The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-03-29
Refuse Militant Union
Leaders Right to Be
Heard on Bill
BY MARGUERITE YOUNG
DAILY Worker Washington Bureau
WA cuTNCTON March %


Your organization will
not be affected by the Wag-
ner Bill" Chairman Walsh
of the Senate Labor Com
mittee yesterday told a company
union spokesman who had just tes-
titled that his organization elects
company foremen to represent the
workers.
This clear announcement that the
Wagner Labor disputes bill will
place the stamp of full legal APP
proval upon company unions was
made in today's public hearing on
the bill. 1t followed a vehement
assertion by Senator Robert F. Wag-
ner. author of the bill, that Il have
no objection to the company union
if it is the free choice of the work
ers."
Repeating Yesterdays perform
snce of openly promising anti
union employers that he re-draft his
bill to suit them more completely,
Wagner explained to George Ed
monds. Philadelphia Chamber of
Commerce President, II have al
ways, whenever I spoke against
company unions, said I meant COM
pany dominated company unions I
don't know why people insist on
misquoting me. Whenever I've
mentioned the subject, have en-
phasized employer dominated COM
pany unions. have no objections
to company unions if they are the
free choice Of the workers"
Then the company union repre-
sentative testified, and Walsh de-
clared: you have given an excel
lent example of a company union
that is not dominated by the en-
ployer"
The company union representa-
tive was E. r. Fiske, IT., an unctu-
ously deferential youth from the
Cooperative Association of EN-
ployees of the Leeds and Northrup
Company measuring instruments
manufacturers. Fiske explained
that he and his fellow workers elect
a council composed of elected
representatives, and that this
council represents the employees
in all their relations with manage
ment."
Bosses May Come In.
Can employer representatives
be IN this counciI-can foremen
ard sUperintendents?" Senator
Davts of Pennsylvania asked.
ives, sir, il elected" Fiske re-
p".d.
re also told how the council"
meets on company premises, re-
ceives pay for the time spent in
r'.Hetings, and considers matters of
interest to management, such as
how waste can be eliminated" It
was this kind of organization that
Walsh declared IAN excellent ex-
smple of a company union not
Dominated by the employer" one
which will not be affected" by the
We ~ner bill.
After hearing the company union
and other employer spokesman at
length, the Senate Labor Committee
flatly refused to hear Joseph Kiss,
Secretary of the Furniture Workers
Industrial Union with 10000 mem
bers, despite the fact that Chairman
Walsh had wired Kiss promising to
hear him today and that the COM
mittee clerk yesterday confirmed
this. The committee insisted that
Kiss merely "file a statement for
the record" 1t also deferred hear
ing Pat Cush, President of the Steel
and Metal Workers Industrial
Union, who likewise has been pro-
missed hearing today.
AS the hearing dragged on with
out either militant labor spokes-
mans being called, Cush went up
to Walsh and asked when he would
testify. Walsh replied that he
would be last" Then at noon,
Walsh suddenly announced almost
in one breath, Mr.. Kiss will file his
statement-the hearing is adj
journed." The committee walked
out as Kiss and Cush rushed to pro-
test. Walsh told Cush he might
testify tomorrow, but insisted that
Kiss would not be heard at all. He
did this despite the fact that he
has told your correspondent that
the hearings will continue at least
a week or ten days more and despite
the fact that no other witness has
been restricted in time. 1t was the
same procedure-only more raw
ss was followed in futile efforts to
shut off the testimony of Bill
Dunno of the Trade Union Unity
League last week.
Hit Workers Own Unions
Besides specifically clothing COM
pany unions with legality, it was
indicated today, the committee will
write into the Wagner bill specific
prohibitions against coercion" by
labor unions of workers-which will
mean that virtually any union &C
tivity may be labelled coercion"
and severely punished. Moreover
the Committee is considering an
amendment under which the pro-
posed enlarged and more powerful
National Labor Board would be
stacked 100 per cent against labor,
instead of, as now proposed, five-to-
two against labor Even the two
labor representatives now proposed
would be American Federation of
Labor officials. And how safe the
bosses know they are was indicated
once more today when Henry S.
Dennison, president of the Denni-
son Manufacturing Co., declared:
I'VE must remember that we en-
ployers cannot all deal direct with
Mr.. (William) Green of the A. F.
of L. If we could, our attitude
would be different