The voice of labor. (Cumberland, Md.) 1938-1942, 1941-11-20
The Coal Situation

CIO in Fundamentally supporting
President Roosevelts foreign policies
for the defeat of Hitler and at the same
time. supporting the demands of the
United Mine Workers for union shop
in the captive mines is not contradict
orv. as many of the moneyed press
make it out to be.
The two actions 20 hand in hand.
The gaining of a union shop in
the captive mines will eliminate the
HitleriStic open shop. and provide
a firm basis of security by which
miners can produce coal aimed at
the defeat of Hitler.
Since the defeat of Hitler is the
number one lob Of all Americans. that
fight can best be waged under con-
ditions that utilize the fullest produC-
tive capacity of the nation in building
the arms necessary for the complete
crushing Of Hitler The open shop ar
rsngement in the captive mines is a
detriment to this necessary full produc-
ton.
The National Defense Mediation
Board, ~ rejecting the demands of the
nitcd Mine Workers for union shop
in caL:;;e m nes-tcn rereent Of all the
'aines in the natioc-tas handed down
ccial privileges TO a small group of
, g! m&enatcs. 1t has created danger.
6 s!tuation by refusing to hew
.~jnd labor poles that would insure
;aoterupted production. Instead it has
EN- prey TO tremendous pressure from
s,eel magn2tas and has opened the
~ for an even greater attack upon
l2ior from anti-laborities in Congress.
Probably one Of the main reasons
Tor ,he stubborn stand Of the Media
Oh Board is tie attitude of AFL rep
.-~c2tatives on the board
In voting against the union shop
tIcre representatives not only voted
G.@'rst principles which the AFL has
- fought for but broke the unity of
rcrEers where it was most needed.
CIO President Phillip Murray and
UfW tary-Treasurer Thomas
Kennedy voted against the Mediation
board majority, and in minority re-
port, stating the position of the Go
concluded:
There can be- no question as
Ia the WhOlehearted support which
the Go unions have accorded the
national defense program. We have
appreciated that the call for maN-
imum production under this pro-
gram created the need for every
sincere effort to assure continuity
of production. In the Judgment of
the CIO. the National Defense Med
iatiOn Board Offered an instrument
To labor and management whereby
our problems could he disposed Of
without the need of industrial con-
fIict or requiring the relinquish-
ment OF any legitimate rights of
either party. We have therefore
consistently cOunseled the affiliat-
ed unions of the CIO to utilize i'm
full all available machinery for
mediation to achieve the peaceful
solution of the problems arising
between labor and management.
We are still of the opinion that
such policy is desirable"
If Murray and Kennedy still have
hopes for the mediation of labor griev-
ances, what then stands in the way of
President Roosevelt creating an ade-
quate labor policy which would insure
the sound and unpressured consdera-
ton and solution of labor disputes so
that production go uninterrupted? In
stead of giving in to the anti-labor
pressure emanating from Tory Con-
gressmen, President Roosevelt would
take the best step toward insuring I'M
interrupted production by adopting a
clearcut labor policy respecting the
rights of labor Anti-labor legislation
leading to dictatorship over labor is
NOT the answer.
Certainly, full production at