The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1940-04-25
REMEDYING ADMINISTRATIVE ABUSES


THE formulation of substantive principles as a
part of national policy is what gave the Natl
ona Labor Relations Board it's significance. Social
acceptance of the necessity for collective action on
the part of wage earners to give them justice
which they could not attain as individual workers,
and social encouragement of collective bargaining
as the method of adjusting relationships between
those who give orders and those who carry them
out, represented revolutionary changes. The rights
assured were to be guaranteed through SEMI
judicial administrative agency. AS the field at
fected had been a bitter battle field with employ
ers doggedly resisting efforts of wage earners to
secure collective bargaining through their union
representatives, administration of LabOrs rights
necessitated very special qualifications of expert
ness in this field. Experience, seasoned judgment
and wide information of unions, their procedures
and objectives are necessary to such expertness.
Such should be the qualifications of board men,
bers and all subordinate persons with responsible
ity for any decision-maklng The Board neces
sarily had to build up staff comparable to it's
huge responsibility.
The selection of the personnel has been in the
hands of persons who wanted to promote union de-
Vefopmu1lts according to their own convictions. AS
The majority were young persons fresh from
/studyng this and that, they followed theories un-
troubled by experience with consequences. Others
were propagandists who were there to use the
Board machinery for their own purposes and from
them came decisions multiplying union agreements,
displacing trade> unions as collective bargaining
units and arbitrary over-ruing of established
administrative decisions is the formulation of a
few principles guide and secondly the selection
of more expert personnel.
1t is not necessary to weaken the basic law in
order to get relief from faulty administration. Fur
thermOre Labor will fight emasculation of this law.
new Board should be appointed. The present
Board has been dscredited by facts brought
out in Congressional hearings and Investigations
that it cannot have the public confidence necessary
to perform it's functions. The suggestion of the
Smith Committee that the functions of the boards
be divided, part to be performed by the Board and
part by an administration in no way responsible
to the Board, would we believe, prove to be i'm
practicable Authority must be centered If ad-
ministrative agents to be held responsible. Au-
thorty to follow administrative processes through
is necessary to achieve full compliance with law
The agency that writes the order can best detect
failure to comply.
The Federation is also unwilling to accept re-
strctiOns of the purpose of the law. Wageealn-
ers' rights under this law can be best assured byl
an administration that encourages collective bar
gaining. Collective bargaining rests upon accept~I
of mutual interests and mutual rights, andI
the right to contract in all business relations ALI
business practice agrees that contracts reduced tol
writing are effective than verbal contracts.I
Naturally and practically the administration Ofl
this law looks to written contracts its objective.
The American Federation of Labor asks Con-
gress for amendments that would regulate the ad-
ministrative procedure of the Board. TheseI
amendments would provide: the right of employ
to petition for elections under certain condi-|
tons; the abolition of the right of the Board toI
invaldate contracts honestly and Justly negoti-|
ated through collective bargaining; the accept
ance of the American Federation of Labor recon-
mendations relating to the selection and establish
ment of the appropriate collective bargaining unit
and the acceptance of smplified form of admin
istratve and judicial procedure.