Evening star., 1945-06-20
NewLaborSe Setup
ToRep|aceWLB,
NLRB Proposed
Hatch, Ball, Burton
Offer Legislation
To Avert Conflict
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Broad new labor relations leg
lSlatlon. designed to establish q
pattern for enduring industrial
peace, was proposed today in
Congress.
It's authors, three of the origina.
advocates of United
States participation in world or
ganization to prevent wars, said
their new plan would avert the
serious danger of knock down,
drag-out fight between manage
ment and labor in the immediate
postwar period
Patterned after the Railway Labor
Act, the bill, submitted jointly by
Senators Hatch, Democrat, of New
Ball, Republican, of Min
nesota, and Burton, Republican. of
OHIO, would vest all labor concilia-
ton and mediation in a new Fed
eral Labor Relations Board. A
separate unfair labor practices
tribunal would take over functions
of the present National Labor Re
lations Board Together they would
supplant the War Labor Board and
the conciliation service of the Labor
Department.
Seek Field of Industrial Peace.
I'VE propose that the last sur
viving field in which civil warfare
is tolerated shall be transformed
into a field of industrial peace"
Senator Hatch said.
The authors said the bill was
drafted from initial recommended
tlons OF volunteer committee head.
ed by Donald R. Richberg, WASH
ington attorney who helped draft
the Railway Labor Act and who
served as head of the former Ma
tional Recovery Administration.
The legislation proposes compul-
sorry arbitration Of all labor griev-
ances arising from conflicting in
terpretations Of existing contracts
and of all disputes where work stop
pages would result in hardship to
the public.
The right to strike is expressly
preserved" Senator Hatch said.
But 1t is assumed, on the basis of
railroad experience, that the need
for striking will be practically elm
mated and strikes will be a rare
occurrence. There has not been a
major strike on the railroads since
the Railway Labor Act was passed.
Obligation on Both Sides.
| Both employers and employees
would have the same legal obliga-
tlon to exhaust all peaceful pro-
| cedures provided in the legislation
and either could be held liable for
unfair labor practices.
The proposed new Labor Relations
Board could require disputants,
failing in mediation, to submit their
arguments to an arbitration board
or to fact-fnding commission. It's
recommendations parties are ex-
pected, but not required, to adopt"
The bill would do a drastic re-
write job on principal sections of
the present Wagner Act. For in
stance, the closed shop would be
legal only when union is Cd the
freely chosen representative of IS
per cent of employees involved, (2p
its agreement with management is
approved by go per cent of employees
involved, 80 its membership is open
to anybody hired by management,
and a. its members are removable
from membership only on written
charges and after a fair hearing.
Senator Hill in Accord,
The sponsors, along with Senator
Hill, Democrat, of Alabama, COM
posed the quartet which sponsored
"a Senate resolution for a world
peace-keeplng organization. The
trio said Senator Hill was in
thorough accord" with their present
bill but had been too busy to engage
in the job of drafting it.
Senator Hatch said neither labor
nor management had been con-
suited beforehand, nor had the bill
been submitted to President Tru-
man.
Il would warn the extreme par
tisans of all economic groups Sen
ator Hatch declared, that none will
be satisfied by this bill.
But it offers to disputants in the
field of labor relations an oppor-
tunity to submit their disputes to
the decisions of public tribunals
with prospect of justice equal to
that now held forth by the courts"
One departure from present Fed
eral labor jurisdiction is that the
legislation provides for leaving a
great many labor disputes to the
States to handle.
Narrows Federal Jurisdiction,
This is done through a proviso
narrowing interstate and foreign
commerce, as far as labor relations
are concerned, to eliminate from
Federal Jurisdiction disputes in
volving local handling or distribu-
ton of consumer goods or end prod
ucts after termination of their in
terstate shipment or Importation.
The legislation directs the pro-
posed new unfair labor practices
tribunal to study need for additional
legislation to assure democratic
control and operation of labor
organizations and of employer or
ganizations engaged in collec-
tive bargaining"
Senator Bali said the proposed
revision of closed shop requirements
would eliminate the possibility of
monopoly on employment oppor-
tunities" by assuring that every
union with closed shop CONTRACT
would be IAN open union, with mem
berShip available on a fair basis
to all qualified individuals"
Soong Back in Chunqkinq