Evening star., 1934-03-19
DAVID LAWRENCE.


When Gen. Hugh johnson told the
assembled industrial representatives
recently You amt seen nothing yet"
he may not have been thinking of the
bill sponsored by Senator Wagner OF
New York, but the employers Of
America are ready to admit today that
the. never saw. read, heard, or i'm
agined anything in the way of legis-
lative proposal that could remotely
resemble the new Labor disputes act"
1t is measure intended to
strengthen the rights of labor to or
ganize and bargain collectively No
body except some of the old dealers
would stand in the way of such
progressive and forward looking prin-
ciple today. But the bill goes far
beyond any such objective, 1t pro-
hibits an employer, ranging all the
way from the small business man or
merchant with two or three employees
or clerks up to the industrialist with
his large army of workers, from open
ing his mouth to utter word that
could possibly be construed as in
f1uence" upon the policies" or "oper-
<hNASAho Va oAAy AoOOA OA SoAAANoSAOA'
Activity Restricted.
The bill is devoted entirely to
statement of what the employer can
not do. Not a single sentence pro-
hibitS the employe or the labor unions
from doing anything as, for example,
exercising coercive influence or cam
paigning among the other employees
in a shop. Indeed, while lockout
by an employer is specifically pro-
hibited and is to be made punishable,
the new bill gives the workers COM
plete immunity in the following sem
tence:
Nothing in this act shall be con-
Strued so as to interfere or impede or
diminish in any way the right to
strike"
The courts declare that there are
certain illegal strikes. Justice Bran
deis held in a famous case that strikes
could not be permitted in certain cir
cumstances. But the language of the
Wagner bill wipes out all doubt.
Another amazing thing about the
Wagner proposal, which is to be the
center of the biggest fight ever staged
in this country between employer and
employe groups, is the list Of unfair
labor practices" which can be held by
the suggested national labor law to
be violative of the provisions of the
proposed law.
Unfairness Outlawed.
Here is an excerpt from the section
which crystalizes the whole contro-
versy:
1T shall be an unfair labor prac-
tice for an employer, or any one act
ing in his interest, directly or indi-
rectly to attempt by interference, in
fuence, restraint, favor, coercion, or
lockout, or by any other means, to
impair the rights of employees guaran-
teed under section collective BAR
gaining). or to refuse to recognize
and deal with representatives of his
employees, or to fail to exert every
reasonable effort to make and main
tain agreements with such repre-
sentatives concerning wages, hours
and other conditions of employment"
What is a "favor?" How can an
employers mind be held up to scrutiny
and a discovery made as to whether
effort" to make an agreement with
his employees or to maintain it once he
had agreed? To determine the motive
the board is to have power to COM
pei the submission of all books, pa
pers, data and figures and to subpoena
anybody in the United States in any
Jurisdiction and summon them to
Washington by telegraph or letter and
compel attendance.
If an employer wants to give his
employees a price below the current
pany's own stock or if it is desired to
give a bonus to deserving employees,
can such a favor" be given without
running the risk of prosecution under
the proposed law?
New Avenues Of Thought.
These are some Of the questions
opened up by this new type Of labor
legislation, which enters into the re-
lations of contract and negotiation as
between individuals to a greater ex-
tent than any law ever attempted
before.
In order to buttress the constitu-
tionality of the proposal, the Wagner
bill has the following sentence:
1.-THE board Is empowered to pre-
vent any person engaging in any un-
fair labor practice that burdens or
affects commerce or obstructs the free
flow of commerce or has led or tends
to lead to a labor dispute that might
burden or affect commerce or obstruct
the free flow Of commerce"
As If the revolutionary purpose was