Martin grew in his vocal opposition to Roosevelt's New Deal, especially to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the President's labor policy. In 1937, the NLRB failed to settle a jurisdictional dispute between the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and the American Federation of Labor (AFL) that had closed all Portland sawmills. Martin stepped in and held his own elections, which led to the reopening of the mills. He made himself the enemy of what many saw as corrupt labor leaders, particularly by his appointment of Assistant Attorney General Ralph E. Moody to prosecute many union people accused of arson and assault.