Evening star., 1939-06-22

which is so 's@ -
broadly phrased David Lawrence.
as to permit discretionary judg-
ments. To secure a change, there
fore, the board would have to re-
verse its decisions, which would be
stultifying to any si-judicial
body.
1t is the National Labor Relations
Act which needs alterations so as
to make it less susceptible to abuse
by anybody, whether employer or
employe The decisions of the board
have given the key to the necessity
for certain amendments, such as
these:
First, the law should not be con-
strued to include as an unfair labor
practice any action by the employer
IN communicating orally or in writ
ing with his employees.
Second. an employer as well as
any individual employe should have
a right to cause the Labor Board
to compel a vote Of employees to
determine whether they wish to be
represented by a bargaining agent,
and the majority vote shall then
determine the issue.
Same Penalties.
Third, any employer or employe
organization or employer which
makes capricious or fraudulent use
of it's right to file unfair labor prac-
tice charges shall be subject to the
same penalties for fraud and mis-
representation as are now contained
in other Federal statutes.
Fourth, elections shall be held on
fixed dates each year or half year
so that organizers for unions may
know in advance the time limits
of their campaigns, just as is the
case in political democracy.
Fifth, nothing in the law shall
permit a ruling to be made that an
employer who refuses to accede
to the terms of a contract offered
him is guilty of a refusal to bar
gain collectively"
Sixth, nothing in the law shall
permit the board to rule that an
Independent union is an unlawful
bargaining agent if the independent
organization, irrespective of the
circumstances of its origin. is duly
chosen, in a secret ballot in sub
sequent election supervised by the
board, to represent a majority OF
the employees Of given plant or
business.
Right Essential to Labor.
The foregoing amendments go to
the heart of the collective bargain
ing problem. They will be objected
to only by those who want for them
selves an unfair advantage in col
lective bargaining and wish the La
Dor Board to perpetuate such dis
advantages. The right Of collec-
tive bargaining is so essential to
labor and so important to be pre-
served from interference by the
employer that any bias which is re-
tanned in the law itself will ulti-
mately defeat collective bargaining.
1t is no mere accident that the
American Federation of Labor, larg-
est and oldest of Americas labor
organizations, finds bias in the
operation of the law. 1t is no mere
accident either that even employ
ers who have recognized unions and
have made contracts with them feel
that the present law tends to en-
courage rather than discourage hos
tility between management and en-
ployes.
There can be no doubt that the
hesitancy OF the Labor Board to
agree to changes in the law has
been due to its fear that the act
itself would be sabotaged and COL
lective bargaining destroyed. But
there can be no doubt also that in
trying to prevent Abuses. other
abuses of far greater damage have
been condoned.
Politically Dangerous.
Congress, which has the final re-
sponsibility for lawmaking, has been
letting the labor problem drift be-
cause it is politically dangerous to
handle it until public sentiment has
crystallized more definitely. 1t will
take considerable time for this to
happen. But already the cry for a
congressional investigation of the
board indicates that the opponents
Of the act are not going to be salts
fed with few minor changes in
the rules, when what is needed is
some relatively minor but important
changes in the law itself.
The experience of the country
with the prohibition amendment
may be repeated with the National
Labor Relations Act. The refusal
to accept any amendments to the
Wagner law at this session is de-
cision which the administration has
taken that will be regretted when
public sentiment rises up some day
as it inevitably will. and demands a
completely new setup in the han
ding of labor problems. This will
mean q reversion to the familiar
formula of a representative of la
Dor, of management and of the
public. Such boards have usually
meant divided decisions or dead
locks. The present Labor Board is
experienced and can apply the