The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1938-10-06
Wdqe - Hours Act
Criticized by Labor
Metdl Trades of AL Off.
GERS Report Condemn
Provisions
UNDEMOCRATIC

Houston, Tex. (ILNS).-Sharp criti-
cism of the new Federal wages-hours
law and the administration of the
National Labor Relations Board
featured the officers report of the
Metal Trades Department, American
Federation of Labor, submitted to the
departments 30th annual convention
here by President John P. Frey and
Secretary Treasurer w. A. Calvin.
Unions affiliated with the Metal
Trades Department have made sub
stantial progress in the last year, ma
terially increasing their membership
in the face of the second depression,
the report said. ,.,....,. -
Criticism of the wages-hours act,
officially known as the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1888, was based on
provisions which the report said were
inserted in the bill by the conference
committee of the House and Senate.
"UndemOcratic" Provisions Attacked
What is called the extraordinary
authority" given the administrator and
other provisions of the act were
scored in the report as undemocratic
and as dangerous to the free trade
union movement. Exceptions was first
taken to Section ID, authorizing the
administrator, by regulation or orders,
to provide for the employment of
learners" and apprentices.
The report pointed out that under
NRA workers were employed under
the codes for wage below the mini
mum during the period in which they
were classified as learners"
'In practice" the report said,
"many employers notified employees
who had been with them many years
that if they desired to remain in en-
ployment they would have to do so as
learners Frequently when the learn
ers' period had expired, they would be
discharged and then notified that they
could only be given employment by
their consent to again being classified
as learners.
"Autocracy" in Act Scored
The report went on to outline prog
ress made in setting up national
system of apprenticeship training, un-
der the authority of Congress and with
the cooperation of organized labor,
and declared that with the authority
conferred on the administrator Of the
wages-hours act, much of the work
accomplished by the Federal Commit
tee on Apprentice Training could be
nullified.
Provisions of the act authorizing
the Administrator to appoint indus
trial committees to make recommen-
dations as to minimum wages and
maximum hours were attacked as
autocratic. Emphasizing that neither
labor nor industry is given voice in
the naming of the committees, the re-
port said:
"It is most undemocratic and
autocratic way of setting up any re-
sponsible body dealing with industrial
relationships and responsibilities. 1t
is the essence of bureaucracy. :. There
are no provisions giving labor any
choice in the selection of the labor per-
sonnel of the industry committees.
Andrews Not Dictator"
The report criticized other provis-
ions of the act but expressed the
definite opinion" that the admins
traitor ELMER F. Andrews) twill not
construe the law as dictator. We are
of the opinion that he will seek the
councils of both management and la
Dor before rulings and interpretations
of the law are made officially"
Discussing the National Labor Re-
lations Board, the report recalled
charges against the board made at
the last convention of the A. F. OF l..
and declared:
During the year the board made
it evident that all the charges made
against it at the convention of the