Evening star., 1947-02-18
Senators AssaiI
Green Attitude
AS 'Defeatist'
Hearing on Labor
Legislation Marked
By Bitter Exchanges
By james Y. Newton

BY jones 7. Newton
William Green, president of
the American Federation of La
Dor, assailed all of the Senate's
major proposals for labor law
changes today and was taken to
task by members of the Senate
Labor Committee for maintain
ing a 'defeatist" and negative"
approach to the problem of i'm
proving industrial relations.
Mr.. Green took part in lengthy
and heated debate with several
Senators when he appeared as the
first of long list of labor leaders
to testify before the committee con-
sidering more than a score of q
Misunderstanding bills.
In his prepared testimony, Mr..
Green urged that Congress go slow.
He asserted that enactment of re
strictive" legislation would produce
such great industrial confusion as
to undermine the present world
position of the United States"
Congress In Mood to Act.
Committee members told him
Congress was in a mood to act.
Bear in mind" said Senator Ives,
Republican Of New York, that the
public is demanding that something
be done and in all probability some
thing will be done before this Con-
gress gets through.
THE problem is, what to do. You
can't just sit there and say this
won't work and that won't work.
Don't you agree something has got
to be done?"
Mr.. Green replied he "is quite
willing to sit down with this COM
mittee," and see what can be done,
The bitterest exchanges between
the 73-year-old AFL head and the
committee took place when Mr..
Green was questioned closely about
his stand on the issues of jurisdic-
tional strikes and secondary boy
colts.
During that part of the heated
argument, Mr.. Green repudiated the
Endorsement he is reported to have
made of President Truman's propos-
ais for ban on jurisdictional
strikes and strikes to force union
recognition contrary to elections
conducted by the Government.
Favors Long Time Study.
He said that he had been mis-
quoted as to his Endorsement of
the Presidents labor program, add
ing that he had approved only the
suggestion Of Mr.. Truman for a
long time study of labor manage
ment problems before new legisla-
ton is undertaken.
The AFL head said that while
I'VE all deplore jurisdictional dis
putes and are constantly working at
ways to avoid and settle them, we
believe that after all workers can
not be forced to work against
their will"
Committee members citeo numer-
GUS instances where they said labor
had abused it's power in regard to
jurisdictional disputes, and Senator
Ball, Republican, of Minnesota
brought up the fact that work on
the new Georgetown Hospital here
has been held up several months"
by jurisdictional argument between
carpenters and metal workers over
installation of cabinets.
MIR. Green's answer to a law
banning jurisdictional strikes was
that the AFL had been working on
the problem for years and had made
considerable progress in reducing
their number.
Cincinnati Disputes Mentioned.
Chairman Taft referred to numer-
Gus jurisdictional disputes between
AFL unions in his home city of
Cincinnati and described Mr.. Green's
argument that the unions should be
allowed to work out their difficulties
as follows:
That's perfectly defeatist ap-
proach to the problem. That is to
say that we can do nothing to end
the jurisdictional strikes"
How would you do it? Throw
them in jail?" asked Mr.. Green.
NO" Senator Taft replied, "but 7
should think there are many ways
of enforcing these decisions you
make among your unions"
Mr.. Green was asked by Senator
Ball about strikes over recognition
or representation for employees
which usually occur between AFL
and CIO unions.
Appeal to CLIO Cited.
I'm glad you referred to that,
Senator" Mr.. Green answered.
That is one of our headaches. We
have appealed to our rival to come
back to the house of labor and we
will settle all of that. Some day
they will come back"
Mr.. Green said the "indispens-
able first step" in dealing with in
dustrial relations Is to acquire a
complete knowledge and UNDER
standing of those basic forces and
of those new circumstances" de-
veloped in the past Is years.
THE American Federation of La
bor," he continued, "is prepared to
cooperate with this or any other
committee in making such study"
Mr.. Green described the forces
and circumstances as "our expanded
economy and our great advancement
in machine production with result
ing manpower displacement; the
dislocations and adjustments caused
by the depression; the. war and the
postwar period; and the emergence
of certain economic and social
truths"
He took up each Of the principal
bills before the Senate and attacked
them all.
Among the objects of his attack
was the Ball Smith-Taft bill which
would set up a Federal mediation
board and compel a cooling-off
period before strikes, and three bills
of Senator Ball, Republican, Of Min
nesota, to ban the closed shop and
industry wide bargaining and amend
the Wagner Act.
1900 Homeless in jap Fire
TAKEDA, Kyushu, Japan, Feb. 13
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