The Wilmington morning star., 1946-04-05
Union Politics
By RALPH CESSNA

General Motors strike. Delay in the settlement
meant more than a prolongation of the alb
sorbiag but sometimes inconvenient io Of
covering the strike for this newspaper Il
meant more waiting for new cars, more walk
ing, more staying at home. Causes of the de-
lay, therefore, had double significance Whose
fault was it?
That question is asked oftener probably than
any other Was it the corporation, or the
Sunion, that held up settlement?
It is only facing the facts, and not straddling
a fence, to say that it was both. Here are
the facts as they are seen even more clearly
now il the light of news from the United
Auto Workers. convention in Atlantic City.
First, we can eliminate the wage increase
itself as a major issue, paradoxical as that
may sound. 1t was used only as fencing
weapon. Each side felt from the start that
an increase Of around the 18 1-2 cents in hour
would finally be agreed upon. Normal bar
gaining, without a strike, would have ironed
that out.
Power as symbolized by the union security
issue, was chief union goal. And while il
might be said it was this fight for power
that delayed settlement, agreement on the
major contract provisions was reached infor
mally long before the two consented to sign
their names.
There was until the last, though just enough
difference of opinion oD words and phrases
and on minor issues to provide apparently
legitimate reasons for holding out, on both
sides. The question is whether or not those
differences in themselves justified the delay
There are few close observers who will hold
that they did justify the delay.
The difference between that final contrac IT,
which I have here before me, and the in
formal understandings revealed by one side
or the other the negotiations went along,
up to point many weeks before the end,
| is indistinguishable
Highly over-optimistic union claims Of victo-
ry, the conclusion is were politically inspired
The union, an examination of the contra ct
will show, lost more than 1t won unless it
could be said that in view of the fact its
very life at the beginning was at stake, its
continued existence Is a victory.
To say, however, that union politics caused
the delay is to tell only half the story.
The union factional fight at the Atlantic City
convention has brought out into the open the
basis for this newspapers news reports from
Detroit which at times must have seemed a
bit far-fetched.
r. j. Thomas, former U. A. W. president
charges Walter Reuther, the new president
and generalissimo of the GIN battle, with caus-
ing delay in settlement by his insistence on
opening company books, the tieing-wages-wit
profits issue. Mr.. Reuther, however, charges
that Mr.. Thomas was willing to settle the
strike on the cornpany's terms four weeks be-
fore the end.
From the outside, 1t looks as if both were
right. The interesting fact, though, is that
Mr.. Thomas was willing to settle on terms
that are in no essential way unlike those which
Mr.. Reuther finally agreed to.
Why did Mr.. Reuther want to hold out? He
called the strike against the wishes of Mr.
Thomas and of Philip Murray, CLIO. presi-
dent, and ne made extravagant demands
which many close observers at the beginning
foresaw the company would never agree to-
He insisted tenaciously on these demands
that he in effect got himself out on the end
of a limb. If he gave in to the company
he would lose face in the union, lose himself
the chance at the presidency. So he held out
for better terms for concessions in terms
that would give him a "talking'' victory. He
held on for weeks beyond the point where the
parties had reached virtual agreement in the
form in which it finally was signed.
Now, what about the company? The cor
poration was aware throughout Of the union
political situation. Naturally, it wanted the
best possible contract terms. But it saw two
advantages in the strategy that was followed
One that the international union which
the company in common with management
generally, dislikes, in contrast to plant locals
might be weakened by aggravated Internal
strife Also, there was the advantage of up
setting Mr.. Reuther, who is left of center and
whom the company did not want to see in
the shoes of Mr.. Thomas, who is middleof-
the-roader. BY denying Mr. Reuther the op-
portunity to claim strike victory, he might
well be politically hog-tied.
1t is believed that this attitude was further
revealed in the company policy Of refusing
to reopen any of its plants until all had
agreed to go back to work. Legally, its po-
sition was warranted, but from production
standpoint it would have been possible to op-
crate most Of the major plants even while
some locals held out.
In other words, union politics was a major
factor in the delay. 1t was politically neces-
sary to Walter Reuther to hold out On the
other hand, there was much to recommend
an adamant position by the company, entirely
aside from the contract issues
1t may be too much to say that a strike
settlement was deliberately held up because
of personalities and politics. But if this factor
is seen to be important, it must be seen
too, that neither side could claim complete
immunity from responsibility. Christian
Science Monitor.