The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-04-14

lHl0tCddS bllCy VC dAA WVAhVu VVSAy day including Sundays and at such hours as would bring the blush of shame to any advocate of the eight- hour day, or even the 12 or 16-hour day.
 LEFT WITH
 JANITORS ea .,
 On the weekend that they tackled the Allis-C Chalmers case, their first session ran through to 1 a. m. Sunday morning, and except for scrub women and janitors, they were practically the only occupants of the big Social Security building which is o. P. M.-Ordnance head quarters.
 The negotiators nearly caved in though the negotiations fortunate ly didn't and the basis for agree ment was reached in 22 hours of dickering. Then, after the terms were announced Sunday night, the employe representatives were flown back to Milwaukee by navy trans port plane, so that the agreement could be ratified without delay. The small staff includes Ernest P. Marsh, loaned by the Cancellation Service as temporary executive sec retary, the good Mrs. Abbott who is Chairman Dykstra's secretary, @ press relations man and Q few stenographers recruits from o. P. M.
 As the full board met April 10 for Its first regular session attend ed by the entire membership 1t therefore had behind 1t two weeks of strenuous experience in which three and four-member panels had tackled half Q dozen important cases, but 1t still had no policy. To adopt that policy and formulate It's rules of procedure were the two things the board hoped would come out of this ineeting-if 1t could just find time off from Its practice long enough to establish principles. Its two rules now are: CD Go back to work, (2) Come to Washington and talk 1t over.
 In the last war, in addition to @ National War Labor Board, par- alleling the present National De- fense Mediation Board, there was a War Labor Policies Board. This board set up standards of working conditions, like the 8-hour day, many of which are now accepted provisions of existing labor law. Tn return for these guarantees in the last war, organized labor agreed that there should be no strikes dur ing thew ar, and did not extend or- garizational activities to plants where there were no unions.
 LEADERS
 DIVIDED t..
 Whether concessions such as these could be obtained from labor today is extremely doubtful. If 1t came to a showdown, official Wash- ington would probably split right down the middle.
 Congress apparently would be in decided favor of limiting the pow CTS of unions for the duration of the emergency. The administrative side of government, insofar as 1t has shown its hand, favors riding on labor law and labor administration as now constituted. In other words, keep the so-called Wagner act, the fair labor standards law, wages and hours guarantees, N. L. R. B. and the existing machinery of the Labor Department, including Cancellation Service backed up by the National Defense Mediation Board.
 In the last war, there were only three real challenges of the old War Labor Boards powers. Vest ern Union, declining to comply with Q board order that 1t cease discrim- ination against union men, was or- dered taken over by the Postofilce Department for the duration, through a presidential decree. The Bridgeport case and Smith & Wes- son case, in which employees in the former and employers in the latter refused to abide by board decisions, were likewise threatened with gov- ernment seizure and operation. All three complied with the board be- fore the orders could be put into effect.