Evening star., 1937-02-03
Fixing Responsibility.

Industry has found it advantageous
to incorporate. Labor unions, on the
other hand, have avoided in this country
taking the step of incorporation. Pre-
sumably, the unions have felt that such
a step would hamper their activities,
that they could be sued for breach of
contract or for injury to property or
persons due to strikes. Morally, there
seems no good reason why any person or
group of persons should be permitted to
avoid responsibility for breaches of the
peace, for injury to property or to men
and women, or for breach of contract.
At present there is drive in Congress
to bring about the passage of a bill for
the Federal incorporation of interstate
business. The purpose of such law is
to make interstate business, much of
which is transacted by corporations,
amenable to certain standards set up
by the Federal Government, particu-
larly with regard to wages and hours of
labor. If there is to be such law, there
might we'll be companion piece of legis-
lation which would call for the incor-
poration of labor unions. The unions
are national and international in scope.
What they do affects interstate COM
merce in a wide degree.
Associate Justice Louis D. Brandeis
of the Supreme Court, regarded by Or
ganized labor as a friend, published
book not long before he was appointed
to the bench in which he expressed the
opinion that the unions made a mistake
in opposing incorporation. The popu-
lar feeling that the unions had no legal
responsibility, he said, tended ito make
officers and members reckless and law
less, and thereby to ALLEVIATE public SYM
pathy and bring failure upon their ef-
forts" He pointed out also that the
attitude of the unions creates antago-
nism on the part of employers, who feel
sense of injustice since they are subject
to the law while the unions hold posi-
ton of legal responsibility. He advised
the unions to take the position that they
take the consequences if they transgress,
and thus show they are in full sympathy
with the spirit of our people, whose
political system rests upon the PROPOSE
ton that this is a government of law
and not of men," The advice of Justice
Brandeis is excellent, and the reasons
he advanced could not be better stated.
What has been happening in Flint,
Mich, is a demonstration of the need
of bringing the unions into responsibility
before the law. 1t is true that the Su-
preme Court has in the past held union
members responsible, as in the case of
the Danbury hatters, and later in the
cases of the Colorado Coal Company.
Even so, the situation would be greatly
improved both for the unions and for
the general public if they were incor-
porated. The labor troubles in the au-
tomobile industry are largely due to the
fact that irresponsible labor leaders have
taken command
the British have taken definite
stand with regard to labor unions. Their
trade disputes and trade unions act,
written into law by Parliament in 1927
after a general strike had been broken
by aroused public opinion and direct ac-
hyr ,,11h1ir ifcoI O
union as legal entity entitled to pro-
lection by law, but also forces the union
to assume full responsibility and full OBJ
legation under the law.