Evening star., 1948-02-29


plete test of its effect on labor and
MANAGEMENT the act should be sub
jected to depression conditions or at
least to those prevailing in a highly
competitive economy which so far
have been lacking.
Big Tests Coming Up
However, several big tests of the
law lie Just ahead and an appraisal
of the situation is warranted. The
tests are the approaching contract
negotiations in the big mass-produc-
ton and basic industries; expiration
of most of the labor contracts, in-
Guiding the closed shop and unre-
stricted union shop, which cannot
lawfully be renewed, and the various
interpretations of the law by the
National Labor Relations Board and
the courts.
In another six months it should
be pretty clear whether Taft-Hartley
Is force for good or evil.
The law certainly is one OF the
most complex pieces Of legislation
ever turned out by Congress. A great
diversity of lower-court interpreta-
tions are expected and that may
prove its ultimate undoing. 1t has
turned out to be something more
than the "WPA for lawyers" its
critics predicted it would be-, A wag
said he expected to hear the lawyers
cry uncle" any minute now.
Organized labor is just as per-
sistent today as it was last summer
in branding Hartley union
busting, slave labor law" Its propo-
nents have become even louder in
praise of the statute. They give 1t
most of the credit for the compare
tive labor peace of the last year
when strikes have been at an all
time low.
Two Things Fairly Clear
The truth about the new labor re-
lations law probably lies somewhere
between the two extreme points Of
view. So far as is known, no one
has been enslaved as result OF it,
and it would be just as unfair to say
that the terms of the law itself have
brought labor peace.
It does seem that the law has
been some psychological help In
bringing a sort of temporary quiet
to labor management relations.
But, that is largely due to the new
ness of the statute. Neither labor,
by precipitating immediate crises,
nor management, in taking ad-
vantage of its new powers granted
by the act, has shown a tendency
to rock the boat during the testing
and interpretative phases.
Congress enacted Taft-Hartley
for the avowed purpose Of equal
izing the power under the law Of
labor and management to do busi-
ness with one another. 1t was felt
the Wagner Act, passed in 1885 to
protect unions in organizing and In
other activities, had tipped the
scales too much toward labor.
From labor's standpoint. two
things now are fairly clear. The
new law makes it decidedly more
difficult to organize nonunion
plants, and it is tougher on weaker
unions than on strong ones. EN-
ployer resistance to unions has in
creased somewhat, and that makes
1t difficult for the weak unions to
strengthen themselves. 1t always
has been hard for a weak. union
to win a strike, and now 1t Is much
more difficult. In an economic
strike-one for higher pay-an en-
ployer Is much more apt to take
advantage of the authority the new
law gives him to replace strikers
If he is dealing with weak union
than he would be if his opponent
were John L. Lewis Mine Workers
New Atmosphere Reported
On the subject of the effect of
Taft-Hartley on labor relations, E.
H. Van Delden, labor relations di-
rector for Libby Owens-Ford Glass
Co., recently told the American
Management Association that most
of management believe the law will
prove TO be long-term factor in
bringing peace. He said that before
definite conclusions as to its effec-
tiveness can be reached at least
another years experience with the
law will be required. He stated,
however:
There are reports of a new at
mosphere in collective bargaining
these last six months-an intangible
change that is hard to define, but
which has manifested itself in a
new bargaining approach on the
part of unions and in greater will
ingness to cooperate. The period
of relative industrial peace en-
joyed since passage of the act is
at least partly the result of this" !"
On the other hand, AFL Presi-
dent william Green said that la
bor's "antagonism" had been Gin
tensified" by six months expert
ence under Taft-Hartley. He gave
the following reasons for this:
GM Order Important
The National Labor Relations
Board, created to protect the rights
of labor, has been perverted" into
a prosecutor of unions; the rate Of
filing of INDUCTION suits has in
creased greatly; employer damage
suits against unions "are already
reaching astronomical proportion; |;
long standing good relationships
have been disrupted such as those
between the International Typo
graphical Union and newspaper
publishers, and organizing activi-
ties by unions have fallen of Is per
cent nationally and rs per cent In
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