Evening star., 1942-01-23
Closed Shop Issue
Again to the Fore
Writer Says Unions Demand
Further Concession Despite
Congressional Opposition
BIZ r. M. Beeckel.


The closed-shop issue. responsible for
three major strikes at captive mines Of
the steel corporations In 1941, has been
raised again In current negotiations for
new labor contracts with independent
steel producers. The Steel Workers
Organizing Committee. has demanded
company acceptance Of union shop
clauses in the new agreements.
A union shop in the captive mines Of
the steel companies was won by the
United Mine Workers, with little public
notice, on December Z, 194l-the day of
the surprise Japanese bombing attack on
Pearl Harbor The captive mines were
brought under the union-shop provision
of the standard Appalachian agreement
by the award Of q three-man board of
arbitration appointed by the President
when John L. Lewis terminated q ix-day
strike on November %. Ninety-five per
cent Of the $1,000 workers in the captive
mines already held membership In the
U. M. w.
The award Of the arbitrators was not
unanimous. Benjamin F. Fairless. presi-
dent Of the United States Steel Corp.
who served on the board with Lewis and
John r. Steelman, protested the award
on the ground that it violated the dec
laration Of the President, November IT,
when he said: IT tell you frankly that the
Government Of the United States will not
order nor will Congress pass legislation
ordering closed shop. The Govern
ment will never compel this S per cent
to join the union by q Government de-
cree; that would be too much like the
Hitler methods toward labor" The
unions closed-shop demand had prev-
ously been rejected by . 9-to-2 decision
Of the National Defense Mediation
Board.
Mr.. Fairless said the award would force
q complete reversal Of the opposition of
the steel companies to. any form Of
closed shop. It would reopen the closed
shop controversy in all sections Of Amer
lean industry and would cause "unneces-
sary labor unrest and agitation, with
consequent curtailment Of production of
materials vitality needed for defense"
When the Presidents industry labor
conference met at Washington after the
American declarations Of war, the closed
shop issue again arose to obstruct full
agreement. Finally the President ac-
cepted and put into effect on December
% the three points upon which agree
ment had been reached-no strikes or
lockouts during the war. settlement Of all
disputes by peaceful means, creation of a
new war labor board. He disregarded q
reservation by the employer group that
the new board should have no jurisdic-
tion over closed-shop controversies. The
employers recommended that open-closed
shop conditions be frozen for the dura-
ton Of the war; The fact that mention
Of the closed shop was eliminated from
the agreement raised some question
whether the new War Labor Board, set
up on January IL. would deal with closed
shop cases, but the consensus was that
1t would take Jurisdiction If the contro-
versy in question threatened to impede
war production.
Just prior to the outbreak Of war in the
Pacific the House Of Representatives had
passed the drastic Smith anti-strike bill,
December 3, which included a provision
that there should be no change in open
or closed shop relationships for two years,
or until the end Of the war emergency.
On the same day the Senate Committee
on Education and Labor had reported the
Ball bill which, among other things,
would make any new agreement for the
closed shop during the emergency illegal
And the Senate Judiciary Committee two
days earlier, December /, had reported
the Connally bill to freeze conditions Of
employment in defense industries and
set up Government boards to determine
fair wages. None of these measures has
yet been called up for action in the
Senate, but there is strong support in
both Houses for maintaining the open
closed shop status quo, as was done
during the First World War. until peace
IS restored.