Evening star., 1941-10-30
Davis Tells Industry
To Counterorganize
For Labor Disputes
individual Employer
Now 'on Short End,
Bourd Chuirmun Says

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, Oct. 30.-William H.
Davis, chairman of the National
Defense Mediation Board, said today
that mature collective bargaining in
labor disputes could be reached only
after employers counter-or organized
on an industry wide basis.
THE individual employer is con-
fronteo with an industry wide Or
ganiZation of labor and realizes,
often in kind of a panic, that he
has the short end of the stick" he
said in an address prepared for a
luncheon of Survey Associates.
That is, perhaps, the situation
in our principal mass production
industries today"
Mr.. Davis said that as the de-
fense industry developed labor re-
lations perhaps passed the stage of
adolescence in some American in
dustries, but in no important mass
production industry such as steel,
automobiles, rubber and chemicals. +"
In Troublesome Stage.
I'm these industries labor rela-
tions are in the troublesome stage
of lusty immaturity, that state in
the growth of organization which is
always the period of greatest strife"
he continued.
The organization which he ad-
dressed describes itself as a non
partisan, non-political society char
tered to investigate and report prob
lens concerning the general welfare
Of the Nation.
He told the meeting that the N. D.
M. B. had suggested two ways to
settle the captive mine strike, which
ended today when John L. Lewis ac-
cepted President RooSevelt's pro-
posal. The suggestions, he said, were
by voluntary arbitration and by bi-
partisan negotiations between fully
empowered equal representatives Of
labor and management.
Such methods, are in my opinion,
wholly in accord with our demo-
cratic principles and appropriate a
peaceful and orderly settlement Of
the dispute" he said.
There is another type OF labor
dispute, the so-called jurisdictional
dispute, arising because of the over
tapping of jurisdiction under the in
ternational charters granted or ap-
proved by the central labor author
ity. They are family quarrels, and
strike resulting from them is es-
sentially a breaking down of the Or
ganization itself.
Work Stoppage InexcdsabIe.
80 think no one will dis
agree with me when I say that in
this time of emergency such disputes
should be settled within the family,
and that interruption Of defense
production because of such family
quarrels is inexcusable."
AS examples of troubles" that
went hand in hand with the i'm
maturity of labor organization, Mr..
Davis cited the strikes OF Allis-
Chalmers, International Harvester,
Northwest Lumber and North Amer
-iean Aviati0n.s OF the latter strike,
he said
"It led to TIE temporary use OF
Federal troops, which could not have
occurred. with a mature and disci-
plined union"
Under the impact of tre-
mendous expansion of production
and increasing costs, it is
no wonder that we have had trou-
BILE, but ! think there is no reason
to despair" he said. What We must
do in this national and international
crisis is lay down arms among our
selves. = We must 60 on until
the practice of conferences, the ap-
probation of the values Of collec-
tive agreements and mutual respect
and confidence have replaced the
unstable status of conflict"