Evening star., 1939-09-25
Abuse of Discretion

Abuse of Discretion
The split decision Of the National
Labor Relations Board in the Pitts
burgh Plate Glass Company case
brings into the open a highly signifi-
cant division of opinion within the
board-a disagreement which caused
William M. Leiserson, the most re-
Gently appointed member, to accuse
Chairman ]. Warren Madden and
Edwin S. Smith, the third member,
of exceeding their authority and
abusing the discretion conferred on
them.
II Mr.. LeiSerson is correct in his
analysis of the majority ruling, and
the record appears to support his
contentious, the decision has an i'm
portant bearing on complaints that
the board has not been impartial in
administering the Wagner Act, and
raises questions which should be ex-
amined when the House begins its
investigation of the agency.
The specific point at issue in this
case was whether the Federation Of
Flat Glass Workers, c. l. o. affiliate,
should be designated as the bargain
ing agency for all employees in the
six plants operated by the company.
The correctness of such a designa-
ton was challenged only in the case
of the company's largest plant-that
at Crystal City, Mo-, where 1900 of
some 1900 employees were opposed to
the Federation and wanted to be
represented by their own organiza-
ton, the Crystal City Union.
The record shows that the Crystal
City plant is some 700 miles from any
of the other plants and that for all
practical purposes it is operated in
dependently of them. The Crystal
City Union was "disestablished" by
the board on July %, 1888, as being
company dominated, on the basis of
stipulation signed by representa-
lives of the board, the company and
the Federation. Although the Crystal
City Union was not a party to the
stipulation, the board thereafter re-
fused to grant requests from the
union that it be permitted to offer
evidence of it's independence and as
to the extent of its membership.
After the union of the Crystal City
workers had been outlawed despite
the protests of its members, the
board, before Mr.. Leiserson became
member, in a proceeding to deter
mine the appropriate bargaining
unit, said:
"Since the Crystal City Union can
no longer function as a labor or
ganization, its wishes are immaterial.
Moreover, the prior existence of the
union -" to large degree explains
the desire of the 1900 Crystal City
employees for a separate bargaining
unit and such desires may we'll
undergo a radical change as the eff
feet of the termination of the Crys-
tai City Unions function as labor
organization is fully realized by the
employees"
In other words, Chairman Madden
and Mr.. Smith, without supporting
evidence, assumed in a formal opin-
ion that the Crystal City employees,
despite their admitted opposition to
the Federation, would accept that
organization in preference to no
union at all when they fully real
lied" that the board would not per-
NIT them to choose their own repre-
sentatives.
The board also stressed the fact
that the Crystal City workers, who
did not belong to the Federation, had
refused to participate in a strike
called by the Federation in the other
plants, thus enabling the company
to fill orders at Crystal City which
normally would have been filled in
the other plants. This, the board
said, "strikingly reveals the impor-
tance to the Federation, to its men,
bers, and to the employees of all the
other fiat glass plants of the COM
pany of presenting a united front in
dealing with the company"
On the basis of that statement it
is not unfair to ask whether the
board believes it is proper to force
employees of one plant to accept
union they do not want so that en-
ployes in plants located in other
States may strike with greater hope
of success. And if that be the case,
it is difficult to see any relation be-
tween such an attitude on the boards
part and the purpose of the Wagner
Act to protect employees in their free
dom of organization and their right
to bargain collectively through rep
resentatives of their own choosing.
At the conclusion of the strike the
Federation secured a flve-cent in
crease, and on that point the board
said:
'Not only was this wage increase
Immediately granted to the Crystal
City employees, but also, since the
wage increase was retroactive and
this plant had not closed during the
cfriLo TIM Crx,cfo1 Ci%x, oIo1,or