Evening star., 1946-01-19
Strike Legislation
Stirred by Strife
But Observer Finds Congress
Is Apt to Sit Tight
By Bertram Benedict.

By Bertram Benedict.
Members Of Congress are always
stirred up to vote for antistrike legis-
lation when strikes are depressing the
Nation. When strikes die down, discre-
ton is usually found the better part
of valor.
In June, 194l when the Nation was
feverishly strengthening its military re-
sources, strike tied up a California
aircraft factory. Thereupon the Senate
voted for the Connally Democrat, of
Texas proposal to have the Government
take over strike-bound defense plants,
and by the overwhelming vote of ST to
Z. But in the following month, when
the legislation came before the House,
there was no strike crisis; the House
rejected the Connally proposal in two
decisive votes, 900 to 149 and 255 to ia
In October and November, 1941, strikes
shut down the captive" coal mines.
Thereupon the House passed, and by
the wide margin of 252 to 1856, the drastic
Smith Democrat, of Virginia) antistrike
bill. The measure not only required a
30-day postponement of projected strikes
and ballot vote on them, but also
banned any change in open or closed
shop status during the defense emer-
gency, jurisdictional or sympathetic
strikes, secondary boycotts, mass picket
ing, and criminals, Bundists or Com
munists as union officials. And trade
unions were to register and disclose their
finances and membership. When the
bill came before the Senate, Japan had
struck at Pearl Harbor and the admin
istration was in process of wringing the
no-strike pledge from the unions; the
Senate took no action on the Smith
bill or other antistrike measures.
In 1912 relatively few serious strikes
broke out, and agitation for antistrike
legislation died down. But in the spring
of 1943 three separate strikes were called
in the coal fields, and John L. Lewis de-
fed the War Labor Board. The Senate
repassed the Connally bill by SO to 16.
The Senate bill was too mild for the
House, which substituted, by vote of 231
to 14l, the Smith bill Of l94l with some
of its more drastic provisions deleted.
The House added ban on political con-
tributions by trade unions to political
parties In conference with the Senate,
more of the House bills provisions we're
deleted, and the compromise Smith
Connally bill was passed by 219 to l29
in the House, IS to % in the Senate
President Roosevelt vetoed the bill,
saying that he approved of many of it's
provisions, but that the 30-day strike
notice and the strike balloting would en-
courage, not discourage, strikes. The bill
was at once passed over the veto, get
ting relatively greater support from the
Republicans than from the Democrats.
In the Senate no member changed his
vote as a result of the veto. In the
House, only two members switched from
yea to nay, eight switched from nay
to yea.
OF the Senators who voted on over
riding the veto of the Smith Connally
bill in ls43, 20 no longer sit in the Sem
ate. Twelve of those 20 voted to over
ride and 8 voted to sustain the veto.
OF the Representatives who voted on
the veto in 1943, 81 are no longer in the
House. Forty of these 81 voted to over
ride and II to sustain the veto. To
recapitulate:
Senate House
To To To To
override. sustain. override sustain
1943 vote 56 (69Te) Is 244 (699o) l08
Not mem
bers in
l946 - II 8 40 At