Evening star., 1937-02-09
General Motors Statement
CORPORATION agrees to Resume Peace Conferences,
But Reaffrms Demand That Strikers
Leave Plants.
dent of the United States that General

dent Of the United States that General
Motors should enter into negotiations
on his point. Accordingly, such nego-
tiations have taken place. No other
issue has been discussed and no agree
ment has been reached on this or any
other point.
The union claims 1t Is entitled to
exclusive bargaining rights for all
workers in plants on strike, even those
outside its membership. This position
really means that If 500 workers sit
down and throw 10000 other workers
out of employment, this act of violence
is sufficient authority to permit the
union to speak exclusively for the TO-
600 employees thus deprived of work.
Furthermore, the illegal possession Of
the plants to make this effective is to
be reinforced by defiance Of both the
law and the mandate Of the court.
Balks at Coercion.
General Motors cannot subscribe to
such coercion, and agree to deliver its
workers into such bondage. General
Motors must obey the law, must re-
spect the rights of all its workers and
the public that it serves.
In recognition of these obligations,
the corporation has repeated time and
time again its willingness to bargain
with the union on behalf Of its men,
berS, after evacuation of the plants,
but it is restrained, both by law and
in equity. from depriving any Of its
employees of their right to self-organ-
ization, by requiring that they be rep
resented by this particular union with
out regard to :heir own desire and
over their protest, in tens of thousands
of cases.
The C. I. o. affiliated unions have
settled all their recent strikes, such
Libbey- -Owens-Ford, Pittsburgh Plate
Glass, Hercules Motors and others. on
the basis of recognition for their men,
bers only, as offered by the General
Motors Corp.
In order to determine the proper
ton of the workers who wish to be
represented by the union. as against
those who wish to be represented 9TH
erwise. the corporation offered to SUBJ
init the question to its workers. by
means of a secret ballot to be con-
Quoted under the auspices Of the Gov
ernor of Michigan. This was not sat-
isfactory to the union representatives
Equal Privileges Promised.
Tho nOrnNrofion hoe inSietaH Yrror,
what it believes to be fair and hon.
orable policy. i.e., to give opportunity
to the representatives Of any group OF
workers to negotiate any questions
with the management, with the un-
derstanding that any advantages ac-
corded to one group would be accorded
to all-conditions being the same.
Out of all the conferences and dis
cussions which have taken place, the
fundamental issue again asserts it.
self-is the power of the union to pre-
vail based as it is on violence, dis
regard of law and order and contempt
Of the courts: or are the legitimate
rights of over l25,o00 workers to be
considered, thus reasserting the forces
Of law, order, justice, reason and
civilization?
In appreciation of the unremitting
efforts Of Gov. Murphy. we have as
sured him OF our readiness to respond
to an early call by him to resume con-
ferences, if in his judgment any good
could result therefrom.