Evening star., 1940-02-25

EmpIoye Appeal Right
May Be Urged by
n. |. R. B. Probers
.Eorly Report on
House Labor Inquiry
Is Indicated
pArYropyynn

BACKGROUND
Investigation OF National Labor
Relations Board by special House
committee has been under ,Day
since last jail. Public hearings
haze been held from time to
time since December. Committee
Is charged NTH reporting to Con-
oress ,Dhether Wagner Act has
been enforced efficiently and i'm
partially and what, II any,
amendments to ldw are needed.
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES.
Right OF employees to appeal to the
courts decisions by the National
Labor Relations Board designating
the union which an employer must
recognize as the collective bargain-
ing agent was reported yesterday to
be one Of the proposed amendments
to the Wagner Act under serious
consideration by. the House commit
tee investigating administration OF
the law.
The boards rulings in the nu-
merous disputes between the A. F. OF
L. and the C. I. O. have stirred up
any number of stormy protests from
losing unions. The American Fed
Grafton of Labor has charged the
board with favoring the rival Con-
gress of Industrial Organizations.
Yet, in some instances, c. I. O..
unions which lost the bargaining
privileges also have berated the
board. The Supreme Court recently
held that under the present wording
Of the act employe-representation
cases could not be appealed to the
courts.
The committee, having adjourned
hearings from Friday until Wednes-
day, held frequent executive sessions
at the week end, and, though Chair
man Smith said yesterday there was
nothing to announce, there was
every indication the committee, or a
Majority of its five members, would
submit some sort of preliminary re-
port to Congress soon.
Accord on Point Forecast.
An amendment either removing
representation cases entirely from
the board-leaving rival unions to
settle their own quarrels-or at least
giving employees an appeal to the
courts in such cases was said to be
one measure on which q majority
of the committee was likely to agree.
Lloyd Garrison, dean of law at the
University of Wisconsin, recon-
mended to the committee that set
tlement Of inter-union disputes be
left to the men to thrash out and
neither the board nor the courts
have a hand in 1t.
An instance known to have i'm
pressed the committee was brought
out at the last hearing, when four
employees of the Consumers Power
Co. Of Michigan described the
boards election machinery as it
worked in a c. I. O.-A F. OF L. con-
flict there.
The A. F. of L. petitioned for an
election to determine which union
was the appropriate" bargaining
unit. The election resulted in LIZA
votes for the G. I. O., 1852 for the
A. F. Of L. and 506 ballots against
either union. Under the formula
evolved by Board Chairman J. War;
rem Madden and concurred in by
Edwin S. Smith. runon election
was called, with the A. F. Of L. elm
mated, and the employees asked to
decide whether they wanted the
C. I. o. or no union at all. The third
board member, William M. Lesser
son, dissented, declaring the act
gave the board no authority to hold
runof elections and where, as in the
Michigan case, no union obtained a
majority, the board. should refuse to
certify any bargaining agent. In
this instance the A. F. Of L. appealed
to the courts, but the Supreme Court
held the courts had no jurisdiction
in such cases. A. F. Of L. represent
atives contended to the committee
that in the Michigan runoff elec-
ton, the sos voters who refused to
designate either union should have
been eliminated and the second elec-
ton held between the rival organ
izations.
Other Amendments.
Other amendments, often men,
toned before. reported in the fore