Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-02-07
Statutes CURLING Labor Unions
Forecast in Present Congress
War Production Strikes Would Give Impetus to
Movement Belief of Observers
at Capitol
BY Joseph 4. Loffns,
Associated Press Writer.

People With a reputation for Washing
ton savvy. and no particular Ak to grind,
VIII tell YOU right off that the Seventy
eighth Congress is due to slap labor
unions with a statute or two, Ask them,
and in what form, and they start to
hedge.
A composite answer goes something
like this
The House is in a mood to pass any
thing short of capital punishment.
Labor is on the defensive. The Senate
probably will be stabilizing influence.
and the President won't be stampeded.
Maybe they won't get anything through
this year, but you can't be sure. A
serious war production strike, or a series
Of little ones, especially if YOU get one
that's jurisdictional, will add a lot of
momentum to the movement.
It's doubtful if the services and pro-
duction officials Will favor anti-stuke
legislation. 1t doesn't stop strikes and
they want to handle them their own
way, with labor leaders cooperating.
Besides, our strike figures will stand
comparison with England's, where strikes
are illegal.
mo reason to believe the 40-hour- week
law is in any more danger than it was
year ago when Donald Nelson and
Secretary Knox advised against tamper-
ing with it. Since then the average work
week in war production has risen to
48 hours or better.
But you can be sure something will
come out Of the hodgepodge Of bills in
troduced and being written. Congress
has it in for some labor leaders. They'll
probably pass something aimed at the
racketeering variety, but will hit them
all: like requirements to file financial
statements, or to write democracy into
their constitution, or to observe it when
it is there. There may be some curbs
on the closed shop and checkoff for the
duration, and the War Labor Board may
be made responsible to Congress, instead
Of just presidential creation"
Legislation covering virtually all these
| points has been introduced or is coming,
| largely on the House side, but it will take
weeks for the congressional grist mill to
| get into high gear.
| All unenacted 194l and 1912 legisla-
! ton. in various stages passed out with
the old Congress. That included the bill
! of Representative Smith, Democrat, OF
/ Virginia which would have frozen shop
conditions, closed or open, require the
registration of unions and the filing OF
| accounts prohibit nearly all forms OF
! picketing, make sympathetic activity IL
! legal and impose the antitrust prohl-
billions on unions, deny the benefits Of
the National Labor Relations Act anc
| the Social Security Act to unions whose
! members violated the act. This sweep.
ing measure passed the House few day!
| before Pearl Harbor by vote of 252 II
| 1856. The Senate Labor and Education
| Committee entombed it.
The House Judiciary Committee al
ready has approved bill by Repre-
! sentative Hobbs, Democrat, of Alabama
which would subject labor unions to the
| 1884 notwithstanding Act. That law
aimed at gangsters, provides maximum
| penalty of 20 years imprisonment anc
$4,000 fine for anyone interfering with
the movement of interstate commerce
The law specifically exempts labor union
activities from its provisions.
The Supreme Court has held that ex-
| emption covers the case of union truck
| drivers in New York City who allegedly
halted trucks coming into New York and
| by intimidation compelled the truckers to