Evening star., 1942-07-18

OlllCldlS
plead for a re- David Lawrence.
turn to work. Donald Nelson, pro-
duction chief, begs the AFL leaders
on construction projects worth about
$100,000,000 in Pittsburgh, for in
stance, to get the men back to their
jobs. But William j. Kelly, high
officer of the national union of
carpenters, says:
IT didn't order them Cthe workers.
out, and I don't intend to order
them back"
Mr.. Nelson cries out to the same
group that "by permitting or au-
thorizing this strike, you are COM
mitting an unpatriotic act and you
are holding up our war program"
What, it may be asked, is the
meaning of such tactics? Obviously
1t has something to do with forcing
the War Labor Board either to ad-
Just wages at once or to agree to
give some special privilege or TO
make the pay rise retroactive to the
day of the walkout.
There are absolutely no penalties
for thus jeopardizing the war pro-
gram. If soldier deserted his post
of duty in war time he would be
subject to discipline. If manu-
facturer violated price or priority
provision, ne would be indicted and
prosecuted. If a businessman by
reason of something he did as much
as 10 or IS years ago is discovered
today to have been involved IN some
abstract or technical violation OF
the antitrust law, he could be in
dicted-and hundreds of them are
already being indicted.
Discrimination Charged.
There seems to be one law for one
set of citizens and immunity from
penalty for a vast number OF other
citizens.
Congress supinely submits to this
state of things in the midst OF war
and thinks only about politics and
the threat that unions might inter-
fere in the elections and punish
them for voting for legislation re-
stricting labor union activities.
President Roosevelt, who doesn't
have to worry about the elections OF
1912 and presumably doesn't have
to worry about a fourth term in 1914,
might be expected to exert leader
ship for legislation or executive
action to penalize those who
interrupt the war program and
violate the pledge given by the ma
tional labor leaders not to strike.
Since there is no penalty or even
remote suggestion OF a penalty the
way is open to strikes and SLOW
downs.
During the last "a hours the news
Of some important work stoppages
came in as follows:
l. An unauthorized" strike IN
New England forced $50 chemical
plants engaged in making war
supplies to curtal operations.
2. Truck drivers in the coal
regions of Pennsylvania ended a
folr-day unauthorized" strike.
3. Aircraft parts production was
shut down at the American Mag
nesium Corp. at Buffalo and the
valkout was termed unauthorized :
4. Propeller operations were halted
at the Pennsylvania plant OF Cur
Wright Corp. Workers are re-
ported to have quit because others
declined to join the union. Inc
strike is described as "unauthor-
tied
Other Strikes in Progress.
Thousands of smaller strikes are
In progress. The official statistics
show that the number OF man.
hours lost in May exceeded the pre-
ceding month. Government agencies
do not collect the statistics promptly
and, therefore, only the press as
sociations can collect the data
quickly. For military reasons the
number of men involved is often
suppressed
The game is clear to see now
The leaders made the no-strlke
pledge but the local union officers
often with the knowledge Of officers
engage in unauthorized strikes
Last autumn just before Pear
Harbor tens of thousands of Goa
miners in commercial mines walked
out in sympathy with miners ir
captive" mines, and, though it was
a plain breach of contract, the CIC
did nothing to punish the "unau.
thorized' walkout. In fact, today
the CIO is claiming that the CLAUSE
which provides financial penalty
for these unauthorized" walkout'
must not be enforced by the EN-
ployers.
The new formula in American
unionism is to bring about An "un
authorized" strike. The War Labo
Board may get scared, and there
no penalty for the instigators /
the move fails.
oh cd