The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1948-07-22
CALL FOR
REPEAL OF TIL ACT

- y s2s~2 - - Il u - -
Philadelphia (LPA)-In contras
to the Republicans, the Democrats
election platform written in Phila
delphia last week calls for repea
of the Taft Hartley Act. Thougl
getting rid of TIL has been labor
number one political air since tn
law was passed last June, labo
did not greet the wording of tn
plank with unreserved enthusiasm
and neither the AFL nor CI(
rushed right out to officially endors
the Democratic Party and the Tru
man Barkley ticket.
This was not taken as any indi
cation that they were ignoring
President Truman's comment in hi!
acceptance speech that labor nev
er had but one friend in polite:
and that was the Democratic Party
and Franklin ID. Roosevelt :. They
are the most ungrateful peopl,
in the world if they pass the Demo
cratic Party by this year."
Though neither of these two la
Dor groups have come through witt
anything officially yet, it is expect
ed the AFL President William
Green will personally back Tru.
man and the CIO will take some
kind of a stand at its next execu.
tive board meeting. Joseph keenan,
director of Labor's League for Po-
litical Education said that in Wash
ington Truman's case is supported
by the fact that "in 16 years organ
lied labor has enjoyed it's greatest
development in this country, with
total membership rising from two
to 100000"
A. f. Whitney, president of the
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen
came out for Truman before the
convention. The only labor leader
to address the convention, he called
for repeal of the Taft Hartley law,
asking the delegates to "take inn
mediate steps to remove that crown
of thorns placed upon the head of
labor by the Republican party"
The day before, he had told
LPA that he wanted not only TIL
repeal but complete reinstatement
of the Wagner Act" something
that is not specifically called for
in the platform as it was passed.
Southern delegates were bitterly
to the Taft Hartley section
as adopted. The much-discussed po-
licy reads: "We advocate the repeal
of the Taft-Hartley Act. 1t was
enacted by the Republican 80th
over the Presidents veto.
That act was proposed with the
promise that it would secure the
rights of both employ
ees and employers in their relations
affecting commerce. 1t has failed.
'"That number Of labor-manage-
ment disputes has increased. The
of cases before the Natl
Labor Relations Board has more
than doubled since the act was
passed, and efficient and prompt
administration is becoming more
md more difficult. 1t has encour-
aged litigation in labor disputes
md undermined the established
policy of collective bar
gaining.
"Recent decisions by the courts
'rove that the act was so poorly
lrawn that its application is un-
ertain, and that it is probably, in
ONE instances, unconstitutional. We
advocate such legislation as is de-
irable to establish a just body of
ules to assure free and effective
bargaining, to determine,
n the public interest, the rights
# employees and employers, to re-
luce to minimum their conflict of
interests, and to enable unions to
.eep their membership free from
,ommunistic influences"
Vice-presidential candidate Sen.
Alben w. Barkley had gone step
urther in his keynote speech when
e referred to the Wagner Act as
labor's Magma Carta."
Labor delegates at the conven-
ion had mixed reactions to the
inal product CIO-PAC Director
ack Kroll told LPA that he consid-
red it "the most definite plank
n the platform. This was before
he civil rights measure had been
trengthened from the floor.
Willard S. Townsend, president
f the United Transport Service
and ain Illinois delegate.
old an LPA reporter more specifi- !