Evening star., 1947-03-23
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|
strikes in vital private facilities even
though the Government is not in
volved in the dispute. Labor says
the proposal would revive the era
of government by Injunction
which existed prior to enactment
of the Norris-La Guardia Act in
| 1882. Labor Committee members
give the proposal $3.50 chance of
getting through the House
Congress may act to divorce Wag-
ner Act enforcement functions from
the National Labor Relations Board
and to remove strengthened Federal
dispute-settling or mediation and
Cancellation machinery from the La
Dor Department.
The NLRB, administrator of the
Wagner Act, now serves as both
Judge and enforcement officer of the
provisions of labor law.
Senators Morse, Republican, OF
Oregon and Ives, identified with
the liberal wing of the Senate Labor
Committee, both favor removal of
the Cancellation Service from the
Labor Department.
Ferguson Smith Bill.
Senator Ives, who believes that
full encoura cement" of the collec-
tive bargaining process will cure
most of the country's industrial ills,
said the road to that objective is
through revamping and strengthen
ing of the Federal mediation setup.
The agency should be independent
and free of any suspicion of parti-
sanship, he added.
There is considerable opposition
to the labor court or board idea,
although the bill of Senators Fergu-
son of Michigan and Smith of New
Jersey probably will get a special
hearing. They suggest creation of
system of Federal labor relations
courts to decide disputes over con-
tract Interpretation and to review
rulings of the NLRB, the wage-hour
and Railway Labor Act admins
traitors.
The principal objection to labor
courts is that they would create
more delay in settling disputes since
there would he a tendency to carry
every case to court. Senator Ives
and others hold that delays in
hearing grievances are the greatest
causes of strikes.
The House probably will act to
bar Communists from holding union
Office and may make it possible for
an employer to discharge a known
Communist, one so labeled by the
FBI. Subversives would be kept
from union office by the threat of
denial of Wagner Act benefits to the
organization.
Lands Has 10 Proposals.
Union leaders say the House Labor
Committee is stacked heavily against
them. They regard only five or six
of the groups Is members as friendly
to labor. A pro-labor member, Repr
Iresentative Madden, Democrat, of
Indiana, added the charge that
public testimony before the COM
mittee was weighted, to l, i'll favor
/ of management. He said that most
of the industry witnesses have been
cited either by NLRB or the courts
for unfair labor practices.
| Representative Lands of Indiana
ranking majority member, alone is
sponsoring 10 labor legislative pro-
posals and he says Congress will act
| favorably on all of them. An idea
of the committees thinking may be
had when it is considered most
members would go farther than Mr..
Eandis in restricting unions. He is
opposed to ban on either the closed
shop or industry wide bargaining.
Chairman Hartley named at least
a dozen restrictions on union activity
he said Congress is sure to pass.
The Senate Labor Committee
seemed to be better balanced during
| its labor hearings than its House
counterpart. 1t leans slightly toward
labor. A coalition of liberal Repub-
licans and Democrats would seem to
assure that the bill it reports to the
Senate will be a moderate one. At
least seven of the 13-man committee
are regarded as friendly toward
labor These are the Democrats:
Pepper, Murray, Thomas of Utah
and Hill, and Republicans, Aiken,
Morse and Ives.
These Senators admit the bill the
committee majority finally reports
would treat labor much more favor
ably than the one the Senate is
likel yto finally pass. They look for
4 i l.