Evening star., 1945-12-03
Truman Requests
Legislation for
Solving Issues
(Tert pf Presidents Message
on Page A.
BY ]. A. FOX.

BY j. A. FOA.
President Truman today Sc
up fact-finding boards to dea
with the General Motors strik
and the threatened steel walk
out, and simultaneously urges
Congress for permanent ma
chinery to handle labor dispute
in important Nationwide in
dustries."
The President proposed ban OF
strikes or lockouts for at least 81
days-five after certification of (
dispute by the Secretary of Labor
20 for the fact-flnding boards tt
deliberate and five more. Under
the Railway Labor Act a 60-day
cooling-off period is acquired.
Acting in a special message thai
came as a surprise. Mr.. Truman
appealed publicly for 225.0o0 CIO.
United Automobile Workers to re-
turn to their jobs in General Mo.
tors plants and urged the approx.
mately 10000 who might be in
volved in a steel strike to remain
at work.
Follows Conference Failure.
The Presidents move to put Con.
gress on the job of setting up Fed
eral fact-flnding machinery to cope
with labor disputes came close or
the heels of the Labor Management
Conference which could not agree
on a fact-finding recommendation
Recommending a system OF ham
ding reconversion labor troubles
patterned after the Railway Labor
Act, Mr.. Truman told Congress the
board should deal with disputes in
such widespread industries as steel
automobile, aviation, mining, oil
utilities and communications.
The President said he was ap-
pointing such a board on his own
authority to deal with the General
Motors CIO = United Automobile
Workers dispute.
In sending his message to the
Capitol Mr. Truman advised officials
Of General Motors, United States
Steel, the United Auto workers and
the CIO of the steps he was taking
Another Board to Be Named.
He pointed out that this board
would have no statutory authority,
but expressed the opinion that the
American people will expect the en-
ployer and the employees to Coop
crate with the board as fully as if
appropriate legislation had already
been passed.
He said he was also appointing
a board to sit in on the threatened
steel strike
The President said he was moved
to act by the failure of the Labor
Management Conference to reach
an agreement on heading off strikes,
declaring that by this failure "the
conference was unable to attain the
objective most necessary to success
full reconversion."
"The American people have been
patient" in waiting for labor and
management to put their house in
order, he said.
List Not Exclusive.
IT do not intend to make this list
exclusive" the President said in
referring to industries the law would
apply to. Nor do I think that local
inconsequential strikes, even within
these industries, should be included
The objective should be to cover by
legislation only such stoppages of
work as the Secretary of Labor
would certify to the President as
vitally affecting the national public
interest"
Under the Railway Labor Act, a
60-day cooling off period is provided
The President outlined the pro-
posed machinery for these indus
tries to be applied where collective
bargaining has broken down, and
where the Cancellation Service OF
the Federal Government has been
unable to bring the parties to agree
ment and where the Secretary OF
Labor has been unable to induce
the parties voluntarily to submit the
controversy to arbitration"
Confers With Schwellenbach.
White House Press Secretary
Charles G. Ross told reporters the
President finished work on the mes
sage after a conference with Secre-
tary Of Labor Schwellenbach.
Then Mr.. Truman went over 1t
with congressional MISREPRESENTATION
Mcclellan, Democrat, of Tennessee
President pro tenn of the Senate;
Senate Majority Leader Barkley
House Speaker Rayburn and House
Majority Leader Mccormack.
Mr.. Ross said the President worked
on the address yesterday aboard the
presidential yacht Williamsburg.
The President said In his message
that the machinery would work in
this manner:
Upon certification by the Secre-
tary of Labor to the effect that 9
dispute continues despite his ef-
forts and that stoppage of work in
the affected industry would vitally
affect the public interest, the Presi-
dent or his duly authorized agent
should be empowered to appoint
within five days thereafter, fact
finding board similar to the emer-
gency board provided for under the
Railway Labor Act.
Would Require Wait.
II recommend that during these
fve days after the Secretary OF
Labor has made the above certica-
ton, it would be unlawful to call q
strike or lockout or to make any
change in rates Of pay, hours, or
working conditions, or in the estab-
Eshed practices In effect prior to the
time the dispute arose.
The board should be composed Of
tSee LABOR, Page A-4.)
TT