The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1944-01-26


Board, administering the Wagner
Act, handled over 5000 cases, divided
roughly as 5000 elections for determ-
nation of bargaining agent and 5000
charges of unfair labor practices.
| The Wage and Hour and Public
Contracts Division Of the Depart
ment of Labor, administering the
Fair Labor Standards and Walsh
Healy acts, made $4,000 routine in
spections of employers books, found
Al, 900 violations, the result of which
was the restitution of over $16,000,-
600 in wages due employees.
$4,000 DISPUTES SETTLED
The Cancellation Service in the
Department of Labor, under Dr.
John R. Steelman, participated in
the settling of some $4,000 labor dis
putes. OF these, IS per cent were
i handled without strikes. There were
100 disputes settled through arbi-
tration. There were 500 cases referr-
ed to the NLRB. There were 5000
cases certified to WLiB. There were
900 cases under the Smith Connally
War Labor Disputes Act In the six
months of the year this anti-strike
law was in effect.
Commission in arranging for labor
supply, and cases handled by labor
divisions of War Production Board
or industrial relations divisions of
War and Navy Departments are not
included.
This involved accounting for more
than 100000 U. S. labor disputes
which did not necessarily end up in
strikes is necessary preface to any
consideration of the 1913 labor dis
putes which did involve strikes.
The Bureau OF Labor Statistics re-
port for 1913 will show there were
some 3700 strikes. The Cancellation
Service can account for 1000 of them
as having been settled by direct
negotiations, without certification to
NLRB or WLB. That leaves 100
strikes still to account for.
BIS tries to account for every
strike involving six or more workers
and lasting one shift, or one day,
or more. Approximately 1000 of the
strikes reported can be clasSed as
having been of such short duration
or as having involved such a small
number of workers that the services
of government mediators were not
considered necessary.
OF the other TOO strikes, 1t Is be-
neved that about 100 can be ac-
counted for as strikes involving some
issue coming within the jurisdiction
of NLRB or against some action
taken as a result Of NLRB proce-
dure. From 500 to 900 of the strikes
involved issues coming under the
jurisdiction of the War Labor Board
or against some action or delay in
action by WI,B. Sounds cockeyed,
but take another look.
FUNDAMENTAL DEMANDS
PROMPTED STRIKES
No official government report will
ever show or admit there were
strikes against government agency.
If analysed, the reports on these TOO
strikes in which the Cancellation
Service could not bring about set
tlement by direct negotiations and
had to refer to NLRB or to WLB
would probably show that the causes
of the strikes were the fundamental
demands for wage increases, union
recognition, maintenance and men,
bership, change in working condition
jurisdictional dispute and so on. But
the underlying fact in many of these
cases has been that the action Of
the government agency has not been
satisfactory to the labor forces in
volved and that they have struck in
protest against a delay in getting
decision or against the decision.
What you have in all such cases as
discussed in the paragraphs above
is. in effect. the development Of
strikes against the government. Not
strikes against employers, but strikes
against laws. The percentage may be
small in relation to the total num-
Der of strikes and the total number
Of disputes which are settled with
out strikes. But here Is a develop
ment which 1t may be well to keep
in mind while considering the Ma
tional Service Law-another law to
pile on top of all the existing legal
machinery intended to prevent
strikes