Evening star., 1941-11-21

C. l. o. termi-
nology.
One of the David Lawrence.
leading Washington newspapers not
only failed to mention the words
CLOSED shop anywhere in its news
or editorial articles on the Presi-
dents letter but spoke repeatedly of
union shop" controversy. A prom
inent New York newspaper carried
the phrase CLOSED shop in large
type in its headline but its special
news dispatch hereunder uses the
word union shop" several times and
never the word CLOSED shop except
In the text quoting the President.
The explanation is not to be
found in the charge that most Of
the newspa apermen, being themselves
members of a c. I. o. union, might
be tempted to formaliZe the c. l. o.
terminoloey, but rather in the fact
that the c. l. o. has put over on un-
whiting reporters a clever piece OF
euphemistic propaganda in order to
keep from the public the true mean
ing Of the CLOSED shop" evil.
To say that employers are refus-
Ing to grant union shop" means
to the average man that the en-
plovers do not wish to recognize a
union or deal with it. That's what
the c. 7. o. would like to have the
press disseminate and the public
believe. In fact, the United Mine
Workers Journal, national organ Of
the miners union, told its hundreds
Of thousands of members last week
that the union shop" issue in the
captive coal mines is matter of
union recognition" The fact is the
EMPLOYERS have already recognized
the union. as required by the Wag-
ner law whenever a ajorltv OF the
workers are lawfully organized.
Camoufaged Wording.
The President, doubtless IN an ef-
fort to combat misleading impress
sions arising from camoufaged ter
minclogy wrote in his letter Wednes-
day which describes the agreements
that the employers IN the captive
mines are willing 10 sign:
''Under these = agreements the
United Mine Workers are recognized
as the sole bargaining agent for all
the workers III and about the mines.
The agreements fix the highest basic
wage and the highest tonnage rates
paid miners anywhere in the world.
They provide in many other ways
for the security of the mine workers
under union auspices.
"A single issue, that of the closed
shop, remains in dispute, but this
Issue concerns only per cent OF
the mine workers employed in the
captive mines, which Is one-half Of
per cent-one worker out OF every
2oo-of all the mine workers In
the United States"
Mr.. Lewis promptly attempted to
shift the argument, this time claim
ing that the President desires an
"open shop which, by the way,
has often been used in labor con-
troversies to mean that the en-
ployer had no objection to either
union or non-unlon men but would
not deal with the union as such.
This is not what the President has
advocated. Taking cognizance OF
the effort to mislead by technical
phrases, the White House, through
Secretary Early, said.
Lets get this thing straight.
There is no use to confuse the is
sue. Ninety-five per cent Of the
miners have selected the United
Mine Workers Union as their bar
gaining agent. That is union
shop, not an open shop
nIknt ~ VOTk DChbCu
The reason the labor leaders and
particularly the C. L. o. chiefs like
to get away from the words closed
shop" is because it tells every Amer
lean who isn't particularly familiar
with labor terms that employment
Is closed to certain workers. In
other words, 1t means the constltu-
tional right to work has been sub
tracted from the Bill of Rights.
In an official survey of the whole
question of terms. the Department
of Labor in bulletin issued in
October. 1899, described the various
forms of closed shop 1t lists the
type where all employees must belong
to the union and new employees
must be chosen from the unions
own roster. 1t lists also the type
which requires that all workers in
a plant must be members but the
employer can hire whom he pleases
on condition that after 80 days or so,
the new worker must join the union
or forfeit his job
For all practical purposes these
various forms of closed shop mean
that an American citizen either
cannot get a job unless he prom
ises to belong to union or that
once having joined union he cam
not change his mind and withdraw
without losing his job. To close
the door against American workers
and to put monopoly power in
the hands of labor bosses by grant,
ing them the closed shop no mat
ssx by what name it is called, is to
restrict the freedom and the lib
erty Of the individual citizen in
his right to work. The Supreme
Court of the United States has
never been given a case to decide
involving this point because labor
l. L -