Evening star., 1937-01-11

UlOIldl ldUOI lcld- :&3&
tions act, and in Ss$%& l6gA n
effect has con- n,;a,
signed it to the
archives, alongside of other docu-
ments that have outlived their USE
fulneSS.
If ever statute was made to order
for a strike situation such as is keep
Ing tens of thousands of willing work.
men from their Jobs in the motor
plants, it is the national labor rela-
tions act, usually known as the Wag-
ner law.
1t is true that big business" dis
likes the law and believes it to be
unconstitutional, but it is the law OF
the land till the courts declare it
otherwise. President Roosevelt stood
back of the measure, and it embodles
what he considers an enlightened and
liberal Interpretation of the obliga-
tions of the National Government. 1t
Is the kind Of law which conservatives
opposed because they believed labor
relations are local and should not be
interfered with by governmental au-
thority except to apply mediation or
Cancellation.
Declines to Use Power.
But while the Wagner act is spe-
cific and its provisions directly touch
the motor strike, the National Labor
Relations Board itself has INDUCED in
what might, for lack of better term,
be called Shutdown strike" 1t has
declined to use its powers to bring
to the attention of the country. if not
the courts, the basic data so necessary
for the American people to have in
order to find out who Is responsible
for the hardships and suffering which
the tie-up of the motor industry has
begun to inflict on innocent employees,
who want to work but cannot because
of the conspiracy of minority to OBJ
struct the collective bargaining want
ed by a majority in various plants
Of the industry.
Says the preamble Of the Wagner
law:
1T is hereby declared to be the
policy Of the United States to eliminate
the causes Of certain substantial OBJ
structions to the free flow of COM
merce and to mitigate and eliminate
these distractions when they have
occurred by encouraging the practice
and procedure of collective bargaining
and by protecting the exercise by
workers of full freedom Of association,
self f-organization and designation Of
representatives of their own choosing,
and for the purpose Of negotiating the
terms and conditions Of their employ
ment or other mutual aid or protec-
ton"
Law Answers Question.
But how are workers to be pro-
tected in the exercise Of their full
freedom of association, self-organiza-
ton and designation of representa-
tives of their own choosing? Well,
the law itself directly answers the
question in the following provision:
Representatives designated or Sc
lected for the purpose Of collective
bargaining by the majority OF the en-
ployes in a unit appropriate for such
purposes, shall be the exclusive repre-
sentatives of all the employees in such
unit for the purpose of collective bar
gaining in respect to rates of pay.
wages, hours of employment, or other
conditions of employment"
But what Is the unit" to be? John
L. Lewis and his associates say the
unit is a union embracing all work.
ers in the motor industry. The Ameri-
can Federation Of Labor says the unit
must be the workers in each particu-
lar craft. The General Motors Corp.
will horniy, rnl1ocfi1toIu vIyift
the workers in any given plant or di-
vision. Who then is to decide espe-
cially as Mr.. Lewis chief demand is
that his organization be recognized
as the sole bargaining agency?
Board Has Power.
Clearly this question was foreseen
and anticipated by the men who wrote
the law, for they put into it this pro-
vision:
1.-The National Labor Relations
Board shall decide in each case wheth-
er, in order to insure to employees the
full benefit of their right to self
organization and to collective bar
gaining and otherwise to effectuate
the policies Of this act, the unit ap-
propriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining shall be the employer unit,
craft unit, plant unit, or subdivision
thereof"
Nothing could be palmer than the
words of the statute which pointedly
tells the board it shall" designate
the appropriate unit for collective
bargaining whenever labor disputes
arise.
But, it may be argued, that the
board has no way Of determining what
Is or is not an appropriate unit from
the standpoint of the employees. There
Is no better way to learn than by fol-
lowing the procedure also clearly out
lined in the Wagner law, which says:
Whenever question affecting COM
Merce arises concerning the represent
tation of employees, the board may in
vestigate such controversy and certify
10 the parties, in writing, the name
or names Of the representatives that
have been designated or selected.
I'm any such investigation the board
shall provide for an appropriate hear
ing upon due notice, either in con-
junction with proceeding under Sec
ton 10 or otherwise, and may take a
secret ballot Of employees, or utilize
any other suitable method to ascer-
tain such representatives"
Can Name Agency.
It might be contended by some
observers that an election to deter
mine the wishes of majority Of en-
ployes cannot be held during strike,
but the answer Is that the Labor
Board has already intervened in other
strike situations and ordered an elec-