Evening star., 1941-03-22

eCutlVe or q e n
creating a me- David Lawrence.
diation board he did not give it au-
thority over jurisdictional disputes.
In most instances when there is
strike the employer who is faced
with a jurisdictional dispute tries
to persuade the groups to 60 back
to work, but he is only theoretically
a party to the transaction.
The jurisdictional dispute is not
merely a result of the G. I. o. and
A. F. L. rivalry. 1t happens as be-
tween different unions, each Of
which claims jurisdiction over
particular job. Many a contractor
has learned to his sorrow that he
must avoid hiring one craft to do
the task of another craft and often
when he thinks he has selected the
right union from which to get labor
he is confronted with a refusal of
some other union on the same job
to do its work. This sparring for
position is not sudden thing, 1t
has been going on for decades and
each craft has built up its own his
tory on the jurisdictional question.
What has happened, of course, is
that these powers have been en-
hanced through the recognition
given unions as the sole bargaining
agents or sS the masters of
"closed-shop" situation.
Result of Pressure.
Thus in the granting of CLOSED
shop" which is one of the direct
consequences in many instances
of the collective bargaining process,
the employer binds himself usually
to hire only members of a certain
union. He must either fire present
employees if they do not join or else
he must agree not to hire any new
employees unless they agree to be-
come members of the union to
which he has granted a CLOSED
shop" This concession is not often
made voluntarily by employers, but
is the result of pressure and often
due to the threat or outbreak of
costly strikes.
Under the Wagner law, an en-
ployer can be convicted of an unfair
labor practice if he discriminates
against an employe and refuses to
hire him because Of his member
ship in union, yet Congress in the
same law said it was all right to
discriminate in the hiring or firing
of employees if closed shop con-
tract with union was involved.
Thus discrimination is legalized and
forbidden in the same law and the
employer is compelled to become
party to the discrimination.
Bills are pending in Congress for
bidding closed shop contracts to be
signed on defense contracts. The
strike at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio,
which tied up an important seq
ment of the aviation plans of the
Government, arose between an A.
F. of L. union which had closed
shop arrangement under contract
and the employment by the firm on
the job of a handful of G. I. o. men
engaged in special work on an
entirely different contract. The
strike has now been settled because
the A. F. of L. leaders yielded to
the pressure of the Government and
said they were conceding a point
on account of the national defense
situation. But actually this is an
exception to the rule and the A. F.
of L. union in question merely fol-
lowed accustomed practice in re-
fusing to do any work on a job on
which were employed members of a
rival union.
Selectees Get No Delays.
To get defense work done, the
contractors must get labor wherever
they can. The Government cannot
wait for the unions to carry out
their historic practices. The boys
who are being drafted to go to
training camps cannot stand on
their historic rights and say they
would like to finish their work in
particular jobs before taking up
military service. The employer can
not refuse to do work which he IS
ordered to do by the Government
II at any time he does not agree on
the price of a contract specification
His plant can be taken over. Yet,
union labor has thus far not been
obliged to give up any OF It's prlvl-
leges and only when public opinion
becomes aroused and virtually
pleads with the union leaders to
think of the country ahead OF their
own special interests does something
happen. There are strikes of the
iurisdictional sort in many plants
throughout the country. 1t remains
TO be seen what formula the admin
istration will evolve to take care OF
these disturbances.
Congress is in mood to leglSlate
on the closed shop. The legislation
will have to be carefully drawn to
prevent an epidemic of new strikes
derived from the language of such
law. The tangle Is dlthcult al
best to iron out if every group Is
going to be a stickler for its rights
instead of winking their eyes a bit
and letting defense work be COM
pleted even if an occasional devla-
ton from previous union practice
occurs. This is the kind of thing
which national union leaders coulc
handle. Congress would make rea
progress if it passed law forbidding
any strikes to be called unless sane
toned by the Executive Council Of
either the C. I. o. or the A. F. L
The heads of these two major or
sanizations certainly could be in
trusted with the judicious use o.
the right to strike and it would pre-
vent locals from exercising th'
strike weapon at will