Evening star., 1945-11-05
Constructive Program
For Labor Peuce Seen
Conference With MANAGEMENT
May Bring legislative Cure

Conference With MANAGEMENT
May Bring Legislative Cure
By David Laurence
What can the Management-Labor
Conference accomplish, assuming the
good faith and sincerity of both sides7
Out Of the conference can come set
Of principles which, by reason Of the
backing given them by the groups meet
ing here this week. will be accepted
by American public opinion rs q SEN
sible program to govern the conduct Of
labor relations.
This, however, would not be enough.
Wherever the principles need to be
translated into law, Congress will have
to act. For more than a decade no
labor legislation lacking the sanction
Of the labor unions could get through
Congress. Public uneasiness over strikes,
however, has led to the belief that Con-
gress might legislate on its own II the
Management-Labor Conference doesn't
succeed in offering program.
President Truman is in a strategically
oeAoA6 PooAtAoAAs 11C 1idc llUt lllblIkliuHICQ
labor or management or issued any
threats. On the contrary, he has re-
ceived in person at the White House
the leaders OF both groups in the last
two weeks and has impressed them with
the sincerity of his purpose and his
earnestness.
Good Faith Required.
What principles can be adopted7 La
Dor and management are operating
under the Wagner law which makes COL
lective bargaining compulsory on all
employers where the workers have q
bona fide majority. But the collective
bargaining process in order to be sue
cessful requires good faith on both sides.
Also the public, which was promised .
cessation of strikes If the Wagner law
| passed, has right to insist that before
strikes are called, the collective bar.
gaining process should be filled out by
compulsory system of mediation. This
does not imply compulsory arbitration,
but it does mean that before the parties
engage in strikes or lockouts the public
! interest demands that a third influence
either a mediating agency or panel or
| some form of conciliation provided by
the Government-be availed Of by both
sides.
| The public interest also demands that
| where strikes may cause q national or
community emergency, such as could
/ result from sudden stoppage of electric
| light and power service, telephone COM
munication or the interruption OF any
other facilities vital to the maintenance
OF public health or safety, the labor and
management groups be required by law
to go through certain procedures of con-
ciliation or mediation before resorting
to economic violence.
Congress has been upheld in its con-
stitutional right to regulate commerce
by eliminating the causes of strikes and
has prescribed compulsory collective
bargaining. 1t would be constitutional
to go a step further and compel the dis
putants to permit a third party to
mediate or conciliate and to require that
| no interruption or work stoppage be
considered legal until such mediation
and conciliation processes have been
utilized
Permit Seeking Solution.
This does not mean that either side
finally would be obliged to accept what
/ it considered to be an unreasonable
settlement. nor does it mean that the
! right to strike would be limited or inn
paired once the prescribed procedure
has been followed. It does mean that
the Government can provide fact-find-
ing bodies, voluntary arbitration tribu-
nails, mediation agency, a conciliation
service, and any other machinery which
| would assist labor and management In
solving their problems.
The groups meeting here this week
know that public patience is nearing
the point of exhaustion and that unless
an agreement is reached on q program
that can be submitted to Congress, the
legislative body will be compelled to
enact its own program, and this may
well prove to be more drastic than what
labor and management really want.
President Truman is giving plenty Of
rein to the labor-management groups.
He pleads with them to settle the matter
themselves but he points out that the
public interest is and shall always be
paramount. An historic conference
therefore begins here this week. And
II one were inclined, even before 1t
starts. to make q forecast, 1t would be
that the conference will be a success in
that out of it will ultimately come q
constructive program for labor peace In
America
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