Evening star., 1940-12-08
By Charles g. Ross.


disputes, directly or indirectly affecting
national defense, with hardly any
stoppage of work. The Vultee tie-up was
the first important strike on any national
defense project, and this strike, there is
good reason to believe would have been
settled in four or five days but for
series of unfortunate circumstance
among them, notably. the fact that Hill
man, in a cause even more important
to labor and the country, left his Office
here for few days to preach labor unity
and national unity at the C. I. o. con-
vention in Atlantic City. He came away
from there, incidentally, with enhanced
prestige. He was the winner there, not
Lewis, and not the left-wing elements
whose tactics, if successful. would have
produced chaos in the labor movement.
On the basis of their experience to
date, the experience with Vultee in
cluded Hillman and his colleagues be-
lieve that they are on the right track
and that any restrictive legislation would
be hurtful. Conditions now are said to
be better than they We're six months ago;
and for the whole period since that time.
Department of Labor figures indicate an
improvement over the comparable period
both of 1916 and 1917, though in the Eat
ter year we were actually at war. So the
officials charged with keeping the peace
between employers and employees, to the
end that the defense program may be
executed without interruption are asking
earnestly that the present informal
system be continued. This system per-
mits complete flexibility in handling in
dividual cases; it does not provide a
procedural straitjacket. It takes full &C
count of the personalities involved. 1t
permits Hillman, when strike threatens
in any essential industry, anywhere in
the United States, to call up the labor
leader most concerned and tell him,
Bill, you have simply got to get things
Strengthened out" and likewise it permits
Defense Commissioner William S. Knud-
sen to bring his own brand of moral
suasion to bear on the industrialist.
Right of Defense Is Answer.
To return to the question posed by the
seeming conflict between two inalienable
rights-the right of man to use the
strike as an economic weapon, the right
of the Nation to defend itself, here is
the composite answer of half a dozen of
the key governmental officials in the
labor relations field:
The rights are not irreconcilable In
democracy. If they come to be so re-
garded, then democracy will have failed
It is all matter of conciliation, CO.
operation, good will-elements which are
essential to the maintenance of a de-
mocracy.
Vultee posed the problem in small but
significant form. The men asked for
higher wages, and on that point settle
ment was soon reached; they received
substantial increase. The speed with
which the increase was granted (though
not all that was sought would indicate
that the demand in large measure was
justified. The employer, on his part,
asked for guaranty against strikes
during the life of the contract. 1t is be-
side the present point that there was
delay on the part of the men in grant,
ing the employers fair demand the
point is that the demand was granted,
and the men went back to work. They
had rot permanently surrendered their
right to strike, but they had given it up
for definite periodic months in this
lnstance-in democratic process of give
and-take between the men and the EN-.
ployer.
SS4,0O0,000 in Rush Orders.
National attention was directed to the
strike through the fact that the Vultee
company was engaged on rush orders of
s84 900 900 worth of military planes for
this country and Great Britain, including
Army Air Corps basic training planes, of
which this plant was the sole producer.
So far as wages were concerned the
strike was virtually settled five days after
it began, or by Wednesday. November 20,
with the acceptance Of a schedule where
by the company agreed to pay IS cents
an hour to beginners and 63A cents after
three months The sticking point was
the companys demand for a no-strike
agreement covering the life Of the con-
tract On this point, too, settlement
would have been promptly reached. &C
cording to the Washington ofiicials who
were keeping snxious eyes On the strike,