Evening star., 1940-03-09
Labor Act Chances

The recommendations of the
Smith Committee for revision of the
Wagner Labor Relations Act provide
an appropriate starting point for
consideration by Congress OF reforms
which must be initiated If the statute
Is to accomplish the real purpose of
its framers-the promotion Of more
harmonious industrial relations by
safeguarding to employees the right
to organize and bargain collectively
through representatives of their own
choosing. 1t should not be assumed
that the proposals of the Smith
Committee, which was set up by the
House to study the Labor Act and
its administration, constitute a final
answer to the question of why the
law has not functioned as It's spon-
sors intended, an answer which must
be accepted in its entirety or re-
jected outright. Obviously that is
not the case.
What the majority of the Smith
Committee has done is to translate
its conclusions, drawn from the evi-
dence it has heard, into specific
amendments for submission to the
House. The members of that body
are not asked by the committee to
do anything more than treat the
proposals as starting point, with
out which progress would be impos-
sible, toward perfection of the law,
and unless the House is prepared to
nullify the work of it's own COM
mittee it can hardly refuse to give
the proposed amendments the care
full attention they deserve.
1t is clear that the committee ma
jority has concluded that the Wagner
Act, under existing conditions, is
weighted too heavily on the side of
labor, and its suggested amendments
are designed to place employers and
employees on a more nearly equal
footing before the law without i'm
pairing the basic right of collective
bargaining.
AS a first step toward this end it
is proposed that the Labor Board be
relieved of the requirement that it
serve as Judge, jury and prosecutor.
This would be accomplished by set
ting up an administrator, who would
be in charge of the active prosecu-
ton OF cases and all subsequent
court work. A reconstructed labor
board would function as an i'm
partial trial court. Other commit ee
proposals are designed to shield the
board and employers from the evils
OF inter-union quarrels, to give en-
ployers greater freedom in dis
cussing mutual problems with their
employees. to require closer adherence
by the board to the rules of evidence
prevailing in the Federal District
Courts and to give the appellate
courts somewhat greater latitude in
passing upon the validity Of the
boards findings of fact.
These proposals, the most impor-
tant recommended by the committee,
represent sincere and considered
effort to iron out some of the in
equities which the Smith group be-
lieves it has discovered in the opera
ton of the law. 1t may be that some
OF them are unwise, and some per-
sons will contend that the adoption
of any of them would tend to deprive
employees of the essential legislative
protection which Congress sought to
provide. But if that is fact it
should be demonstrated in open and
frank debate of the issues raised.
No constructive results can possibly
flow from attempting to defeat these
concrete proposals merely by de-
nouncing them in general terms as
being "emasculatory." If the facts
and logic are on the side of the op-
ponents of amendment of the act,
they should be willing to face the
question squarely and state their
case for the record.