In the 1920s, unions struggled due to pressure from businesses and the government. But things changed after President Franklin D. Roosevelt (pictured at the Forest Festival in Elkins) was elected in 1932. His National Industrial Recovery Act in 1933 gave workers the right to join unions and banned yellow-dog contracts. Even though the law was later ruled unconstitutional, most West Virginia workers had already unionized. In 1935, the Wagner Act was passed to protect workers’ rights to unionize and bargain.