Evening star., 1942-03-06


objective-increaSed speed of pro-
duction.
For the plan could conceivably
Introduce more friction, engender
more labor strife and serve further
to impair the effectiveness of the
management function unless it is
confined strictly to the suggestion
box" type of advice or to the pep
UP" sort of morale work which has
always been a part of industrial
practice in large plants.
But as the plan has been evolved,
plant and asks for the appointment
of a joint labor management COM
mittee. Theoretically it Is asking
for the best advice and best brains
out Of the ranks of the workers but
instead it approaches the political
type of worker who has become an
officer of a labor union and who may
or may not himself represent the
best efficiency record.
Time Consuming.
In plants where there are no
unions, the Government represent
ative is to make sure that the labor
management committee is truly rep
resentative OF labor, though just
how he can ascertain that IS some
thing not readily explained. After
the committees have been formed,
there is to be study made of eff
cheney. Management executives who
are busily engaged in doing a pro-
duction Job must stop their normal
operations and confer with men of
lesser knowledge and experience and
patiently explain to them why a
large number of suggestions are
either unworkable or impracticable
or inexpedient.
The Reuther plan is good ex-
ample of confused thinking and un-
scientific advice as to the conVer-
sion of an industry into larger pro-
duction. No engineer on manage
ment side considered the plan |
worth commenting on when it first |
came out and only after the c. I. o.
put on a big publicity drive behind !
the plan did the auto industry take
the time to point out the imprac-
ticable and unavoidable nature of
most of the provisions of the plan.
The men in charge of American
Industry-the engineers and factory
superintendents-h in the main
come up from the ranks Of the
workers or have worked in the plants
for many years themselves on the
very production tasks which now
are so essential to the war. Quite
often workers will have valuable
ideas, but it isn't necessary to set
up joint management-labor commit
tees to channelize such suggestions
to the proper executive.
If it be assumed that American
workers are not going to speed up
production without lot of ballyhoo
or exhortation by their labor union
leaders and that this is the true
reason for the joint management
labor committees, then some one
high up in Government has been
imposed upon.
Creates Management Doubt.
This speedup could be just as we'll
attained If the Government appoint
ed its own ballyhoo representative
and went into plants to urge greater
production at lunch-hour meetings,
but it certainly opens up consider
able doubt in the minds of managers
of American industries to find the
War Production Board accepting the
schemes which the labor politicians
have been maneuvering to put across
In Washington ever since the de-
fense program started.
Mr.. Nelson has been heralded as
typical business man, but among
businessmen he has been thought OF
as leaning much more toward the
New Deal Man against it. Likewise,
his experience in plants has been
limited. His work has been largely
in the mail-order businesses. The
fact that he has allowed the labor
unions to introduce their manage
ment- Labor committee scheme and
that he has permitted it to enter the
highly controversial field Of plant
efficiency means either that he has
succumbed to New Deal labor poll
tics or that he has been innocently
imposed upon.
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