Evening star., 1937-03-07

ing between powerful forces
" of management and labor in
the steel industry during the
past week has set for America a
standard of industrial craftsmanship
upon which it would be difficult to
improve.
Seemingly there exists no distrust
and no suspicion between the two
parties of the bargaining action as
the Committee for Industrial Organ
ization represents its membership
and officials of the Carnegie-Illinois
Corporation represent the manage
inent. There does exist, according to
all present indications, good faith"
So important, in fact, is this element
Of good faith" that the very defini-
tion of collective bargaining, as con-
templated by the present labor rela-
tions law, revolves completely about
1t. Without it, there is no collective
bargaining under present interpreta-
ton of that law
Good faith, however. is quality
difhcult to determine, circumstance
which leaves the whole question of
practical definition of collective bar
gaining nebulous and variable.
Law Is Not Specific.
To begin with, the law itself con-
tains no specific definition of what
shall constitute collective bargaining.
but does specify very definitely that
refusal of an employer Ito bargain
collectively with the representatives of
his employees" shall be considered an
unfair labor practice.
Vested with the power to make rules
and regulations necessary to enforce
ment Of the act, the board states under
these regulations that petition re-
questing "the name or names of the
representatives designated or selected
for the purpose of collective bargaining
may be filed by any employe or any
person or labor organization acting on
his behalf"
IF it appears to the board that an
investigation should be instituted it
shall so direct and shall authorize the
regional director to undertake such in
vestigation. and to provide for an ap-
propriate hearing q.
Upon the close of the hearing, the
regional director shall forward to the
board in Washington the rec
ord in the proceeding.
"The board shall thereupon proceed
' to certify to the parties to
the proceeding the names of the rep
fesentatives or to direct a
secret ballot Of the employees =
or to make other disposition of the
matter.
Agent Shall Be Named.
"Where the board determines that a
secret ballot should be taken it shall
direct such ballot to be conducted by
designated agent upon such terms as
1t may specify"
From this procedure, it is intended,
should result the selection by the ma
1ority OF the employees in unit appro-
pirate for such purposes" of repre-
sentatives who shall be the exclusive
representatives of all the employees
in such unit for the purposes of
collective bargaining in respect to rates
OF pay, wages. hours Of employment or
other conditions of employment: Pro-
vided that any individual employe or a
group OF employees shall have the right
at any time to present grievances to
their employer.
1.-THE board shall decide in each
ease whether the unit appro-
PIRATE for the purposes of collective
bargaining shall be the employer unit,
craft unit, plant unit or subdivision
thereof"
Mutual Agreement.
All of this, Of course, takes place
only when some party requests the
services of the board in bringing about
collective bargaining. In the case of
the steel negotiations, although a
complaint is now pending before the
board involving the company union
set-up, the determination of bargain
ing unit and extent of representation
of the labor conferees came through
mutual agreement of the principals
That the c. I. o. conferees were
willing to confine their representations
to their own membership rather than
all labor was distinct concession by
their side, while the willingness of
corporation officials to bargain for
management rather than follow their
previous practice Of refusing recog-
milton or referring protestations to in
dividual plant officers was equally i'm
portant from the other side.
Such an arrangement leaves en-
ployes not belonging to the c. I. o.
union the opportunity of setting up
their own bargaining instrument, pos
sibly through organization of a craft
union
In other important quarters, how
ever. this milk and honey" condi-
tion has not yet come to pass and as
this is written deadlock looms on the
very issue of exclusive bargaining
rights for the United Automobile
Workers in the Chrysler plants. Let
us return to procedure of the board
where called upon.
Having aided in the manner out
lined in the selection of exclusive
bargaining agents, and determination
Of the appropriate bargaining unit
whether it should be local, national
or some other-the board in event of
its further participation must de-
termine whether true collective bar
gaining results.
Meet, But Discuss Weather.
There have been numerous cases
where the employers met with the
union, but have talked about the
weather and everything else except
collective bargaining, with no effort at
all to try to reach some agreement,
Chairman Garrison of the former
Labor Board told a Senate commit
tee.
Here, then, enters the element OF
good faith" and the circumstance
which forces the board to examine
most closely the facts in each indi-
vidual case with their eventual find
ing depending entirely upon these facts
rather than upon an automatically
applicable rule Of thumb"