Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1945-11-16
Washington
LaborReport
By Bradford v. Carter
SECRET WARFARE

mony and peace among men
is being sounded at the Labor
Management Conference now
going in Washington, an overt
and covert campaign to de-
stroy organized labor is now
going on in Congress.
A reactionary Congressman
sponsoring this destructive
move should know that they
will in large part have to
bear the responsibility if the
conference fails to achieve
some measure of industrial
peace. Of course, it will be
impossible to maintain an en-
vironment of good will if one
arm of the government-the
Congress-iS conspiring to put
unions out of business.
Let's look at the record, as
Al Smith used to say. First,
there is the undercover cam
paign to keep the National La
Dor Relations Board from
functioning. It's being done
by letting the NLRB use up
all of its funds on the stupid
Smith-Connally elections.
NLRB SABOTAGE
If the Board receives no ad-
ditional funds, it will have to
stop functioning in the field
of protecting labor's rights to
organize, because all of its
money is being used to hold
elections in steel, auto and
electrical prod u $. Board
spokesmen have talked to
members of Congress about
this state of affairs. AS this is
being written, no remedial ac-
ton has been forthcoming. On
the contrary, the debate over
the repeal of the Smith-Con-
nally act is resolving itself
into a contest as to who can
pile on more an t il b or
amendments.
The technique Is really
quite clever and deserves use
by a better cause. Time and
again reactionaries in Con-
gress have tried to weaken
the National Labor Relations
Act. They have always failed
as far as the language of the
act is concerned.
But they have another OBJ
iect of attack-appropriations.
For the last few years the
NLRB has had to get along
on a progressively smaller ap-
preparation, despite the added
duties under the Smith-Con-
nally Act. No matter how good
the language of an act is, you
can't enforc it without
money.
And this is the campaign
strategy-to permit the Board
to drain off its funds for the
Smith-Connally elections and
let it whistle for more money.
GOVERNMENT is PARTY
Nominally the government
is not a party to the proceed
ings of the Labor Management
Conference except to appoint
chairman and an executive
secretary. Now whether or
not the Government considers
itself a party is irrelevant. 1t
is-and the reactionary clique
in Congress Is proving that it
can sabotage any worthwhile
outcomes of the Conference.
Mr.. Truman will want to do
something about this situation,
if he expects something con-
Structive to emerge from the
Conference. Not only Mr.. Tru-
man but representatives of
business will want to be con-
cerned about this. That is,
they will if they are parti-
in the Conference in
good faith.
All the noble words about
collective bargaining being
here to say are meaningless
IL the Administration and the
spokesmen at the conference
do not indicate that they are
to ripper legislation
Of the kind which Congress
Is now discussing. If labor,
management and the admins
.ration declared their opposi-
lion to the anti-union cam
oaign, 1t wouldn't have a
chance.
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