Montana labor news., 1934-12-06
Chamber Denounces
The 3O-Hour Week
lContinued from Page D

m is authorized TO appoint
such committe or committees as he
may deem wise and e~xpedient.
""The committee or committees thus
appointed are requested to report to
the board at its next meeting or to the
executive committee, if prompter action
is necessary"
This was followed the mex day with
a release announcing appointment by
President Henry |. Hartman of a COM
mittee of seven members of the Cham
ber's board Of directors to Garry out
the purpose OF the resolution to CO.
operate. The committe consists of:
Silas H. Strawn, chairman; Charles
Z. Bockus, Robert V. Fleming, William
F. Gephart, P. w. Litchfield, Harper
Sibley and William L. Sweet.
President Green Replies
The case Of organized labor with re-
spect to these flowery u%tterances on
the part Of the U, S. Chamber of Com
merce is contained in a statement issu-
ed by William Green, president of the
American Federation of Labor. Mr..
Green says:
"The announced purpose Of the board
of directors of the Chamber of Com
merce of the United States to cooperate
with the Government and the admins
~tration in the effort to promote eco
nomic recovery represents an about
face change in the previous policy Of
this organization. Heretofore the Unit
ed States Chamber of Commerce as
sumed a critical attitude approximating
opposition to the national recovery pol
icy pursued by the Government.
an view of the previous attitude
Of business interests, labor cannot
be blamed if it is skeptical as to the
real degree of cooperation which
these interests will give to the Gov
ernment in the development of its
New Deal policy.
"The primary purpose of the National
Recovery Act was to develop a CO.
partnership relationship between the
Government, industry and labor. In
every step taken in the furtherance Of
the national recovery program, labor
has cooperated to the fullest extent and
to the greatest degree. Unfortunately,
business interests as represented by
the United States Chamber of Com
merce and the National Association of
Manufacturers, have refused to recog-
nize the partnership of labor in the
national recovery program These in
%terests have refused to agree to accord
labor representation upon code author
tiles have opposed the application of
Section IA of the Industrial Recovery
Act, which provides for collective bar
gaining and which is embodied in every
industrial code of fair practice. Bus
mess interests as represented by the
United States Chamber of Commerce
have discharged and Disseminated aga
inst thousands of workers because they
exercised their right under Section IA
to join a labor union. In addition, the
National Association of Manufactur-
ers publicly declared their refusal to
abide by the decisions of the National
Labor Relations Board and called upon
all members of the National Associa-
ton of Manufacturers to refuse to com
ply with the decisions of the National
Labor Relations Board providing for
majority representation. The steel
manufacturers have threatened to in
stitute court proceedings in an effort
to prevent the application of the dec
isions of the National Labor Relations
Board.
while announcing publicly the pur-
pose of the Chamber of Commerce to
cooperate with the Government in the
effort to accelerate national recovery,
it denounces labor as unreasonable in
its attitude and unfair in its demands.
Before labor can accept the offer Of the
Chamber of Commerce to cooperate
with the Government in the promotion
of economic recovery as sincere and
genuine, it must publicly announce its
willingness to comply with Section IA
of the National Recovery Act as en-
bodied in industrial codes of fair prac-
tice, and its willingness to abide by the
decisions of duly constituted authori-
ties, set up by Act of Congress for the
purpose of promoting industrial peace,
as represented by the National Labor
Relations Board, the National Steel Re-
lations Board and other boards of a
similar character.
Section IA and these boards are
a part of the Instrumentalities Great
ed by Act Of Congress and establish
ed by the administration for the pur-
pose of promoting economic recovery
and labor and industry cooperation.
There can be no cooperation on the
part Of any group until they are will
ing to recognize and accept the v
ernmental instrumentalities through
which cooperation can be extended.
Labor accepts its full responsibility
under the provisions Of the National
Recovery Act. It will cooperate fully
in code-making processes, will recog-
nize its obligations to the fullest extent,
will conform to the requirements Of
Section IA of the National Recovery
Act, and will accept the decisions of
the National Labor Relations Board
providing for majority representation
in collective bargaining processes,
I'VE challenge the United States
Chamber Of Commerce and the Nat
ional Association of m Manufacturers to
meet this character of cooperation and
to publicly their willingness
to do so.
UNLESS the Chamber of Commerce
meets this challenge, we must regard
their %utterances as the voice of Jacob
and the hand of Esau."