War Production Board

WWII Defense Contractors Convert to Peacetime Economy While Maintaining Pentagon Subsidies and Infrastructure

| Importance: 8/10

Following Japan’s surrender ending World War II, major defense contractors including Boeing, Lockheed, General Dynamics, and converted automotive manufacturers face the challenge of transitioning from massive wartime production to peacetime economy. The War Production Board, which directed …

Boeing Lockheed General Dynamics War Production Board Civilian Production Administration military-industrial-complex defense-contracts corporate-subsidy economic-manipulation world-war-ii
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War Production Board Establishes Corporate-Government Fusion Model

| Importance: 8/10

President Franklin D. Roosevelt creates the War Production Board (WPB) to coordinate wartime production, staffing it with corporate executives as ‘dollar-a-year men.’ This establishes a precedent for corporate-government partnership where business leaders shape government policy while …

Franklin D. Roosevelt Donald Nelson War Production Board Defense contractors William Knudsen corporate-government-fusion war-profiteering revolving-door defense-industry institutional-capture
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National War Labor Board Established, No-Strike Pledge Constrains Unions

| Importance: 8/10

President Roosevelt establishes the National War Labor Board (NWLB) by executive order on January 12, 1942, creating a tripartite body of labor, industry, and public representatives to arbitrate wartime labor disputes. In exchange for labor’s “no-strike pledge” for the duration of …

Franklin D. Roosevelt National War Labor Board AFL CIO William Davis +1 more labor-policy wartime-controls union-power wage-suppression corporate-influence
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