The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-06-01

before, the board has threaten
ed TO resign in a bunch. First
crisis was on Jurisdiction over
railway labor Disputes. The boards
own threatened strike on this is
sue got results, and the President
did award to economic Sterilization
Director Byrnes authority TO deal
with railway wages cases, with a
side order TO the railway labor
National Mediation Board panels to
make their decisions in keeping with
WLB policies. The board thereupon
assumed Jurisdiction over all labor
cases.
IN other words. the War Labor
Board went out begging for trouble
IN inSltlng that the railroad labor
wage cases be tied IN with It's efforts
And 50, shortly, the $750-million-a-
year-pay-lnGrea8e demands of over
"a million railway employees will be
brought TO Washington. And II John
Lewis United Mine Workers don't
completely wreck the Little Steel
formula and the Sterilization Act
Of october. 1912 the railway labor
brotAorhoodS may.
HOLD- TIIE-LINE" SURPRISE
Second threatened Walkout OF the
War Labor Board was over the
Presidents hold the-lne' order Of
April 8, This order came with as
much surprise to WLB as it did to
the country
Lawyer Ben Cohen, OF the old
Tommy CorCoran-B Cohen team,
Is generally given credit for having
drafted the order. Cohen Is now
counsel for Economic Sterilization
Director ByrncS. VILE ManpoWer
and War Food Administration chiefs
were not consulted on any Of It's
provisions, though the order affects
all three.
WLB, being particularly stymied
by the wage freeze In section two,
was ready TO throw In the sponge
and quit. Pressure was applied to
keep the board functioning, but ever
since the order, the board has been
trying TO establish what the going
lions and all labor market areas, 50
that limits could be determined for
raising standard wages, as di-
rccted by the order. Much more
time will be required to make those
determinations, and H. the mean
while, the backlog Of unsettled cases
piles up and strikes are tending to
multiply IN protest over the inability
Of the board to get out from under,
BACKLOGS BREED DEFIANCE
Regional WLB offices have n
backlog Of some 1900 voluntary
cases waiting TO be handled. These
are the cases In which employer and
employc agree TO an increase with
IN the Little Steel formula. Dispute
cases in the regional Offices num-
Der about 1000 waiting for action.
IN Washington the backlog may
be 5000 eases but that VIII Include
1000 or 80 voluntary cases already
handled by regional boards and
merely sent to national board head
quarters for review by economists.
The board Itself seldom handles
over 100 dispute cases week The
whole works Is, conSeryatively, n
month or more behind It's calendar,
John L. Lewis has succeeded In
dcfying the board, and that one
thing has backed it TO the wall
Maybe II Is wrong for one citizen
to defy his government and back
II against the wall, but that Is an
accessory after the fact, as the
lawyers say. # Lewis can refuse to
accept the boards orders, why can't
others? The rubber workers in
Akron did 1t, In their protest strike
against the WLB wage decision IL
their case,
II othcrs-liEc the railway broth
erhoods, for instance should follow
suit, that would be wrccking the
board for good.