Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-05-04
FAIR
ENOUGH
BY Westbrook
PegIer

- O M + IT, E professional
- unioneers operating under
government license through the
Wagner Act. do things that
leave you Tapping your chin.
speeches..
You don't want TO believe
that any individual has such
powers or that Congress ever
intended TO confer such powers
even on the president OF the
United States.
You face the facts and just
humble, Can such things be ?"
Jimmy Petrillo. president OF
the ALL musicians union, re-
Gently reared back and passed
a law concerning symphony or
cheStras under an authority
which makes President Roose-
velts aggregate war powers
seem puny.
Let us not mind what the
law does TO the symphony play
ers. 1t just treats them as pa
! -AOitNftto
Jimmy is no great whereaser
himself, so we know that a
lawyer drew il up for him.
That lawyer probably would
be old Joe Padway. his chief
counsel
Joe is a highly prosperous
specialist in union law who for
several years has been telling
Congress what TO do. A year or
so ago he was sent over 10
Britain to represent American
labor in some diplomatic nom
sense with British labor.
THIS law of Jimmy's is an
Il amendment of the bylaws,
and the preamble says that 1.
James c. Petrillo, duly-elected
president" and so forth, pur-
suant to the powers conferred
on me- and so forth, do
hereby declare that an emer-
gency exists" and do hereby
/ promulgate and issue the fol-
lowing executive order which L
do hereby find and declare tc
be necessary.
This is consistent with that
which is known As the demo-
cratic process in the musicians
Union and is a fair sample OF the
democracy of Brother Padway.
No referendum was taken.
even among the limited field OF
the men who were affected by
the amendment.
No officials Of any local
unions were consulted.
No executive board was asked
TO consider the amendment.
Jimmy just reared back and
passed il as an executive
order which he deemed 10 be
necessary in an emergency.
DUT can he do like that
ID within the fine, democratic
household Of the American
Federation of Labor
He can do that and plenty
more.
Where docs he find those
powers conferred on me-
He finds them in article J OF
section / Of the bylaws, defin-
/ ing the duties OF the president,
where IL says he shall make
decisions in cases where, in his
opinion. an emergency exists
which shall be binding on all
members and locals.
The power 70 do all this ~
thereby made absolute IN the
president
There is an exception in the
handling Of financial affairs, but
/ 1t will be seen that Jimmy can
do anything he wants in this
field. TOO, by simply revoking all
the rest OF the constitution
THIS is the extreme example,
L so far as l know, Of absolute
dictatorship in a union operat-
ing under the Wagner Act.
other dictatorS, such as John
L. Lewis OF the miners. Joe
Curran of the Go maritime
union and old Danl Tobin Of the
teamSters. can achieve equal re-
suits by manipulation but in no
other union is this total author
ity spelled ont for the president
in the constitution.
He doesn't even have 70 20
through the motions of consult
ing his partners in the executive
board, some Of whom might
some time get out Of hand.
! am one who has never been
upset by anything that Jimmy
has done, whether Smothering
radio stations or Silencing the
iukeS. but on the contrary have
hoped that he would 60 the
limit one of these days and inn
pose a total silence on all pro-
fessional public music, including
ing the mechanical, pursuant
10 the powers conferred on
him.
That might show the people
and Congress what the Wagner
Act really means; for any other
union. adopting the same abso-
lutiSm, could be run the same
way and the public couldn't do
thing about IT,
/ Copyright, 1914. by United Features, synd
~~~~~ -
IE VXI AZ