The Washington times., 1935-02-28
NRA ASSA|LED.
FORFA|L|NG To
SPREAD WORK
Representatives GiIdea and
Connery Protest Government
Labor Policies
International News Service


The Government, not industry,
was blamed before the House
Labor Committee today by Repre-
sentative Gildea Cd, new mem
Der from Pennsylvania, for the
large number of unemployed
workers. He said:
There has not been any &C
tive movement made for the
NRA to distribute jobs by re-
ducing working hours"
Chairman Connery CD OF
Massachusetts, interrupted with:
"When President Roosevelt
addressed the mass meeting Of
code authorities last year he
appealed to industry to cut
working hours 10 per cent and
increase wages 10 per cent, but
less than One-half per cent Of
the employers have Obeyed him.
If they defeat the prevailing
wage scale on these relief prof.
ects, labor will be back where
it was so years ago, with the
proposed $50 month subsistence
wage becoming standard wage"
Mr.. Gildea argued that labor
has failed to make a real tight
to cut working hours but Repre-
sentative Schneider (P0 OF Wis,
consin told him labor sought
lower hours than the NRA granted
in the codes.
Urges Code Junking
Widening further his break with
President Roosevelt over recovery
policies, Representative Connery
earlier today had stated his
belief organized labor would
be better off" if all codes were
"junked" and only the four sail
ent recovery principles continued
and rigidly enforced.
Admitting the MIRA has accom-
plished some benefits, Represen-
tative Connery argued the union
workers were inveigled to believe
"a new era" was dawning for
them with establishment of the
NRA; that there would be true
spirit of cooperation between in
dustry and labor with the Federal
Government as the impartial
referee and each group giving full
recognition and consideration to
the othe4 in formulating working
conditions.
Breach WidenS
He explained most industries
wrote their own codes and ap.
pointed the code authorities and
even denied labor the privilege to
have the codes reopened to amend
the working provisions unless the
industries affected consented.
Representative Connery'S state.
ment is significant since Congress
has Mr.. Roosevelt's mandate to
continue the MIRA and the re-
covery act another two years, and
the Senate is split over various
resolutions demanding a Senate
investigation of the MIRA and it's
monopolistic policies.
While a Staunch admirer of Mr..
Roosevelt. Representative Connery
broke with him when the White
House had his 30-hour work week
bill ditched in 1893, last year and
again this year.
He believes labor would fare
better If the codes were Scrapped
and only these recovery principles
retained: /, abolition of child
labor; 2, outlaw yellow dog"
labor contracts; 3, right of workers
to organize and. 4, collective bar
gaining. He said:
"My committee worked hard
TO have these four principles
enacted into law but we are not
responsible for the rest Of the
present recovery setup."
HAS FAILED LABOR
"Our 30-hour week bill did not
stipulate minimum wages las
the codes do because we knew
they would be made the maxi.
mum wages"
The committee is considering
its own labor program independ-
ent of the White House and soon
will recommend to the House pro-
posals including the shorter work
week and labor's equal represerr
tation with industry on all NRA
and Federal labor boards and code
authorities.
Labor chieftains, from William
Green, president of the A. F.. of L.,
down to the heads Of the smaller
independent organizations, have
testified the recovery admiristra.
ton has failed labor.