Evening star., 1941-08-13


f1uence of the so-called National
Defense Mediation Board declares
that employers hereafter must po-
lice the unions and see that men,
bers pay dues, the chances are
many big employers will ask the
Government to take over the plants
and exercise that responsibility.
The steel industry has been slow
to accept unionization. Many of its
companies have tried TO prevent
collective bargaining. The steel
executives have always insisted that
they saw nothing wrong with the
exercise OF collective bargaining
rights but what they feared was
the next step-the closed shop and
check-off. Some of the steel eXecu-
tives believed that they were TAX
ing no risks in recognizing union
even before it could prove it had a
majority of its employees enrolled.
Others have waited till the majority
could be checked and verified. But
none of the steel companies be-
lieved that by acceding to the Wag-
ner Acts command on collective
bargaining their troubles would be
over.
Taylor First to Break Away.
The United States Steel Corp.
through its chairman, Myron Tay-
lor, made the first important break
away from opposition to unions by
a contract made with the c. l. o.
leader, John L. Lewis. Other men,
bers of the steel industry chose to
fight and finally nearly all Of the
steel companies have been compelled
by means of National Labor Rela-
tions Board influence or by the
unrestricted activities or coercion OF
union organizers to accept the Wag-
ner Act rule on collective bargain
ing.
But now the second step is here.
Having granted recognition to the
union in accordance with the Wag-
ner Law, will the union be satisfied
or will it insist on the closed shop
and the check off" which means
a pay roll deduction of dues by the
company? 1t is true that the c.
I. o. in the case of the United
States Steel subsidiary company at
Kearny, N. j., asks only for the
company's signed pledge to dis
charge any members who do not
paw dues and does not at this time
exclude from employment those
who are not union men. AS It
works out in practice, however,
when the union has assured itself
that all members who already be-
long must continue to pay union
dues or the employer will dismiss
them there is scant chance for nom
union employees to work peacefully
alongside such union members
without being compelled to join
The opportunities for coercion are
such that with the modified form
of closed shop which the C. I. o.
union is asking in the Kearny, N. j.,
case, it is a short step to complete
closed shop.
Entry of the Governor of New
Jersey into the picture with re-
quest that the Federal Government
refrain from taking over the plant
till he has had a chance to mediate
the issues is sequel to the company's
offer to give the plant to the Gov
eminent and the unions clamor
for the issuance of a Government
order to seize the plant. The Gov
ernor, who was until recently Sec
retary of the Navy, knows that the
workers rights to strike and op-
portunity to get union maintenance
agreements from Uncle Sam will
vanish the moment the plant is
formally operated by the Govern
ment as a Government plant.
May Save Embarrassment.
Gov. Edison's mediation may save
all sides embarrassment and may
afford the union a way out of the
tangle it has gotten itself into by
forcing an issue of such fundamental
importance in the middle of ma
tional defense crisis. The question
of whether an open or closed shop
shall prevail in the Eastern ship
building industry which has been
traditionally open shop is not one
that had to be settled now. If union
ism as usual and business as usual
are to be the notices of our defense
program, many more plants will be
tied up. The suspension of work on
s4o3 900, 900 of naval contracts at
Kearny, N. j., was forseen weeks
ago. The National Defense Media
ton Board knew the facts, yet it al
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