The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1941-12-04
AFL Against Anti
(Confinued From PAGE One)

AetAiNA VI WIG SOiol eAuC SoAhPNASoAJ AAi
vestigation act and the Kansas Court
of Industrial Relations.
Organizations given representation
have proportionate responsibility for
the whole program. Representation
provides voice in determining the
principles upon which cooperation
shall be given, and gives to the men,
bers Of the organization part in the
whole undertaking. Management and
workers are responsible for war pro-
duction, and are best fitted by ex
perience to decide controlling policies
and procedures.
"ln addition to placing co-responsi-
bility on organizations of employers
and workers for production, similar
responsibility should be placed upon
them for prompt and effective adjust
ment of labor disputes that may arise.
The American Federation of Labor
recommends the creation of National
War Labor Board along the lines of
the Board of the World War. Repre-
sentatives of the American Fedora
tion of Labor and the National Indus
trial Conference Board with public
member selected by each organization
formulated the principles and policies
that governed relations between en-
ployers and employees in war indus
tries during the war, and after their
organizations had accepted this pro-
gram they designated their represen-
tatives to serve on the Board which
was to deal with labor disputes in ac-
cord with these principles.
"Such a national board should pro-
vide for hearings locally in as many
disputes as possible to expedite ad-
justments so that all disputes would
not have to be brought to Washington.
"The record Of the National War
Labor Board was one of extraordinary
success. In only three outstanding in
stances were their findings challenged
and in those cases war powers were
ample to uphold the authority of the
Board.
"Time lost to the defense program
by strikes of members of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor is infnitesi-
NAL compared to losses due to other
causes.
"For the entire defense program,
from June 1910 through October 81
1941, time lost to defense by Ameri-
can Federation of Labor strikes
amounted to less than Ia hours per
man-year of work. Time lost by acci-
dent per man-year of work was 26
hours, and by sickness 40 hours. That
is, time lost by accident was 20 times
as great as that lost by our strikes,
and time lost by sickness 80 times as
, great.
"In all, time lost to defense by
strikes of our members amounted to
less than 20 asnds per s-hour day
of work since the start Of the defense
program, that is only z one-hun-
dredths of one per cent of all time
worked on defense. We calculate
these figures from the strike figures
Of OPM, which show only 663 thous-
and man-days lost to defense by
American Federation Of Labor strikes
compared to 948 million man-days
worked since the start of the pro-
gram.
even if we take the record of all
, strikes in all industries in the United
States for the first nine months of
l94l, we find that the loss by strike
|, amounted to only two minutes pei
eight-hour day of work, or seven
{ hours per man-year of work. For
while wage and small salaried work
t ers accomplished 5la billion man-days
| Of work in private non farm industry
; only 10 million man-days were lost by
strikes. That is, all strikes in all in
. dustries caused time loss of less
than four-tenths of one per cent OF
$ the total time worked
as not this a small price to pay fol
4 our freedom? For we know only toe
: well that any limitation whatever or
the right to strike is a direct sacrifice
of the workers freedom, robbing hin
of the only means by which he can, as
a last resort redress his wrongs OF
improve working conditions. Wher
time lost by our strikes is only one.
twentieth Of that lost by accidents
:, which are preventable, and only one
1 thirtieth that lost by sickness, shoulc
, we be asked to sacrifice our freedom
Should our freedom be curtailed al
the very time when we are arming tC
defend it? Surely this would be {
= strange paradox, to prepare to defenc
our freedom with a great military
force, to give the lives of our sons il
need be, while here at home we are
throwing away our freedom ant
Stacking our wage earners! The time
we would save for defense by such {
' move is insignificant. For free mer
working for the cause of freedom anC
, knowing that they hold in their owl
= hands the power to redress wrongs
= will work with spirit and vigor tha