Evening star., 1942-12-16
WlB Re|inquishes
Jurisdiction Over
Municipal Workers
City, State Governments
Given Free Hand in
Local Wage Disputes

e, the Associated Press.
State and municipal agencies were
left to their own devices today to
settle labor disputes. with their
employees.
The War Labor Board relinquished
any claim to jurisdiction in such
controversies yesterday by ruling it
has no power Ito issue any directive
order or regulation in these dis
putes governing the conduct of the
State or municipal agency involved.
The decision upheld contentious
OF New York, Omaha and Newark
IN. j. city governments that the
board had no authority to intervene
in labor disputes between the three
municipalities and some of their
employees. At the boards hearing
on the issue week ago. representa-
tives Of 70 cities upheld the same
view.
The three principal cases involved
the New York City Board of Trans
portation and the CIO Transport
Union; the CIO State, County and
Municipal Workers in Newark where
a strike tied up garbage collections
for several days, and the Metropoli-
tan Utilities District Of Omaha and
the AFL American Federation of
State, County and Municipal EN-
ployes.
Position Stated.
The WLB stated its position In the
following resolution:
After careful consideration of all
the matters presented to the Ma
tional War Labor Board at and in
connection with the public hearing
on December Q, 1912, the board finds
that 1t has no power under Executive
Order No. COLT to issue any directive
order or regulation in these disputes
governing the conduct of the State
or municipal agency involved"
Executive Order No. COLT created
the board last JANUARY and delineat-
ed its powers in LABOR disputes.
The boards authority in the field
of wage stabilization was set forth
in a subsequent order last October.
Offers Assistance.
Wayne Morse, one of the four pub
lie members of the board, added a
reservation and explanation saying
that the board should explicitly Of
fer its good Offices for the purpose of
giving advisory opinions and rec
concentrations in disputes involving
State and municipal workers when
requested to do so by both sides.
Labor controversies between To-
cal governments and their employees
can be as disruptive to the war ef-
fort as disputes in private industry" :"
Mr.. Morse said. Therefore. in the
interests of more successful prose-
cutiOn Of the war, I think mutual
cooperation and reciprocal use of
State and Federal labor relations
machinery should characterize the
relationships between the Federal
and local governments in labor mat
tiers for the duration of the war"
Mr.. Morse, however, voted for the
resolution in which the board de-
clared itself without power to de-
eide such disputes.
View Upheld.
H. L. Derby. an industry member
of the board, who also voted for the
resolution, issued a statement saying
that he believed that the board not
only did not have jurisdiction under
Executive Order No. COLT, but there
was nothing in the National Labor
Relations Act, the Wage and Hour
Act. the Constitution. or any Federal
or State law which would give the
board authority to take Jurisdiction.
In New York. Mayor F. H. La
Guardia said of the ruling: mo
news. We knew it. They do not have
the jurisdiction"