The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1948-03-18
Congress Group
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Washington (LPA)- The Joint
Committee of Congress on Labor
management Relations this week
presented to the Congress it's re-
port on six months of the Taft
Hartley law 1t lauds the Act, and
its administration by the revamped
NLRB, as advancing "the public
welfare and the national economy"
The document which the committee
compiled to support this claim was
pieced together without consulta-
tion with a single representative
of organized labor.
Sen. Joseph Ball (R., Mimi pre-
sented the report in the Senate,
just three days after he had inform
ed a group of union officers that
come summer they will be allowed
to tell the committee of which he
is chairman what they think of the
union-baiting law.
Among the claims which the
Joint Committee made for the Act
are:
/. 1t has lessened Communist in
fluence in unions.
2. The number of secondary boy
colts has decreased.
3. There are fewer jurisdictional
disputes since the passage of Taft
Hartley.
A. "a strong trend has set in
among labor unions to accept re-
sponsibility."
5. Organization of workers by
craft has been encouraged.
6. Strikes have declined.
z. Wages have not been adversely
affected by the operation of the
law.
8. Unions have gained in mem
bership since the passage of Taft
Hartley.
8. Rights of individual workers
are protected.
10. More public confidence has
been won by the NLRB.
No convincing evidence is pre-
sented by the committee to demon
strate that any of these claims
calculated to lessen labor's objec-
tions to Taft-Hartley actually rep
present gains to labor flowing from
the existence of the union-b batting
law. For example, wages have stay
ed up because of initiation, not Taft
Hartley. Union membership has in
creased because of union activity,
not Taft-Hartley. Strikes have been
few because of initiation, which
makes it possible for employers
who wish to do so to meet union
demands not because an anti-labor
that NLRB is not keeping up with
law is on the statute books.
The Committee report admits
its, case load, but attributes this to
the backlog of cases from the
Wagner Act.
The Acts deterrents to the or
ganization of plant guards, and it's
prohibition of unionization by fore
men is lauded by the Committee,
which praises industry programs
for making "foremen part of
management"
So pleased is the Committee with
the Taft Hartley law that it
Straight-facedly says: "No infor-
nation has been received indicat-
ing a need for amendment at this
time"
But Ball and his colleagues are
forced to note the demand for "a
of the anti-political ex-
penditures section of the law. They
hold, however, that they have no
obligation to respond to this de-
mand till after the courts have rul-
ed on the AFL and CIO tests of
the constitutionality of Section 304.
Appended to the Committees re-
port is copy of the Justice Dept
Indictment of CIO President Philip
Murray, and a series of studies of
abor-management relations in
several industries. High praise is
given in the appendix to the incen-
i've plan of an open-shop employer.
Some unions bargaining records !
are admitted good, while others |
ire condemned. In every instance
he Committee attempts to prove
hat unions have not been impeded
,y Taft Hartley, without mention
ng the fact that in none of the
,ases studied have contracts ex-
bred since the passage of the Act.
The records show that the tor