The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1920-12-31
THE CENTRAL
LABOR COUNCIL
Wednesday, Dec. 20, 1920.

ana humorous ICIIeE OF nOllQay greet
ings to the Council. Read and filed.
In compliance with a request of the
Council the Everett Trades Building
Association sent in a copy of its min
utes of its last meeting. A record
of the action of the board denying
! the use of halls in the Labor Temple
to organizations antagonistic to the
American Federation of Labor caused
adverse criticism from several dele
gates. The minutes were filed.
Minutes of the Tacoma and Seattle
Central Labor Councils We're read
and filed.
Preliminary Report of the Industrial
Code Commission.
The Council received advance
sheets of the preliminary report of
the Industrial Code Commission. Or
dered printed in the Labor Journal.
1t follows:
The Industrial Code Commission
has been receiving many requests for
the findings and recommendations
that this Commission intends to make
to the state Legislature. Although
this Commission, in the short time at
it's disposal, has not fully covered the
scope of the important work assigned
to it, the members have arrived at
some conclusions and will present
them, together with recommendations
and a proposed law, at the coming
session of the legislature. In order
that the public and those interested
in the problems of industrial rela-
tions may have full opportunity to
consider, discuss and criticise these
recommendation we are making a
brief preliminary public report of the
findings, and digest of the impor-
tant features of the proposed law. A
detailed final report and copies of the
proposed bill will be printed and cir
culated later.
The Industrial Code Commission
was created by the authority of chap
ter 1874, laws of 1919. Its duties
were to investigate the problems of
industrial relations and to propose a
law with view to avoid industrial
disputes, strikes, lOckouts, etc. The
commission was year late in get
ting started on account of resigna-
tions of appointed members and test
of constitutionality in the courts, but
once fully organized the members
of the Commission cOnscientiously
studied and investigated the prob
lens from all angles. The Commits
sion has studied carefully the efforts
of other commissions, the laws of all
the states and nations and their re
suits. In addition it has had numer
Gus public and private conferences
with organized labor, employers and
other citizens in all parts of the
state. Based on the information at
hand the Commission has so far
unanimously come to the following
conclusions:
l.. That the present state labor
agencies and commissions dealing
with labor and industrial problems
should be consolidated and that there
should be more coordination and less
duplication in their work.
2. That all such labor agencies in
this state should function under one
department.
3. That this department should be
removed from politics as far as pos
sible and should consist of men who
are fair-minded and are sincerely in
terested in this work.
A. That there should be state ma
chinery or agencies to deal solely
with industrial relations.
5. That anti-strike laws or COM
pulsory arbitration is not the ulti-
mate solution of industrial disputes.
6. That industrial courts with
mandatory powers, such as the Kan
sas Court of Industrial Relations is
still in the experimental stage and
that it would be more profitable for
this state to study and observe this
experiment rather than to adopt such
principles at this time.
7. That the encouragement and
furnishing of facilities by the state
for encouragement of local industrial
councils, adjustment boards, etc,
within the industries and in the local
communities will secure more indus
trial peace than the extension of gov
ernmental authority over them.
g. That the energy of the depart
ment, if created, should be directed
toward preventing industrial dis
putes and the adjustment of these
differences before they reach the
strike and lockout stage.
8. That in cases of disputes in
volving public utilities and industries
affecting public interest it should be
mandatory upon such a department
to investigate impartially and make
public reports promptly.
10. That the legislature should
enact law during its present session
embracing the foregoing recommen-
dations.
In order to carry out these recon-
mendations and conclusions we have
endeavored to incorporate them into
a proposed law and create machinery
to put them into effect in this state.
Consolidation.
All the parties seem to have unani-
mously recommended that the pres
ent agencies be consolidated in order
to secure more coordination and less
duplication of work, at the same time
more economy and efficiency. In
line with these ideas we propose put
ting all the approximate 15 agencies
now dealing with labor and indus
tries in one single department of
labor and industries with three sub
divisions, towit: /, Industrial Insur-
ance. 2, Safety. 8, Industrial Re-
lations.
To these ub-divisions are assigned
those agencies whose functions log
ically fall there. In addition the
functions of several other state agen-
cies can be operated by this same
machinery. The proposed consolida-
tion is as follows:
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND
INDUSTRIES
(In charge of directory
DIVISIONS OR BUREAUS
|. Industrial Insurance - lnclud-