The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-05-02

exactly like thousands of other
hearings in similar disputes to de-
, termine a bargaining agent. This is
the first step towards settlement
This hearing was ordered to be held
| last March 8 and under normal
| conditions would have been held
| earlier.
After the Chicago hearing is COM
+, pleted, the case will be referred to
National Labor Relations Board
| headquarters in Washington. The
board is set to give it immediate at
| tention. 1t is most probable that the
board will direct that an election
be held to determine whether the
United Wholesale, Retail and De-
partment Store Employees Union, G..
I. o., is the proper bargaining
agent. The usual form of such an
order is that the election shall be
held as early as possible, but not
later than 80 days" from date of Or
der. 1t is usually left to the NLRB
field Office to set the election day,
giving it time to post notices Of
election. print ballots and deter
mine who is entitled to vote.
ELECTION PROCEDURE
is A QUESTION
This last point may cause some
dispute, as there are controversial
problems on whether part-time en-
ployeS should vote, whether there
should be separate elections in the
retail store, warehouse and mail or
| der departments,
What happens after that depends
of course on the outcome of the
election. If the employees vote
against continuing the union as
bargaining agent, Sewell Avery, this
| 69-year-old scrapping chairman of
Montgomery Wards board of direc-
tors, wins the argument and can
dictate the terms of employment
without a contract. 1t goes without
saying, however. that the c. I. o.
organizers will not let the election
go by default. If the employees vote
to continue the union as bargain
ing agent, the next step is to nego-
tiate new contract or sign a re-
newal of the old contract which ex-
pired December 8.
Another possible outcome not to
be H'''o"'Sa' is for the employees to
vote against the union or have Mr.
49,. 80 - accept a vote for
) the union, with the result that the
union will strike and the govern
ment. through the War Labor
Board will have to begin all over
/ again in its efforts to effect settle
ment.
There is no getting around the
conclusion that the presence of the
War Labor Board in this dispute,
plus the White House interference,
has complicatd the picture and de-
layed settlement.
THE PROPER COURSE
Without this interference, the
proper course of the Montgomery
Ward dispute would have been for
the union-way back last November
or December - to petition for an
! election or to file a charge of un-
fair labor practices with the Ma
! tional Labor Relations Board, the
established government agency to
settle such situations.
Had NLRB gone ahead on its us
ual procedure at that time, instead
Of now, this case might never have
come to the present delayed and
embarrassing climax. But when the
War Labor Board stepped into the
picture, ordering the contract con-
tinued in effect after it had expired
last December. and events placed
the unwanted baby on the White
House doorstep, there was no need
for the union to push its case, and
the hands of the NLRB were tied.
The Montgomery Ward case has
resulted therefore in a confusion
OF prejudicial and emotional opin-
ION. But regardless of whether you
look on Sewell Avery as a knight in
shining armor ehampioning the
rights OF oppressed employees or as
q turnover heel to be carried out by
the kitchen police. you can't escape
as second guess the opinion that
the governments handling hasn't
| been too hot either