Evening star., 1945-11-06
Collective Bargaining
Set Of Rules Urqed
Truman Put Finger on Nub Of
Problem, Says Observer

Truman Put Finger on Nub Of
Problem, Says Observer
By Dapid Laurence
President Truman Is working visor-
ously behind the scenes as well AZ
through public speeches to guide the
Acknowledgement conference to q sue
~cessful conclusion.
MIR. Truman put his finger on the
weakness in the whole labor problem
when he said:
There are many considerations in
volyed. At the basb Of them all is not
only the right but the duty to bargain
collectively. do not mean giving mere
lip service to that abstract principle. I
mean the willingness on both sides, yes,
the determination, to approach the bar
gaining table with an open mind, with
an appreciation of what is on the other
side OF the table-and with a firm
resolve to reach an agreement fairly"
But how can there be fulfllment of
the Presidents desire on this point when
there are no rules for collective bar
gaining? Despite the extensive pub
licity that has been given the phrase
collective bargaining" there are no
procedures nor any obligations covering
both sides.
Thus If an employer wishes to resort
to dilatory tactics, he can be accused
OF not bargaining "in good faith" and
he can be hauled up before the National
Labor Relations Board and compelled
by the courts to cease trifiing But labor
delay or stall or even resort to a sudden
strike without warning in the midst
Of negotiations and suffer no penalty
whatsoever.
Sets Stage for Disputes.
Whenever any group knows that 1t
can do anything even approaching ir-
responsible action without the slightest
chance of incurring any penalty, the
temptation to adopt arbitrary or un-
reasonable tactics is likely to be present.
This, in turn, provokes the employer
side and the stage is set for bitter
dispute and strike.
What the Nation would welcome
would be sensible rules for the conduct
of collective bargaining-not rules that
interfere with labor's right to secure
gains through negotiation, but rules
that prevent both sides from sabotaging
the process itself
Thus in many instances, labor unions
keep management occupied throughout
a whole year negotiating a contract.
This involves an economic waste of vast
proportions in management's time and
energy. Usually the technique is to
agree at the outset that any pay in
creases will be retroactive to the date
of starting the negotiations. Then the
negotiations sometimes last about six
to nine months. After a brief interval
notice is served by the union that an
other contract must be negotiated. The
result is to keep management and labor
in q perpetual state of armistice, with
hostility oozing out of both sides and
little chance for an era of peace or
friendliness to heal the wounds Of the
negotiations.
Another phase of collective bargain
ing is to prevent all the processes Of
reason from being used. Management
is prohibited from communicating with
its own employees during the course of
negotiation. A group of officers of a
union can prevent reason from working
among its own members Too often
compromises and counterproposals made
by management which might lessen
the friction and produce friendlier
atmosphere are suppressed and the
union members learn only that man.
agement is refusing allegedly to make
any concessions.
Publicity for Both Sides.
Hence q rule requiring publicity for
the proposals Of both sides would i'm
prove the collective bargaining process
so that at all times the union mem
bers, whether they attend meetings or
not, would be informed of what is being
considered by their representatives.
When rules are drafted to govern COL
lective bargaining, some means of sepa
rating in two categories the questions that
come up constantly in contract negotia-
tions would be helpful. Working condi-
tions, including the closed shop or main
tenance of membership or the powers
| Of shop stewards or foremen or matters
| Of seniority, could be put into one cate
| CORY and stabilized for two or three years
but with wage scales subject to reopen
ing either every six months or every
year.
The custom of demanding extreme
or unreasonable working rules SO as to
trade them OF for wage increases is one
of the sources of much labor friction
rather than its cure.
The labor-management conference
could do a remarkable service for the
cause of industrial peace if it drew up a
few simple rules governing collective
bargaining and If it made. them appli-
cable to both parties.
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