Evening star., 1944-01-26
WLB.
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his will to encourage membership in
union by requiring continuance of
membership as a condition of en-
ployment, or requiring the check
off of union dues as condition of
employment. is so clearly in viola
ton Of the law, that it is difficult to-
follow the devious reasoning by
which the board seeks to Justify its
conclusions.
Board Extends Jurisdiction
"(5) The board has not confined
itself to labor disputes in war in
dustries, but has assumed, jurisdic-
ton over all types of interstate and
intrastate business, no matter how
remotely they may be removed from
any connection with the war effort.
"(6) Compulsory arbitration which
requires the parties to abide by
the arbitrator's decision is in vio-
lation of the constitutional rights
of the parties"
The committee devoted the larger
part of its report to union mainte-
nance orders, under which the WLB
often requires that union members
remain members in good standing
for the duration of contracts as a
condition to continued employment.
Generally, however, the employe has
Is days in which to elect either
to CD remain in the union for the
duration of the contract and If he
- y JVav off ha do lnco r ic
Job, or (2) to withdraw from the
union and continue his job as a nom
union employe.
Challenge Presidents Powers.
Continuing, the majority report
said:
'It is the contention of the board
that they are acting by direction
OF the President of the United
States and that the President has
delegated such authority to them
by reason of his war powers under
the Constitution,
The President does not possess
war powders which authorize him
to compel an employer to release
workers who do not maintain their
membership in a private labor union
The subservience of the Ma
tional War Labor Board in bowling
to the demands of its labor men,
bers for union security has led in
some instances to results which are
the very antithesis of its avowed
purpose, namely, to increase and
maintain the production of war
materials"
5,438 Strikes In Two Years.
In a chapter devoted to work
stoppages regardless of National
War Labor Boards directives," the
committee commented that mot
withstanding the pledge made by
representatives of labor" not to
strike during the war, in the two
years ended last December 81
"labor's strike record has been 5,43e
strikes, 81 100000 man days of idle
ness and 4,991 500 striking workers.
The committee recommended
that Congress enact legislation to
define with certainty" the boards
authority and to provide specific
policies and standards by which il
shall operate"
Mr.. Voorhis and Mr.. Delaney, ir
their minority views, disputed the
majority's claim that the board die
not derive from the Antistrike Act
of 1943 its authority to issue unior
security orders.
If the 1943 act, which Mr.. Smith
helped write, means single thing,
the minority insisted, 1T means thai
Congress placed upon the War Labor
Board not alone the power, but also
the obligation, to preserve labor
peace by making decisions in cases
where all other methods of settle
ment, including direct negotiation
conciliation and attempts at volun-
tary agreement, have failed"
In a side lecture" to leaders OF
the labor movement, Mr.. Voorhis
and Mr.. Delaney observed that
probably the two greatest dangers
confronting the labor movement are
"a tendency to concentrate authori-
ty to too great an extent In the
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