Evening star., 1948-11-16
The Political Mill
Taft Act Bottle Certuin
Despite Green UItimutum

Despite Green UItimotum
AFL Chief Failed to Note That Many
In Congress Voted for Law
By Gould Lincoln
President william Green Of the American
Federation Of Labor has delivered his ulti.
matum Any member Of the Eighty first Con.
gress who fails to vote for repeal Of the Taft.
Hartley labor law will be target Of attack BY
organized labor in the congressional elections
two years hence. He told the AFL Conven.
ton in Cincinnati that any member who op.
posed repeal must be defeated.
The AFL president made 1t clear that he
and other leaders Of organized labor will not
be satisfied with change or amendment Of the
law-they wish to 60 back to the original
Wagner Labor Relations Act, which the Taft
Hartley law amends. Outright repeal Is thsir
demand. He called attention to the fact that
many Of the newly elected members Of Con-
gress won because they pledged themselves to
repeal. President Truman himself also pledged
outright repeal.
Mr.. Green neglected to tell the convention,
however, that also elected to the new Congress
were 227 members Of the House who voted to
override President Trumans veto Of the Taft.
k1aIL1cy Dill WHICH IL WaS OS1OIS tIAt OO0y-
more than q majority Of the 435 members Of
the House 1t may be that some Of these mem-
bers changed their stand and said, II reelected.
they would vote for repeal Of the act II they
did 1t has not come to the attention Of this
writer. It may be, also, that some Of them.
after observing the results Of the election, have
changed their minds. That only time viii
show.
Count In the Senate.
Also, In the Senate there remain SO Senators
who voted to override the veto OF the labor
bill, and two new Senators, Mrs. Smith Of
Maine and Representative Mundt Of South
Dakota, just elected, voted as members Of the
House to override the veto
Already there has been much discussion
about what the new Congress should and
could do in regard to the Taft-Hartley Act.
The consensus has been that it will be impos.
sible to 60 back to the old Wagner Act without
change-except Of course, for the opinions OF
Mr. Green and other labor leaders.
Indeed, even in administration circles tbs
talk has been Of drafting . new law which
will be fair both to organized labor and to
management-whicht the Wagner Act was not.
The thought has been expressed that the rep
resentatives Of the administration and tho
members of the new congressional committees
on labor Of the House and Senate should At
down and work something out, after listening
to leaders Of both labor and management. 1t
sounds like fair proposition. However, II MI.
Green and other labor leaders are going into
the conference with closed minds-that they
must have all or nothing-it does not appear
that an era Of good feeling in labor-manage-
ment relations will be possible.
The Taft-Hartley Act contains . number OF
provisions that should remain on the statute
books. What may happen Is that q new meas.
ure-bearing the names Of Senator Thomas OF
Utah and Representative LesinsA Of Michigan.
the ranking Democrats on the Senate and
House labor committees and In line for the
chairmanships Of these committees when the
Democrats take over-win be drafted, appar-
emily repeating the Taft-Hartley Act but In
reality . substitute, with changes from the
Wagner Act. Such a measure would have .
far greater chance Of success than q bill merely
declaring the repeal of the Taft Hartley Act.
Since 1t will get rid Of the hated Taft-Hartley
name. it may yet be accepted BY organized
labor.
Organized labor claims, and with Q large
measure of justice, credit for the Truman vic.
tory and the election Of q Democratic con.
trolled Congress It is probably correct to say
that If Mr.. Truman had not vetoed the Taft.
Hartley Act and had not promised its repeal
during the recent campaign he could not have
been elected, though where the labor vote
would have gone Is not entirely clear.
However, it is also correct to say that had the
Republicans rolled up their usual vote In the
great farm States Of the co,,ntry-for example,
Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, Gov.
Dewey Of New York and not Mr.. Truman would
have won. The farmers who supported Mr..
Truman were not doing so because he pledged
the repeal Of the Taft-Hartley law but because
they are in a period Of great prosperity and
feared possible removal Of farm price sup
ports.
1t would be quite natural for leaders Of or.
ganized labor to demand everything, with the
hope Of getting as much Is they can. That
Congress will give them everything, even under
the threat Of Mr.. Green, Is another matter.
If it does-then there will be, indeed, . labor
government Of the United States
0.ae&s>s. I A.