Evening star., 1941-06-17
N. A. N. Chief Urges
Change in Federal
Labor Policy
Necessity for Military
Action DepIored by
Walter Fuller
HN the Associated Press.

BY the Associate Press.
PITTSBURGH, June 17.-Walter
D. Fuller, president of the National
Association of Manufacturers, de-
clared last night defense strikes
could be checked effectively with
out the Army and without seizlng
industry" by revamping the national
labor policy, enforcing local and
State laws protecting citizens
rights and giving workers the right
TO vote on strikes.
In an address prepared for de-
livery to a conference of industrial
lists and described by the N. A, M
as a statement of management's po-
sitlon regarding seizure of defense
plants. Fuller recalled the use of
troops during the strike of airplane
factory workers at Inglewood, Calf,
and said:
"Inglewood was the extreme result
of the acts of a labor government
that has outdone itself-so much so
that the United States Army had
to be called in to correct dramati-
cally the evil of a vacillating too
much rope attitude toward labor.
while the Presidents long
awaited show of firmness has been
popularity received by public
plenty fed up with such strikes, the
United States Army is not a good
substitute for sound national labor
policy.
United States Policy DeplOred.
THE correct solution is to avoid
strikes, not Government strike
busting. Regrettably. things have
reached the point where the Presi-
dent has to treat symptoms of social
dissolution by military means. And
the reason is that every civil act of
government. however well intended,
IN recent years has encouraged, not
discouraged, strikes
The essential point at issue, the
Philadelphia publisher declared, is
"the right to work in free America,
for the defense of our land"
This is the three-point program
which he advocated for meeting de-
fense strikes:
81. Revamp our national police,
and the National Labor Relations
Act, to end mass picketing and other
forms of intimidation so that it will
guarantee both management and
labor the right to work. AS far back
as 1888, 10 per cent of the public
wanted the Wagner Act revised,
according to survey figures.
20. Back up that policy with local
and State law enforcement to pro-
tect the rights of all citizens. We've
had too much Of dramatiZing every
thing into a national issue. Simple
enforcement of existing State and
local laws that protect citizens and
private property will go far toward
ending violence, intimidation and
coercion and protecting the right Of
the worker to work.
Urges Secret Ballot.
"3. Assure employees the right to
vote by secret ballot as to whether
or not they wish to strike. We are
confident that under these condi-
tions of national emergency the
answer will, in most cases. be no."
Government seizure of industry,
Fuller declared, is exactly what the
Communists have always preached .
He said Communists like the idea
because it would undermine" pri-
vate enterprise; SLOW up defense
production; compel the Govern
ment. for political reasons, to pay
maximum wages in seized plants;
and finally, bring wave of strikes
in non-defense industries whose
workers would want equal wages"
Fuller said that overnight the
unions are discovering Communists
right and left in their ranks, and
are battling for headlines in their
newspaper effort to get rid of them. "
But" he added, lit took almost
a national labor debacle to prod
them into action. Are we going
to begin and end with the announce
ment that unions themselves are
about to clean house?
This stamping out of Reds
should not be left to few union
heads to turn out of jobs their for
mer associates. Reds need to be
ridden not only out of the unions,
but out of the schools, out of gov
eminent, out of the United States.
And that's an administration job"