Evening star., 1940-03-07
Committee Explains N. |. R. B. Amendments
tContinued From First Page.)

uaVcQ In TIC COUQQlAlIlb. OIlucI tklc
recommended amendments, the
complaint issued by the administra-
tor will be filed with the new board
and that board will fix the time and
place for q hearing thereon, which
cannot be less than Is days after
the service of the complaint. It Is
hoped that this change will do
away with the practice brought out
in the hearing before the committee
of fixing 'phoney" hearing dates
for use as a lever to force a settle
ment. The amendments recon-
mended make it the duty of the
administrator to prosecute the COM
plant before the board or before its
trial examiner conducting the hear
ing.
Board to Sit as Judge
To Determine Facts. 49,
The board has no prosecuting
function whatever, but is to sit
merely as judge to determine the
facts from the opposing contentious
OF the administrator, with his wit
nesses, and the person complained
against, with his witnesses. The ad-
ministrator is required to be made
a party to all proceedings before the
board and to take such action
therein as he deems necessary. Or
ders Of the board are to be enforced
in the courts, not upon application
by the board as under the present
law, but upon application of the ad-
ministrator. Such application is
required to be made when the board
so requests or may be made by the
administrator on his own motion
Similarly, proceedings to review an
order Of the board are brought by
the party aggrieved, as petitioner,
against the administrator, as re-
spondent, and the administrator,
rather than the board, has the func-
ton of bringing to the attention of
the court the reasons why the order
of the board should stand and be
enforced Thus, the board is not
required to act as advocate in rela-
tion to a matter which 1t has decided
as Judge.
Since it has no prosecuting func-
to subpoena any witnesses, but is
required, upon application by the
administrator or any party to pro-
ceedings before the board, whether
before or during hearing, forth
with to issue subpoenas to the ad-
ministrator or such party, as the
case may be, for the attendance of
witnesses or production of evidence.
The issuance of subpoena is to be
done as matter of course, but if a
person is required by any subpoena
to produce evidence under his con-
troll, and he thinks that such evi-
dence has no bearing on the inquiry
in progress, or that the subpoena
does not describe with sufficient
particularly the evidence whose
production is required he may move
the board to revoke the issuance
of the subpoena, and the board is
required to revoke the issuance of
the subpoena if it agrees with him.
These changes in provisions re-
lating to the subpoena power will
do away with any prior restraint
upon the issuance of subpoenas
and at the same time adequately
protect persons from fishing expe-
ditions. Under the amendments
recommended enforcement of a
subpoena against one who disre-
CARDS it is to be had in court upon
application of the person to whom
the subpoena was issued rather
than upon application of the board
as under the present law.
Changes Made in Handling
Representation Cases.
Substantial changes are made by
the amendments recommended in
the power of the board in relation
to determining units appropriate
for the purpose of collective bar
gaining and certifying representa-
tives for collective bargaining
Under the amendments, the board
is precluded from acting in these
cases on its own motion, and is
permitted to act only upon applica-
ton by an employer under specified
circumstances, or upon application
by specified percentage of, or by
q representative representing
specified percentage of, employees.
When such an application is made,
the board is required to hold hear
ing, and If as result of the hearing
It determines that the statements In
the application are true and that
the question is one affecting COM
merce, it is required by order first
to determine the unit appropriate
for collective bargaining. That unit
can't be larger than the largest
unit claimed as appropriate in an
application filed by employees or
representatives in the proceeding.
After determining the unit ap-
propriate for collective bargaining,
the board is required to take a
secret ballot of employees in that
unit, and by order certify the repre-
sentative or representatives for COL
lective bargaining that have been
chosen by a majority of the en-
ployes voting. This certification is
to be effective for one year. Thus
during this period both employees
and employer will be freed from
controversies with respect to en-
ploye representatives.
Now Power to Decide
Between Two Unions.
The power of the board to de-
termine the unit appropriate for
collective bargaining has one i'm
portant exception. In cases where
there is a dispute between two or
more labor organizations, each OF
which in their applications in the
proceeding claim to represent a
majority of the employees in the unit
claimed by such labor organiza-
ton to be appropriated, as to the
unit or units appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining
the board is required to make a