickly lifted, and the WPB was abolished in Nov., 1945. The Civilian Production Administration was set up to take over the remaining WPB reconversion functions.

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Board of Education, case decided in 1971 by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court held that the constitutional mandate (see Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans.) to desegregate public schools did not require all schools in a district to reflect the district's racial composition, but that the existence of all-white or all-black schools must be shown not to result from segregation policies. The Court added that because bus transportation had traditionally been employed by school systems, busing could be used in efforts to correct racial imbalances.

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), independent agency of the U.S. government created under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (Wagner Act), and amended by the acts of 1947 (Taft-Hartley Labor Act) and 1959 (Landrum-Griffin Act), which affirmed labor's right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choice or to refrain from such activities. The board of five members (appointed by the U.S. President with the approval of the Senate for five-year terms) is assisted by 33 regional directors. This board determines proper bargaining units, conducts elections for union representation, and investigates charges of unfair labor practices by employers. Unfair practices include interference, coercion, or restraint in labor's self-organizational rights; interference with the formation of labor unions; encouraging or discouraging membership in a union; and refusal to bargain collectively with a duly chosen employee representative. The NLRB does not have the power to consider cases involving real estate brokers, agricultural employees, domestic workers, family workers, government employees, and church-run schools.

History

The Wagner Act, which established the NLRB, was validated by the Supreme Court in 1937. The NLRB functioned during World War II, but labor relations were mainly handled by the National War Labor Board (WLB), which existed from 1942 until 1945. A 12-man body, with the public, management, and labor equally represented, the WLB soon shifted from arbitration to formulating policies.

With the passage in 1947 of the Taft-Hartley Labor Act (also known as the Labor-Management Relations Act), the NLRB was converted into a purely judicial body, with the prosecution of unfair labor practices transferred to a general counsel. The board's action was dependent upon the filing by the union chiefs of affidavits proving that they were not Communists and of complete financial data. The NLRB's field of investigation was extended to cover the following practices as unfair to employers: refusal to bargain collectively, coercing employers in the selection of their bargaining agency, persuading employers to discriminate against certain employees, and conducting secondary boycotts or jurisdictional strikes.

In 1959 the Taft-Hartley Labor Act was amended by the Landrum-Griffin Act (also known as the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act), which repealed the requirement that a union must file a non-Communist affidavit and a financial report in order to obtain a hearing before the NLRB. The act also gave the states permission to assume jurisdiction over cases that the NLRB declined, even when interstate commerce was involved. Organizational and recognition picketing (i.e., picketing of companies where another union is already recognized) were made unlawful, and the NLRB general counsel was required to seek an injunction against such picketing if a violation was proved.

The Landrum-Griffin Act also affected policies of the board. It banned secondary boycott pressures and, with some exceptions, outlawed so-called hot-cargo agreements (i.e., express or implied contracts that prevent employers from doing business with persons declared off limits by unions). The NLRB's power was subsequently extended to postal workers (1970) and private health care institutions (1974), but a number of court rulings have reduced the board's power. During the 1980s organized labor attacked the NLRB for being pro-employer.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans., case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954. Linda Brown was denied admission to her local elementary school in Topeka because she was black. When, combined with several other cases, her suit reached the Supreme Court, that body, in an opinion by recently appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren, broke with long tradition and unanimously overruled the "separate but equal" doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson, holding for the first time that de jure segregation in the public schools violated the principle of equal protection under the law guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Responding to legal and sociological arguments presented by NAACP lawyers led by Thurgood Marshall, the court stressed that the "badge of inferiority" stamped on minority children by segregation hindered their full development no matter how "equal" physical facilities might be. After hearing further arguments on implementation, the court declared in 1955 that schools must be desegregated "with all deliberate speed."

Restricted in application to de jure (legally imposed) segregation, the Brown rule was applied mainly to Southern school systems. After strong resistance, which led to such incidents as the 1957 Little Rock, Ark., school crisis, integration spread slowly across the South, under court orders and the threat of loss of federal funds for noncompliance. The Brown decision gave tremendous impetus to the civil-rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and hastened integration in public facilities and accommodations. Segregation maintained by more subtle and intractable forces, however, has remained an important element in American society. De facto school segregation, caused by residential housing patterns and various other conditions rather than by law, has been attacked by the busing of students and other mechanisms. The landmark decision is commemorated by the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka (see National Parks and Monuments, table).

Organization set up by a government to regulate the buying and selling of a certain commodity within a specified area. The simplest type of board is designed to carry out market research, promote sales, and furnish information; it is usually financed by a fee levied on all sales of the product concerned. Examples include the Sri Lanka Tea Board and the Ghana Cocoa Board. Other boards are empowered to regulate terms and conditions of sale, usually by establishing packing standards and quality analysis. The primary goal of most marketing boards is to stabilize prices, especially of products intended for the export market, where price fluctuations are often extreme. The boards may raise average prices through manipulation of commodity flows, with the objective of maintaining reasonably high levels of demand at all times. Marketing boards such as the Washington State Apple Commission are used for products whose perishability requires that outlets be set up in advance. Seealso cartel.

Learn more about marketing board with a free trial on Britannica.com.

U.S. government agency charged with administering the National Labor Relations Act (1935). The three-member NLRB, appointed by the president, organizes elections to determine whether employees wish to be represented by a labour union in collective bargaining and monitors labour practices by employers and unions. It does not initiate investigations; its involvement must be sought by employers, individuals, or unions. Though it lacks enforcement power for its orders, it can prosecute cases in court.

Learn more about National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with a free trial on Britannica.com.