The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-05-23

1 N~@SN~SS~ ~
President, W h G
r Rason has paid tribute
to the committee
by saying 1t was the kind of group
which could sit around a table, take
off their coats, call each other by
their first names and talk things
over. Murray has declared that the
President suggested the committee
was created to consult with him
periodically on "all matters" con-
corning labor's participation in the
war.
The "all matters" Murray assumes
to include living standards, housing,
Legislative standards, labor unity,
and a greater degree Of participa-
ton in the administration Of all
matters pertaining to the conduct
of the war. II think this Is the
greatest victory that labor has
achieved since the beginning Of the
defense effort" says Murray, who
has therefore renamed 1t Labor's
Victory Board"
BUSINESS
| FAXS TRIBUTE
Labor leaders are not the only
ones who boast of their new power.
Washington representatives of some
of the big industries pay tribute to
the labor lobby, saying privately
that 1t Is too smart, that 1t has not
made a single mistake in tactics
since the defense effort began. Dis
ruption of the old OPM and the
first mediation board are pointed
to as evidence Of the lobbys power.
If that's true in any degree, there
may be some point in trying to
cnumerate some Of the detectives Of
The labor movement In this war eff
fort. There Is no official tablet OF
stone to list these aims, for there is
as yet no real A. F. Of Lie. I. o.
unity. But day after day the labor
headquarters in Washington put out
their statments of approval on these
measures of Congress or admins
trative orders-or their disapproval
and from these statements and
from the resolutions Of executive
board meetings fairly clear pic
ture can be drawn.
At the head Of the list labor lead
ers put union security. This is in
reality a broad term for the closed
shop or the union shop and the
maintenance of the national labor
relations act, wages and hour law,
and all the other federal legislation
now on the books to protect trade
union practices, including the 40
hour week and extra overtime COM
pensation.
Second Is a drive for increased
wages and opposition to all forms Of
wage freezing for duration Of the
war. This objective is stated as
maintenance Of the "living stand
ards Of the workers threatened
by the spiraling cost Of living and
increased taxes on low income
groups" but 1t Is simply national
policy of demanding substantial
wage increases in all negotiations.
A. F. Of L. has gone further to sug-
gest automatic increases as living
costs rise.
SEEKS
MORE SAY-SO
On the war production program,
labor can be counted upon to ask
for more authority. Labor leaders
say they are not interested in hav-
ing share of management as such,
but this Is stated largely to counter
claims of management that labor
should not interfere" in manage
ment because labor doesn't know
anything about management.
Labor resolutions state this aim
behind a lot of words Is asking for
"labor participation in the prose-
cution Of the war by affording labor
direct representation and complete
participation within the administra-
tive machinery responsible for OBJ
tanning the production Of munitions
of war" What this means Is more
of the Murray industrial plan, more
Reuther plans for every war indus
try.
elimination of north-south wage
differentials, having been won in the
coal industry and started In the
aluminium industry, will be pushed
wherever the unions think they're
strong enough to put it over. And
on the same basis, there will be in
creasing demands for uniform
wage scales within whole industries
on a broader basis, to eliminate
competition for labor between
plants.
On the legislative front, the labor
lobbyists think they have side
tracked the Smith anti-strike bill
though they realize 1t can be held
over the head like an administra-
ton club to be pulled out If labor gets
out Of hand. Biggest pro-laboT
measures the lobby works for is to
increase unemployment compensa-
ton for workers displaced temporar-
| lily through conversion Of plants Ia
war production.