The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1942-04-16

Introducing the bill, the "OppreSSive'
Labor Practices Act of 1912" La Fol
lette told the Senate that 1.-The neces-
sity and desirability of such measure
is manifest i'm Il maSsiZe record of I'M
deniabe facts unearthed in an extern
sive investigation, lasting over four
years." by the subcommittee of the
Senate Committee on Education and
Labor Of which he was chairman. The
subcommittee was popularity known as
the Senate Civil Liberties Committee.
Senator La Toilette declared that it
is necessary now to reaSsure the men
'whO labor that the nation is not going
to yield to that clamOrous minority
which in Congress and out, for the
last six years, has been seeking to
subvert, eliminate or substantially
weaken the Federal guarantees of col
lective bargaining"
He added that labor leaders fear
that the war will be seized on as an
opportunity to take away from labor
its statutory rightS-fear which lis
damaging to our unified effort in such
times of national peril.
Passage of his bill, it was declared,
would be an effective answer to the
''clamarous minority" of labors enc
/ mics
The bill would outlaw II oppressive
acts, as follows:
Use of labor spies by employers ::
use of strikebreaking services in in
dustrial disputes; use of private in
dustrial police "as an instrument of
opposition to collective bargaining ,;
use of industrial munitions in labor
disputes; anti-union vigilantism black
listing; employer agreements to refrain
from collective bargaining; yellow dog
contract practices; employer coercion
of employers or employees to prevent
them from practicing collective bar
gaining; conspiracy to commit any of
the oppressive acts; failure of an EN-
ployers' association to supply certain
types of information to the National
Labor Relations Board.
Under the bill, it would be a crime
with penalties ranging to a fine OF
$4,000 or six months Imprisonment
''tO engage in Il prescribed labor prac
tice" Taking Il cue from the wage-hOul
act, the bill would make it criminal
for the employer who engages in Op
preSSive labor practices to ship his
products in Interstate commerce.
Any legislation seeking to alter the
present status of labor, which reaches
the Senate floor for consideration is
expected to run promptly into, head
H-1I, 10
Thomas bill. A nation to call up the
COnnally bill. providing for seizure OF
defense production plants where wOrl
stoppages occur or are threatened anC
for the freezing of shop conditions il
such plants, is scheduled for debate
April 20.
Parts of the La Follette-Thomas leg
islation were adopted by the Senate il
1910, but failed of action in the House
The legislation emerged in it's new
form as the Civil Liberties Commit
tee, which has conducted investga
tions since 1896, presented to the Sen
ate the second of ten inStallmentS o
its twelfth report dealing with organ
lied anti-unioniSm in California indus
y
tiOnal Labor Relations Act.
La Toilette and Thomas, who il
chairman of the Senate Labor Commit
tee, had deferred the introduction o
the legislation because the trouble,
state of international affairs demanded
that Congress devote its time earnest
ly and intensely to the debate an,
development of our foreign policy an'
the building up of national defense
La Toilette stated.
But now, without any action o
encouragement by your labor com
mttee,' he told the Senate, the at
tention of the Congress and this bod
has been directly and expressly turned
to Il series of diverse and complicate
measures bearing upon employer-rela
tionships.
Hours and days of the time o
\ Congress and its committees are cor
Sumed with discussion of labor legis
lation.
In such a situation we would b
dereict in our responsibilities if w
did not request Il studied cOnsideratio
of the Oppressive Labor Practices AC
of 1912 If the nation has time fo
consideration of any labor Legislation
then, by all means, this proposed aC
should be carefully weighed.
Il know of no act of Congress whicl
if passed, will do more to assure tn
men who labor that their organic;
tOnS, and their efforts to eXercS
their rights and better their ecOnomi
condition, will be preserved from pr
vate attack and aggression"
The labor subcommittee invest
n cations in California in 1899 and 1914
it reported to the Senate, showed tina
'the power of democratic governmel
must be perpetually on guard to ''pr'
tect the rights of labor"
The refusal of an individual con
pany or manager to enter wholehear
edly into collective bargaining migl
be overlooked, the report said, ''ul