Robert F. Wagner: Labor Hall of Fame

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management

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Labor Hall of Fame Honoree

Robert F. Wagner
1877-1953

"Of what use are material resources...if the sum total of human happiness enjoyed by all our people be not increased thereby?"

Robert F. Wagner Signature

From an impoverished immigrant childhood to the exalted realm of the United States Senate where he crafted laws on behalf of society's neediest, Robert F. Wagner embodied the American dream. His pioneering legislation gave us hope during the depression of the thirties -- emergency relief, employment assistance, jobless help, aid for farmers, Social Security and, most importantly, labor's Magna Carta, the Wagner Act, guaranteeing workers the right to organize and bargain collectively. The author of early national housing legislation, he also fought for civil rights laws in advance of his time.