Evening star., 1946-05-14
Delaying Tactics Block
Chances in Labor Law


Changes in Labor Law
Senators Doubt Public Aroused
By Closed Shop Coercion
BY David Laurence
It's the same old story in the Senate.
Already the advocates Of delay and the
sponsors of program Of sabotage are
active to prevent the Congress from
passing any laws to protect the public
interest as against abuse Of collective
bargaining powers. ....-
The same tactics have now, for more
than a decade, kept the Senate from
passing any laws to clarity the Wagner
law and made it two-sided instead OF
one-sided.
| Today employees can misrepresent what
the employer is doing and actually
can carry on campaigns undermining
the employers business, but there Is no
| redress either for the employer or for
the minority of his employees, who are
helpless to get out Of the strait
jacket imposed upon them by closed
shops.
Collective bargaining requires good
faith on the part of the employer but
not of the union. Coercion and in
timidation can be used by organizers,
but the employer is forbidden even to
| discuss the issues arising in his own
plant. Where good labor relations have
| long prevailed, there can be and is dis
| turbance OF such relationships because
| the National Labor Relations Board
can be used to tie the hands and silence
the voice of the employer.
Swing to Extreme.
The pendulum has swung to an ex.
treme in the alleged attempt to equalizs
bargaining power. The bargaining
power is preponderantly on labor's side
today. The Nation is at present suffer-
ing from the effects of a coal strike
which could have and should have been
settled by collective bargaining. But
| one side-the union-after q months
delay did not present its demands
clearly until this very week Yet II
the employers had similarly refrained
from stating their position. they could
have been penalized under the Wagner
law.
The Senate Is. thoroughly familiar
with the whole situation but doesn't
believe the American people are aroused
about it. And maybe they aren't. A
number of letters and kilograms Of
indignation have come in to Capitol
Hill, but it isn't anything like the protest
which would be expected to flow from
such a drastic curtailment of public
facilities occasioned by the shortage of
coal. Maybe the public is calloused to
inconvenience.
II the American people really care
about the emergency that has arisen
something which may seriously be
doubted If the evidence in letters and
kilograms is appraised-they might be
persuading their Senators to do some
thing about it.
| A bipartisan group of Senators Is
working on new labor legislation but
the tactics of the prolabor group are
already revealed. There are Senators
| who cry out that to do something now
about the coal emergency is being anti
labor" and that the coal strike mustn't
be used to limit labor's rights.
Parties vs.. Blocs.
| The House Of Representatives has al
ready passed a bill restricting the op-
| portunities of labor unions to abuse
collective bargaining privileges. But the
Senate has a strong prolabor group
who feel they owe their elections to
labor votes. Presumably the citizens
generally do not organize into an anti
labor group but divide into the two
major parties, voting the same straight
tickets each time irrespective Of what
their representatives in Congress do
about the labor problem.
| If all the citizens who are disturbed,
about the labor situation were to make
up their minds to forget about party
lines and vote against any Republican
or any Democrat who refuses to pro-
tect the public interest and who blocks
legislation, there would be a different
story to tell.
The tactics of delay are emerging.
One group Of Senators friendly to the
unions Is already proposing an investi-
cation of labor conditions This prob
ably would wind up in a witch-hunt
against employers. 1t certainly is de-
signed to postpone action. Congress,
however, knows-and has known for a
decade-that the Wagner law has de-
fects and needs amendment But the
concerted action of the labor unions
always blocks corrective legislation. Now
that 1t appears there is some public
Indignation, the strategy of the labor
side is to urge further Investigations
but, OF course, no action.
1t will be interesting to see whether
a majority OF the Senate can reflect the
public will today or whether further
abuses will have to occur before the
Senators will wake up to the fact that
the voters want them to act in the in
terest of all the people.
(Reproducton RIGHTS Reserved,
AnM~-. E,..>~