Evening star., 1937-11-07

- NE Of the fiercest controversies
Of the next regular session of
Congress, though there is a
~ possibility it may never even
reach the floor of either the Senate
Or the House, will center on efforts
b amend the National Labor Re-
lations Act.
At the moment the fight appears
destined to be three-cornered one,
with the participants being: Friends
OF the act, its labor foes and its
industry foes. There is further
possibility that the American Fed
Grafton Of Labor and certain anti
labor industrial forces may combine
their strength against supporters of
the law as it now stands.
Into this picture will be intruded,
also, the criticism of certain policies
Of administration of the law, but not
OF the act itself, by the Committee for
Industrial Organization and the even
more violent censure of board per-
sonnel by the A. F. of L., also apart
from their attitude toward the law
itself.
Making the issue a major one of
their recent Denver convention, the
Federation settled upon a resolution
that the law be amended to protect
their craft unions and Endorsed by
acclamation demand that the per-
sonnel be purged of those individuals
suspected of proc. I. o. sympathies.
C. 1. o. Rebuked Board.
At the same time, incensed at sew
eral decisions by which the board
allowed craft unions to be the bar
gaining units in mass production in
dustrial plants, the c. I. O., at its
Atlantic City conference, rebuked the
board and demanded change in
administrative policy to assure the
industrial unions preference in such
circumstances.
Lines of attack upon the act on
Capitol Hill are likely to follow those
already laid down in the past session
OF Congress in the form of amend
ments proposed by Senators Walsh
OF Massachusetts, and Vandenburg of
Michigan. In the background, how
ever, there is considerable interest
being directed at certain provisions
OF the. State labor relations law en-
acted in Wisconsin.
Drafted by John P. Frey, president
OF the metal trades department of the
A. F. of L., the Walsh amendment
would make it mandatory that crafts
be designated "as unit appropriate
for the purposes Of collective bargain
ing" where majority of the en-
ployes Of particular craft should so
desire.
At the last session of Congress the
proposal did not even get a commit
tee hearing, but A. F. of L. pronounce
ments of the last few weeks make it
certain that they will make deter
mined effort to rally support for their
cause at the next regular session.
Interpretation of Congress Meaning.
In fact, in It's report to the fed
Council went so far as to assert that
~the intent of Congress was that if
. majority of a craft or class as a
unit wanted to have representatives
of their own, the board would so de-
eide as matter of course" To sup
port this Interpretation of Congress
intent, not so expressed in the labor
relations law, the council quoted a
provision of the railway labor act
which does so acknowledge craft
rights.
BY present terms of the labor re-
Nations law the board is vested to des-
,ignate within its discretion what shall
be the bargaining unit, the; choice
by law being employer unit, craft
unit, plant unit, or subdivision
thereof" All possibilities of this dis
cretionary power have been exercised
by the board in various cases. in itself
an explanation for the criticism COM
ing from both factions of the labor
movement.
The board, firmly but not yet loudly
opposed to the Walsh amendment,
mot only cites this record of applying
all the alternatives in varying cir
'cumstances, but adds:
Experience has proven the wisdom
OF delegating to the board the task
OF deciding in each case the unit ap-
,propriate for purposes of collective
bargaining. The complexity of mod
ern industry, transportation and COM
tmunication, and the numerous and
diverse forms which organization
among employees has taken, preclude
the application of rigid rules to de-
termine the unit appropriate in each
case"
: Vandenberg Proposals.
( While the Walsh amendment con-
templates an important change in
operation of the major part of the
law, it does not compare in scope with
the proposals of Senator Vandenberg.
In three amendments, the Michigan
Senator would do the following:
Empower employers to call upon
the board for employe elections, make
elections mandatory whenever the
right of representation is being
claimed, require majority vote of
all employees before a strike could be
called, suspend the right of repre-
sentation if any breach of contract
occurs, set up a fair-practice code for
labor, prohibit compulsory political
assessments upon union members, re-
quire that all officers and representa-
tives of unions be citizens Of the
United States and outlaw coercion o1
individuals into joining unions.
Presumably, Senator Vandenberg's
intent Is to balance the alleged "one-
sidedness" of the present act. Many
complaints have been heard, for in
stance, because employers may moi
request employe elections, because
few striking employees have tied up 9
whole plant and because agreements
have been violated.
: His proposed curatives are in somt
quarters opposed, however, on thu
Z aro,,nd that EMPLOYERS. for instance