Evening star., 1947-05-25
.Anti-Strike
Plan w orks
Industrial .Centers to
Examine Toledo's
New System
r., Pacro. T~otsx
By Roscoe Treier

Lie p1du llAllSCS OA tilC fUuA1diy
action of an 18-man group, the
Labor Management Citizens Com
mittee. Here is the record presented
by the committee for its first 10
months Of operation:
Toledo was strike-free uocal and
nationaD from October II last year
to March 10. Since last June, go 10
cal labor disputes have been re-
ferred to the committee.
Twenty seven arguments, which
nearly had reached the strike stage,
were resolved before work stoppage
occurred. Fourteen were settled be-
fore strikes threatened.
Committee Permanent.
Twelve were already in the strike
stage when committee aid was asked.
Two resulted in strikes after COM
mittee aid was asked.
Four minor mediation cases and
one arbitration case are pending.
Toledos man-day loss from local
strikes throughout 1916 was 1886,
less than one-fourth of the 10000
man-days lost in 1945.
Toledo set up the committee on a
permanent basis to help manage
ment and labor find a solution to
their problems through mutual un-
derstanding and sympathy. The
committee is unusual in that equal
representation is given, along with
labor and management, to that
often-neglected but vitality con-
cerned person-the plain citizen.
Labor, management and the public
each contribute six members to the
body of the committee.
Friendly Discussion Plan.
The idea behind the Toledo plan,
briefly, is that settlement of labor
disputes is possible by friendly un-
pref JUDGED discussion between work
ers and bosses. The committee,
which functions on an advisory
basis, believes that strikes are not
inevitable.
The LMC does not attempt to
intervene in industry, or company
wide strikes, such as the national
telephone strike. recent waikout
in three States of an insurance com-
pany's agents, or a Pure Oil COM
pany-wide stoppage. all of which
affect, or affected Todelo.
The reason for this policy Is that
negotiations in all the cases are or
were carried on elsewhere. The
Toledo committees efforts would
have been ineffective.
Record Good So Far.
Policies of the city's largest in
dustries and virtually all Of the
smaller ones, however, are set In
Toledo. The larger concerns include
Electric Auto-Lite Co. with $500
local employees, Willys-Overland
Motors, Inc, with 5000; Spicer
Manufacturing Division of Dana
Corp. with 1000, and Libbey- Owens
Ford Glass Co. with 4,500 employees.
John D. Biggers, L.-O.-F. presi-
dent, is one of the Toledo LMC's
most active management member.
Because participation of manage
meilt and labor in the Toledo plan
is voluntary, LMC members believe
that future success lies in an edu-
cational program, that committee
aid should be asked in a dispute
when a strike threatens but before
the actual walkout occurs.
During its 10 months of operation
members point out, only two disputes
resulted in strikes after the COM
mittee stepped in. The II other
strikes in the period started before
the committee learned a serious
dispute existed.
Louisville Likes Idea.
Louisville, KY, adopted the plan
almost overnight and has turned in
an outstanding report on operations
Grover Sales, executive director
of the Louisville committee, reports
that Louisville has had Is local labor
disputes in the last 10 months and
the committee has settled % of
them. In the three others, he said
one or both parties declined assist
ance. Two or three additional dis
putes are pending.
Makeup of the Louisville COM
mittee closely follows Toledo, with
six representatives each from labor
management and the public.
DR.. Charles w. Williams, head of
the economics department of the
University of Louisville, is chairman.
Mark Ethridge, publisher OF the
Louisville Courier journal and Times
and at present head of the United
Nations mission to the Balkans, is
vice president.
Mr.. Sales credits newsmen with
no small measure of the committee
success.
Detroit May Follow Lead.
Their contacts with both sides
aid inmeasurably by filling in the
committee on the background in
volyed in the dispute and the per-
sonalities concerned" he said.
Detroit, through recommendations
of Mayors 18-member Study Com
mittee, may soon have it's own labor
management citizens committee.
The group. which included Henry
Ford II, Walter Reuther and Edward
Cardinal Mooney, unanimously urged
that a permanent committee pat
termed after Toledo's be set up and
that City Council appropriate SAL 900
to finance its operations the first