Evening star., 1947-03-03
New Labor Bill Draft
Of 10 Points Includes
Columnist Union Ban
BY the Assoeioied Press

BY the Assoeiated Press
Chairman Hartley today ticket
of 10 points the House Labo
Committee may put into a nev
labor bill, including bans on tn,
closed shop and on union mem.
bership for foremen and som,
columnists and radio commen
tators.
Some Of the items already hav
been handed to drafting crew t,
be translated into legislative Ian
guage. All are subject to forma
votes in the committee.
They are intended to reduce O.
eliminate such things as jurisdic.
tional strikes, secondary boycott.
and strikes ordered by only small
percentage of unions membership
Mr.. Hartley told reporter HI
thinks there is "a good chance" the
committee will agree that radio anc
news reporters who mold public
opinion" should be forbidden to joir
unions. He said reporters who de
straight away" news writing should
be exempt from the ban.
1t would be in line with a sug-
gestion by former publisher j. Davic
Stern, who suspended and sold his
Philadelphia Record and Camden
IN. J.) Courier and Post. Mr.. Stern
told the committee a, CIO Ameri-
can Newspaper Guild strike de-
stroyed the papers.
None of Mr.. Hartleys 10 points
deals directly with the issue before
the committee at the moment
charges of communism in the labor
movement.
The committee today recalled
Harold Christoffel, honorary presi-
dent of the local CIO- United Auto
Workers Union, which has been on
strike 10 months against the Allis-
Chalmers Co. of Milwaukee, makers
Of. farm and other machinery.
Mr.. Christoffel and Robert Buse
union president, on Saturday dis
puted testimony of company official
that the strike was Communist in
spired and that every officer of the
local Is a Communist Party member
or follows the party line.
The Senate Labor Committee took
the day off. 1t has more organized
labor spokesmen on tap tomorrow
and plans to end its public hearings
Saturday after hearing John L.
Lewis on Friday.
Mr.. Lewis soft coal strike truce
runs out March 81, and both Senate
and House committees have been
aiming at new labor law before
then.
Mr.. Hartley, however, noted that
his committee still has long list
of witnesses to be heard, adding
to reporter:
I'm mighty leary of the prospects
of getting bill through Congress
by the end of the month";
Chairman Taft, of the Senate
Labor Committee mentioned May
in broadcast last night as the date
by which a bill may be passed. and
signedinto law, if President Truman
agrees otis terms.
The House cl1airman,s list Of
things likely to go into his commit
tees bill is based on suggestions
the group has received in weeks of
hearing. And on reaction, of coTna
mittees members to them.
Majority Strike Vote Included.
Mr.. Hartley counted off these:
l. Make strike illegal unless a
majority of all the members of a
union vote for it by secret ballot.
2. Outlaw the closed shop, under
which management can hire only
union help.
8. Bar secondary boycotts. A
union in an argument with a COM
pany sometimes applies pressure by
boycotting shipments to customers.
At times a union not involved in the
dispute applies the boycott.
4. Outlaw mass picketing and
violence on picket lines.
5. Ban jurisdictional strikes. These
are caused by disputes between
unions, not with an employer, over
the work they do or over recruiting
members.
6. Make unions equally respon-
sible with management for living
UP to contracts.
7. Penalize. workers who 60 out
on wildcat strikes"-those not
authorized by their unions.
Would Let Employers Talk.
8. Allow employers freedom of
speech in advising their help on
labor management problems. Many
industry witnesses have maintained
that they do not possess this free
dom under the Wagner Act as it
stands.
9. Forbid foremen, as well as opin-
ion-molding reporters, to join
unions.
10. Require unions to file, at least
with their own members, regular
statements on income and expendi-
lures. Mr.. Hartley said there is
merit, however, in lahor's argument
that the financial condition of a
union should mot be exposed to the
wide world" An employer might
get tougher, he said, If he knew the
union was in poor financial shape.
In addition to these points, Mr.,
Hartley said there are several others
which may or may not go into a
bill.
They include proposals to forbid
collective bargaining on an indus
try-wide basis, to apply antitrust
laws to unions, to liberalize use of
injunctions against strikes, and to
abolish or broadly remodel the Ma
tional Labor Relations Board.
Plus, II Years Old, Marks