Evening star., 1941-10-28

John L. Lewis as the head of the
United Mine Workers of America
and indirectly the man who wields
most power in the c. l. o. despite
his retirement from the presidency,
Is we'll aware that bludgeoning gets
results in Washington. He has
pushed his way successfully through
negotiation after negotiation, leav-
ing in his wake a host of cases in
which the Government has abjectly
capitulated
Today Mr.. Lewis stands before
the country as having risked much
public criticism to get the monopoly
he seeks in the steel industry-a
closed shop for more than 100000
workers. Will he be defeated on
the threshold of that industry,
namely, in the captive coal mines,
which represent the entering wedge
to the whole steel industry? If he
wins, Mr.. Lewis will have two
major induStrieS-coal and steel
in the hollow of his hand. He will
control about 100000 steel workers
and 100000 miners. He will be able
to order them out at will and grad
ually force other major industries
into his jurisdiction.
Encouraged by Law.
Mr. Lewis can hardly be blamed
for taking advantage of what the
labor laws today permit.
The Wagner Act encourages these
monopolies and makes possible
autocratic leadership. Already Con-
gress has been intimidated and in
the last few months has walked up
the hill to series of restrictive
measures only to walk down in
humiliation as Mr.. Lewis cracked
the whip and made his lobby power
felt.
Individual members of Congress
have protested loudly but the ma
jority has shown its fear of labor's
political power OF reprisal 50 that
today . power bigger than the Gov
ernment has appeared which
threatens to impair the productive
processes at q time OF national de-
tense emergency.
Mr.. Roosevelt with commendable
patience has written pleas of re-
straint. He has not threatened or
denounced anybody 50 no complaint
Of impulsive action can be lodged
now. He has cracked down on en-
ployers and has even seized a huge
plant in Kearny, N. j., where the
United States Steel Corp. declined
to grant what was regarded by it
as closed shop in shipbuilding
At that time the National De-
fense Mediation Boaf had errone-
ously insisted that no closed shop
issue was involved and yet its de-
cision plainly declared that an en-
ployer must discipline union men,
bers for not paying dues to union.
The public criticism which followed
that episode has served to clear the
air on the whole closed shop con-
troversy and the board states now
that a closed shop must be a VOL
untary act of the employer and
the union and cannot be forced by
q governmental agency.
Issue on Presidents Doorstep.
When Mr.. Lewis says the Govern
ment has approved the closed shop
already, he means, of course, that
the National Defense Mediation
Board compelled all the commercial
coal operators to accept the closed
shop. This is true To Mr.. Lewis,
therefore, it doesn't seem logical
that the Mediation Board should
stop now. To the country it is log
ical that the Mediation Board
should realize its error and reverse
itself For the plain language Of
the Wagner law says that closed
shop agreements must be voluntary.
It Is questionable in the minds Of
those familiar with the legal back
ground of the controversy whether
strike to attain closed shop is in
itself not a violation of the terms of
the Wagner Act.
3 Certainly the President has the
closed shop controversy on his door,
step now and the course that was
followed in the last war could be
followed again, namely, to freeze
existing situations so that in indus
tries which are entirely or nearly all
under the closed shop, the latter
status may be held, and in industries
where there are only small num-
Der of closed shop contracts, raising
Of the issue would not be permitted.
Would Ease Settlement.
II the President would announce
such q policy it would make it easy
to settle the pending dispute be-
cause, II the workers in the coal
mines which are owned by the steel
companies can be said to be part of
the coal industry, then, since the
latter is almost entirely on a closed
shop basis, the captive mines could
take the same status But unless
this was accompanied by clear un-
derstanding concurred in by the
President that the closed shop was
not now to be sought by Mr.. Lewis or
the c. I. o. for the other workers in
the steel industry, there would be no
value to the settlement. In some in
stances, the United Mine Workers
have unionized as much as 95 per
cent OF the employees of the captive
mines. so that from a practical
standpoint it wouldn't mean much
to the companies if they agreed to
closed shop provided it didn't en-