The union times., 1944-07-08
Labor Role In War Production Wins Praise Of Expert
Union Management Cooperation Hailed By Vincent As Remarkable Development With United States As
 Chief Benefciary-Helps On Post War

One of the most remarkable developments of the war has been the growth of union management cooperation for all-Out war production. Over 4,7OO labor-management com mittees are now functiOning in war plants, most of them with little or no publicity.
 An unusually significant ap- praisal of the value of this CO., operation is carried in the June issue of the "Survery Graphic, " a magazine devoted to problems of social welfare.
 The article, entitled National Teamwork" was written by Merle D. Vincent, director of the exemptions branch of the Department of Labor's wage-hour division Vincent is pe culiarly well qualified, by reason of broad experience in labor relations, management and government, to write on the subject
 He started his career as a lawyer in Colorado. A progressive Republican then, he interested himself early in industrial relations. With the late Senator Edward Costigan, he helped draft a unique collective bargaining agreement between Josephine Roche's Rocky Mountain Fuel Company and the United Min Workers-the. first union contract at that time in Colo rado's coal industry.
 In the early days of the N. R. A, he came down to Washington, as an administrator, and has been with Federal agencies since. He is known particularly for his judicial type of mind.
 Vincent recently made a detailed study of what has been accomplished by the labor management committees in war plants, and published the results in his Survey" article. He pointed out that some diehard employers op- posed the idea of such partnership with labor, but he concluded that in the main, where arrangements have cooperated, wonders have been achieved.
 Through these committees, in- dustry has unearthed a veritable gold mine of labor-saving ideas from the workers, Vincent said, These ideas have not only enor- mously speeded up production, but saved the government hundreds of millions of dollars in war costs, he explained.
 What is more important, he stressed, is that through these com mittees, "labor and management have been sitting down together at time of unparalleled national peril to find new ways and means to save materials and time, increase the efficiency of men and machines, reduce cost and boost production"
 Nothing in this world of factories and production IS more significant than the simple fact that skilled, in telligent workmen can make contri- buttons to every aspect of production processes which ordinarily would be expected to come only from engi- neers," Vincent said
 ssNo week passes without reports to the War Production Board of the increasing achievements of these cooperative efforts of labor and management in the nations steel mills, shipyards, aircraft factories and other plants making munitions and supplies for the armed forces. "
 Vincent crredited the countrys rec ord-breaking war production in large part to this American teamwork which IS writing new chapters in the saga of machine age miracles"
 This cooperation, if extended after the war, holds high promise, he contended, for ''solving of vital production and employment prob lems in the postwar world"
 Tn these committees we have the germ of a new teamwork for plan ming how to cushion the shock of changing over from war to peace conomoy," he said.
 They prove, he added, that the men and women on the production lines are competent to sit down with industrial management and government representatives in planning how best to utilize all our production facilities and resources after the war to provide the high est possible level of employment 5
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