Evening star., 1941-04-03

that the princi- ~
ao,or of disci- David Lawrence.
pline within labors ranks. Vlo-
ience by pickets and counter-vlo-
lence by police or non-strlkers just
doesn't happen without inStlgatlon
in the first place. A strike is in
itself a declaration of war IN Whlch
nolice interference becomes Secon-
dary and defiance of law and order
is pushed to the utmost limits until
checked by a superior force. 1t Is
obvious that within the labor move
ment discipline is possible and
strikes can be prevented from COM
ing to a climax of violence II the
national labor unions desire to do
so and they have the moral sup
port of the Government.
The President has not yet per-
mitted the national labor unions to
assume a responsible part in the
whole labor situation that confrontS
the Nation. His advisers with the
best intentions in the world have
led him to adopt a drifting policy.
But the result has been a dis
satisfied labor movement in Amerl-
ca. A retracing of steps is es-
sentiai.
Labor Representation.
When Mr.. Roosevelt picks labor
man for o. P. M. or when he ap-
points some labor representatives
on a National Mediation Board, he
does not really get to the heart OF
the nroblem. This is because the
mere appointment of a man from
the labor ranks does not impose
any responsibilities on labor as a
group. There are two ways to
handle labor representation in our
Government. One is to appoint III
kew positions some men of labor
sympathy or affiliation-thus far
ineffective-and the other is to ask
the c. I. o. and the A. F. L. IN
their capacity as national labor
organizations to assume responsible
ity and participate in the making OF
Government policies that relate to
labor.
The absence of discipline in the
ranks of labor can be met by giving
to the A. F. L. and C. I. o. full re-
sponsibility for finding peaceful So
lutions and consummatlng such
solutions so as to obtain adherence.
It is not necessary for the G. I. o.
and A. F. L. to unite in order to
obtain the desired result-a national
labor policy.
Most of the 1o5 national unions
Of the A. F. L. are each autonomous,
and the Executive Council of the
A. F. L. Is not supergovernment
in any sense, but largely a co-ordi-
mating and broadly supervisory
body. In the c. I. o. there are 45
national organizations, and the lines
of demarcation between local un-
ions and national c. I. o. head
quarters are not so clear.
Delegates for Labor.
But if the President publicly asked
the 105 A. T. l.. unions and the 45
C. I. o. unions, respectively, to
meet separately and formally desig-
nate delegates who could sit III the
Government it would go long way
toward compelling the constituent
bodies to accept in democratic fash
ion the will of the whole A. F. L..
group insofar as their own unions
were concerned or the wishes OF the
C. I. o. unions insofar as their own
disciplinary action might be con-
cerned.
At once there is the difficulty Of
what can be done on the employer
side. No one organization or half
dozen associations can bind the en-
ployers. But there are at least 100
major trade associations, most of
which are not at the moment con-
cerned with labor problems as such,
which could form a means of trans
mitting to their employer members
the desire of the Government for
the selection of delegates who would
be able to express the viewpoint of
the employer and perhaps even
form contact ahead of time with
employers whose plants are threat
ened with acute labor problems.
The Presidents expressed hope is
that the National Mediation Board
will be given a fair trial before
drastic measures are invoked by
Congress. But the Mediation Board
by itself is helpless to prevent dis
putes from arising, and usually
when accompanied by strikes and
violence it is not as easy to settle
them as it is to prevent them from
arising in the first place.
Three Labor Boards.
Without in any way supplanting
the National Mediation Board, the
President could well appoint three
boards, representing the G. I. O.,
the A. F. L. and the major trade
associations after each Of these
three groups themselves have elect
ed their official repreSentativeS-all
these three groups to be made an
integral part of the o. P. M. with
full responsibility to see that the
defense program is carried out
without interruptions of production.
Where governmental machinery
or delays in National Labor Rela-
tions Board action or other steps
that can be remedied by presidential
help are involved, recommendations
from the three groups can be placed
before the Chief Executive and the
country. 1t is only by calling on
the men who really have the respect
and cooperation of their labor con-
stituent bodies that a system of dis
cipline can be evolved which will
be free from governmental coercion
and yet responsive to public opinion
The facts would then be disclosed
in each dispute, since strikes would
be studied in Washington by duly
constituted representatives of the
labor movement and employers
rather than by so-called public rep
resentatives, who are in fact power
less to effect discipline. This is
true even of those sympathetic with
labor's aspirations. When labor
and management are properly rep,
resented in the Government ltsel1
strikes will tend to diminish ir