The union times., 1947-04-19

V1N1OOS DILL
 Labor received vicious bill from the House committee, which is load ed 20 to five against uniOnism. It did not expect the sweeping union crippling legislation asked by Sen. Robert Taft (R., Ohio), which goes far beyond wrecking of the Wagner Act.
 For the time being both bills are tentative, Taft's 62-page omnibus bill was printed and titled Tentative Only Not Approved by the Committee" But the House bill, even before it was fully approved by the committee, was okayed by the House Republican Steering Committee, which means that it will have relatively clear sail ing in the COP majority once it reaches the House floor for debate.
 LET'S HOPE so
 Taft said that his bill, which he claimed was backed by seven of the committees Is members, will be sub mitted for committee vote, but he was confident that it would not be serious 1y amended. Nevertheless, it was com mon knowledge that there was three-way split in the committee.
 Both bills had two major features in common: they put an end to the closed shop and to industry-wide bar gaining.
 The closed shop would not be deh- nitely outlawed in the Taft bill but its effect may be the same in its provi- sion that it shall not be an unfair labor practice for an employer to re- fuse to bargain concerning a demand for a provision requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment" The House draft has no ifs" and ''buts"; the closed shop is forbidden.
 A RAT-RACE
 On industry-wide bargaining, the House bill would virtually destroy it i; the Taft version gives the employer the right to refuse to bargain on a rla- tiona1 basis.
 From there on it became a rat race to see which of the two bills could be more punitive and vindict- i've than the other. The House bill would abolish the Nat1 Labor Rela- tions Board entirely and set up a new board with greatly diminished powers. The Taft idea would be to increase the board from three to five with any two able to act for the entire board, and with its powers curtailed.
 Eight specific types of strikes would be banned by the House bill. It would denolish the Norris-LaGu Guardia anti injunction law, permitting both private employers and government to employ it as a weapon against unions. The Taft plan would permit the attorney general to obtain injunctions that could stop for 60 days strikes alleged ly affecting public health. safety and welfare.
 ssUNFAIR PRACTICES"
 Both bills cite a long list of unfair labor practices with which unions could be charged Both give employers the right of free speech" which labor leaders have charged is simply license for intimidation. Both bills ban juris- dictional strikes and secondary boy colts.
 Both bills permit employers to sue unions into bankruptcy if they can. Both bills would remove the Consolidation Service from Labor Dept and make it a separate or- gauizatiOn.
 Mass picketing, of which no court or Congressional committee has ever made final definition, is banned by the House plan; not by the Senate. On Communists, the Senate refused to follow the House bills eccentric idea of banning any union as bargaining agent if it has national or even local officers who are Communists or who can reasonably be regarded" as Com munists.
 The Taft program overlooked a prohibition on political contributions by unions; the House bill did not.
 OUR REWARD!
 Both bills added up to one thing: American labor was being rewarded for having won the war. At least it won the war in the words of Presi-