Evening star., 1934-10-02
What Is a Truce q?

President Roosevelt's proposal for
an industrial truce during a specified
period, while the agencies of Govern
ment are working through peaceful
methods to settle all disputes that
arise between labor and management,
has Immediately raised a number OF
important questions. Is the truce to
provide for the status quo in industry
while it is effective? That is one OF
the things that both labor and man
agement would like to know. Does
It mean that labor unions are not to
60 ahead and organize in plants and
industries that have not hitherto been
organized? Or does it mean that the
unions are to have free rein in the
organization of employees wherever
they desire-Which quite naturally
would be everywhere?
Despite the fact that the National
Industrial Recovery act declares the
right OF employees to deal collectively
with employers, it does not say that
employees must join unions, nor does
It say they must join certain unions.
The unions however, have interpreted
the law as giving them specific
right to go into any and all plants to
lyo
members of their particular unions
They have been resisted by the
arrangements of plants in some of
the important industries. Recogni-
tion of the unions has been at the
bottom of many Of the disputes that
have arisen in the past year 1t played
an important part in the textile strike
which has recently cost many lives
and kept the eastern part of the
country in turmoil. Managers in in
dustries which have fought the organ
ization of their plants by the unions
outside are likely to wonder just why
they should agree to a truce with the
understanding that while the truce
continues the unions are to have free
hand to do just what they want about
entering the plants.
There are the questions of hours
Of labor and wages. Are these to re-
main In status quo while the truce
continues for its specified period?
The President in his address over the
radio Sunday night said: Il shall not
ask either employers or employees to
lay aside permanently the weapons
common to industrial warfare" The
implication was that he would ask
them to lay aside these weapons dur
ing the truce which he is proposing.
Miss Perkins, the Secretary of Labor,
is reported to have said at her press
conference that it was not her under
standing that the President had in
mind a truce so sweeping that it
would provide for compulsory arbitra-
ton or for the abrogation of labor's
right to strike. The situation seems
to be bit cloudy on this point. 1t is
obvious that the country cannot have
an industrial truce and at the same
time have strikes. If labor makes an
agreement for a truce for a given
period while peaceful means of set
ting labor disputes are worked out,
then the country would expect it to
live up to this agreement. 1t would
not expect labor to strike under such
conditions any more than it would
expect employers to bring about a
lockout or use any of the other weap-
ons it possesses to coerce the workers,
after the employers had agreed to
truce.
The peaceful settlement of labor
disputes in just and reasonable man.
ner has been the desire of the country
for long time. The people gen.
orally will wish to aid the Presi-
dent in bringing an end to industrial
warfare, with its strikes, its lockoutS,
its destruction of human beings and
Of property belonging to worker and
manager, and its terrible waste. Man
agenent has many times been as
guilty as labor in denying peaceful
settlement and just decisions without
strife. Both have been guilty at
times. Before the truce proposed by
the President can begin it is quite
clear that there must be some agree
ment as to just what this truce shall
include.