Evening star., 1940-04-12
A. +. |. Supporting,
{. o. Fights, Norton
Labor Act Changes

House Members Get
PIeos; Smith Unit Minority
Attacks Groups Report
BY the Associated Press.
President william Green Of the
American Federation Of Labor asked
the House today to approve the
Norton amendments to the Wagner
Act, but the rival c. I. o. was but
tonholing Representatives to vote
against them.
I'm our opinion" Mr.. Green wrote
all House members, these amend
ments are reasonable, highly neces-
sary, and If adopted will serve to
promote a better and more satisfac-
tory administration of the National
Labor Relations Act"
On the other hand, John L. Lewis
had dispatched letter to all G. I.
o. unions urging them to mobilize
labor's full strength" to block the
proposed changes.
The amendments, by Chairman
Norton of the Labor Committee,
would add two new members to the
three-man Labor Board, and would
make 1t mandatory for the board to
grant to craft workers-if they de-
sire it-a bargaining status sepa-
rate from other employees.
Mr.. Green told House members
that the craft unit proposal was the
most important Of all" the amend
ments.
The Federation. he said, was WILL
ing to accept the proposal that the
present Labor Board be increased
by two members, although it would
prefer the creation Of an entirely
new five-man agency.
C. /. o. Sees Itself Periled.
c. I. o. leaders. voicing the fear
that the craft unit amendment
would splinter their plant-wide .in-
dustrial bargaining units. has sent
delegations to Capitol Hill to enlist
votes against any Wagner Act
changes.
House members who want to
amend the act are split between the
Norton amendments and II recon-
mendations Of the Smith investigat-
ing committee for sweeping revis-
ions. The latter would set up an en-
tirely new board and separate its
judicial and administrative func-
tions.
Minority members of the Smith
neutrality-suspicious. Healey,
Democrat, of Massachusetts,. and
Murdock, Democrat. Of Utah, as
serted in report to the House last
night that the majority's proposals
resulted from presentation of dis
torted picture" Of the Labor Boards
work.
But Representatives Healey and
Murdock said they favored addition
of two members to the board and
permission for employers as well as
unions to petition the Labor Board
for collective bargaining election.
There has been little controversy on
the latter point.
Smith Group Flayed.
Severely criticizing the conduct of
the Smith committee hearings,
Representatives Healey and Murdock
summed up their opposition to the
majority's recommendations in this
manner:
I'VE can only conclude that under
the guise of making the act more
effective, the majority of the COM
mittee seeks to confer immunity up
on employers who have violated
verbal agreements, refused to hire
persons because of union affiliations,
or have discharged packing and
cannery employees for attempting to
organize or belong to unions. :
This attack, for these amend
ments are an attack, should be recog-
nized by the House-as labor has
recognized it-as destructive of the
hard-won rights of our working
people. Industrial democracy must
not again be disfranchised. The at
tack upon the National Labor Rela-
tions Act has failed in the courts.
We submit that on the evidence this
attack in the national legislature
must also fail"
Not Supported by Testimony.
In their report Representatives
Healey and Murdock said:
The amendments proposed by
the majority of this (Smith) COM
mlttee are not only destructive to
vital provisions of the act, but can
not find support in the testimony
developed by our investigation. E. I.
"All friends of the act and in
dustrial stability will welcome a
study which is productive of i'm
provement. They object, however.
to the presentation of a distorted
picture OF the operation of the act
which magnifies beyond all rea-
sonable proportion minor instances
OF alleged or actual misconduct on
the part Of a few individuals"
The minority contended that the
committee thus far had made ''lit-
tie effort" to investigate and ascer-
tain the facts" about operation OF
the law and called for a more
comprehensive and fundamental ap-
proach to its fact-finding objectives
than it has hitherto employed"
Meanwhile, Illinois labor leaders
opposed yesterday any changes In
the Wagner Act by this Congress.
They expressed their views at a
meeting in the Office of Representa-
tive Keller, Democrat, of Illinois.
Mr.. Keller said all branches Of
labor, including the c. I. o. and the
A. F. of L., were represented.
"They left no doubt how they and