Evening star., 1937-06-01
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY e. GOULD LINCOLN.

Nothing equal to it ever has been seen
The race between the American Fedora
ton of Labor and the Committee for
Industrial Organization for supremacy
is responsible in large part. The boost
given collective bargaining by the Wag-
ner labor relations act, recently held
constitutional by the Supreme Court,
also must be taken into account. And
the general friendineSs of the Roose-
velt administration to organized labor
more than turks in the background
Industries that hitherto have been run
on the open shop principle and in which
labor unions have not had even toe
hold-like the automobile and steel in
dustries-are on the way to being
thoroughly organized. The rival labor
organizations are going over the ground
with a fine tooth comb. seeking new
groups of workers to sign up in their
particular unions.
The C. T. o. under the leadership of
John L. Lewis has made truly remark
able strides. Nevertheless it has a job
on its hands in its tussle with the A. F..
of l.. There is plenty of life and fight
in the older organization. The C. I. o.
officials maintain that because their
unions take in all the workers in plant
and do not divide them up into craft
unions-their organization is the better
for the purposes of collective bargaining
with the bosses. In other words, when
demand is made upon an employer by
his entire working force, and not by
just one group of the workers, it is
likely to be more effective. Certainly
it does appear that if there is to be
just one big union in industry-the
c. I. O-the head of that union will
be in position to exercise tremendous
power over industry and the workers of
America. 1t is conceivable that such
a leader, by pressing a button. could
call a general strike and tie up in
duStry throughout the country.
Organized minoritieS of workers are
taking their fellow workers into camp
whether they want to be taken or not
With business and industry gaining
ground, such organization is easier. Dur
ing depressed conditions, when jobs
are scarce and wages low, labor strikes
are apt to be drug on the market.
The vast army of labor in the past
has been unorganized in this country.
The American Federation of Labor in
its big chain of unions counted three or
four million members and that was
about all there was to it, except for
the railroad brotherhoods Unions are
springing up like mushrooms nowadays
The whole picture is changing.
Labor costs are a big factor-the
biggest factor--in nearly all kinds of
business and industry That is one
thing labor must not lose sight Of, or
| else it must be prepared to lose along
with the industry. There is limit
| beyond which labor costs cannot go
and have the industry continue to
| operate. Labor leadership doubtless
| Will take this into consideration. Wages
cannot be squeezed out of a concern
| that is losing money--that is, not for
| long. On the other hand, employers
who have been used to making huge
returns out Of their businesses and the
capital invested will have to give labor
greater share of the earnings. If
there is anything to collective bargain
ing between employer and employe it
should be possible to reach a reasonable
ground.
Having established by law the right
to collective bargaining for the workers,
it now is proposed by the administra-
ton that standards of labor" be set up
| These standards include minimum
wage and maximum working hours;
| they include prohibition of labor by
| children under sixteen years of age,
and also prohibition of goods in inter-
state commerce which have been pro-
duced by concerns which do not obey
the Wagner labor relations act and
permit collective bargaining, etc The
new Black-Connery labor standards bill
has already made its bow to the public,
with an Endorsement written by Presi-
dent Roosevelt himself. Theoretically.
| 1t has pleasant sound. Practically, it
is almost a pain, particularly to those
who have to whip it into shape for
final passage through Congress. Or
ganlzed labor does not like the idea of
fixing by law. or through labor stand
ards board, minimum wages and maxi
mum hours. 1t prefers to do a bit of
| collective bargaining with the employers
on those subjects-and if a bargain
cannot be reached it prefers to strike.
When collective bargaining was writ
| ten into law and presumably made en-
| forceabe, the greatest weapon ever placed
| in the hands Of organized labor had been
| forged. 1t does look as though some
| kind of law must be passed to compel
| labor to live up to its contracts, as an
| offset, or there may be a chaotic condi-
| ton in industry. The plethora of
strikes in this country today is not an
| encouraging sign. The more strikes
| there are the worse it is for labor as
we'll as for the employers. The en-
| ployes may gain an increase in wages,
| but If it comes at the close of a pro-
| longed strike the workers never catch
up again with the money they failed to
earn while they we're on strike. 1t is
| gone. 1t never was, to be more exact.
| The most capable labor leaders, there
| fore, are those who are able to win
| victories for their unions without strikes
| or lockouts; who gain their points by
| bargaining.
The wave of strikes, accompanied by
rioting and bloodshed, in this country, is
| not pleasant to contemplate. Where,
because of the loyalty of the workers,
it has been impossible to stage sit
| down strikes, the strikers and agitators
| have sought to seize the plants by
battle There was lack of decisive
action against the sit-down strikes when
| they got under way the first of the year
that bred considerable contempt for
the right of private property and the
orders of courts. More recently the
c. T. o. organizers have been leading
l