The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-05-04
KNUDSEN CLAIMS
 GOVT MUST ACT
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glory of results and all the bitter bangs of failure" he said. No cen- tral control is possible without the secret ogpu that goes with it.
 He blamed the Wagner act and its administration for many current problems and charged that it consti- tuted the largest drawback to good industrial relations. He suspected, he said, that Sen. Robert F. Wagner. (dD, N. Y, did not realize what would be the result of the law which bears his name.
 Employers Are Ignored
 "The national labor relations board set up to administer the act" he said, makes no pretense even of paying any attention to the em- ployer's side of the case. He can only be heard when he is summoned and he knows before he goes that there is no record of single decision where he has had ghost show so what!
 No one in business wants to be in conflict with the law, but off, cials of the board frankly admit that 1t is not their business to pro- tect the employer in any way, re- gardless what is being done to him. It is their duty to look after the mems privilege of collective bargain ing even if it is done with a club. Such situation cannot go on in the long run and have every conf1- dence that it will be changed"
 Skill, Pride Are Gone
 An outstanding result of this new order of thinking" under indus trial unionization, he said, had been the elimination of skill and pride.
 Where previously the man of skill was regarded nightly, his place is now being taken by the man of less skill, who can threat the most and sign up the most members" he said.
 For the first time since the 44-day sit down strike in General Motors plant in January and February, 1897, Knudsen publicly explained the strike and the peace negotiations which led to collective bargain ing contract between the United Automobile Workers of America, a committe for industrial oranization affiliate, and the General Motors corporation.
 When the sit-down technique was first employed, he said, every one looked to Washington for an ex- pression "as to what was law any, way"
 Mob Hysteria
 "The more Washington vacillated, the more mob hysteria was employ ed by the CIO union," he charged. What ever may be said against large corporations, they are law abiding and want to do the right thing, but we were somewhat stump cd by the new alliance between overnment and the industrial union.'
 Describing the difficulties at Flint, Mich, the strike center, he said that General Motors officials went the route of negotiation, first to Lansing, to Detroit, then to Wash ington, where government officials asked them to negotiate with CIO Chairman John l.. Lewis.
 Eventually, he said, a settlement was worked out but not until the strike lost to the men involved had reached $25 100000.
 But, he continued, the company's trouble still were far from over; stoppages occurred with sickening regularity" despite the agreement He admitted that the international officers of the union tried man. fully" to keep things going, "but they never knew when or where trouble was going to start and were always behind the procession rather than ahead of it."
 He said that he could attempt no definite forecast for the next few years but that labor conditions in the General Motors shops were bet ter than they were last year.
 Shop committees are getting more orderly in their procedure and they know full well that if they have real grievance it will be taken care of, and the loud-talking member seldom keeps his grip on his fellows very long, because at the bottom the American workman is fair"
 Pelly, in discussing the problems of the railroad industry, urged prompt adoption of public policy which would give all forms of trans portation a free and fair chance" to do the work for which they are best suited at the lowest possible cost.
 Railroad traffic, he said, had been decreased needlessly by granting subsidies to highways, waterway and air transport. Railroad did not ask