Evening star., 1936-11-14
LAW TO OUTLAW
COERCION IS Asked
BY STEEL WORKERS
Roosevelt Also Asked to
Recommend Act to Ban
Company Unions.
representatives TALK
WITH LABOR SECRETARY
Letter to White House Charges
Threat to Force Employees to
Accept Pay Increase.
Hv the Associated Press.

6V tne ASSoCldteo FIeSS.
Elmer ]. Maloy and George A. Pat
terson. employe representatives of the
Carnegie Illinois Steel Co., today asked
President Roosevelt to recommend to
the next Congress adoption of legisla-
tion outlawing coercion of workers by
employers and forbidding company
financed unions.
In presenting their appeal to the
President, Maloy and Patterson COM
pleted their campaign for Federal sup
port in resisting the Carnegie Illinois
employe representation plan and the
proposed wage agreement which the
company has asked employe repre-
sentatives to sign.
Yesterday they were successful in
obtaining from Secretary Perkins an
opinion that the company's employe
representatives do not have authority
to sign binding wage agreement.
The company has offered 10 per
cent increase in wages contingent on
signing a years agreement-starting
Monday-which provides that wages
shall be adjusted upward and down.
ward with fluctuations in the cost of
living, as computed by the Labor De-
partment.
Threat Is Charged.
Maloy and Patterson said in a let
ter delivered at the White House that
"The United States Steel Corp. (of
which Carnegie Illinois is the largest
subsidiary has gone to such desperate
lengths in trying to force employe
representatives to sign this agreement,
namely, using threat that the plants
not signed may not participate in an
increase, keeping these representatives
in almost continuous session for three
or four days to force them In line,
telling them most of the other plants
have already signed when the truth
was, they had not. calling in indi-
vidual representatives so that greater
pressure could be exerted, and even
going so far as to place on bulletin
boards all over these plants circulars
erroneously creditine the President of
the United States with approving such
a yellow dog contract, we feel that
you should recommend to the next
Congress appropriate legislation to
eliminate such coercive tactics and
provide adequate punishment for vio-
lations."
Ask Law With Teeth.
In addition, they asked that pro-
vision he made to provide expenses for
workers who are party to litigation
against employer coercion or dis
elimination. The letter added:
We also request law with teeth,
absolutely forbidding the financing of
company unions by the management,
in any way, and providing that all
meetings by employe representatives
be held outside the plants and be
free from all interference from the
arrangements, and that the men of
each plant be permitted to choose
whatever collective bargaining agency
they wish without fear or favor"
Maloy and Patterson expressed
heartfelt gratitude" to the President
for his statement yesterday at a
press conference in which he said the
cost of living should not be a de-
termining factor in wage rates If it
acted to curb improvement of wages.
They said they were grateful for
"the splendid manner in which YOU
clarified your stand on living cost
index base, such base being the es-
sence OF the so-called agreement on
wages being offered by the United
States Steel Corporation"
Lewis Followers Gain.
Followers Of John L. Lewis also re-
joiced today in the result of another
preliminary skirrnish against an en-
ployes' representation plan in the ag-
ricultural implement industry.
On complaint Of the United Auto
mobile Workers, a member of the
Lewis camp of industrial unionists
the National Labor Relations Board
moved to demolish the Harvester In
dustrial Council Plan in operation at
(see LABOR, Page A-2.)