The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1948-04-01
LABOR SPOKESMEN SAY Green Endorses
MCCLELLAN BILL WOULD Bond Drive As Aid
MURDER iva CONCEPT Curbing Initiation

Washington (LPA)-An eloquent
plea to preserve the Tennessee Val
ley Authority in it's present form
was made last week by labor
spokesmen appearing before the
Senate Subcommittee on Public
Works. The committee is consider
ing the Mcclellan Bill which would
amend the IVA Act so that TVA
would no longer function as a
government corporation.
"The McKellar Bill is no ordi-
nary document" Marion Hedges,
technical advisor to the Tennessee
Valley Trades and Labor Council,
told the committee. at does not in
truth merely amend the original
Tennessee Valley Authority Act. 1t
virtually changes the whole concept
and pattern of the Tennessee Val
ley organization in a direction that
the workers of the valley feel is
not needed and will penalize eff
cheney and firmly set back the
clock of progress in the seven
states through which the Tennes-
see River flows.
"The Tennessee Valley Author
ity is government corporation. 1t
is government corporation not be-
cause of the whims or untried ex-
perience of the originators of the
concept, but because the great job
that the Tennessee Valley Author
ity has done could not be accom-
plished without the stability and
flexibility of a business corpora
tion.
t"About the only difference be-
tween the IVA and a private busi-
ness corporation is that the owner
ship resides in the government and
the American taxpayers as stock
holders"
Sen. McKellar Interrupted Hod-
ges to point out that other dams
in the West are under civil service
rather than being government cor
porations. DO they operate less
efficiently than TVA?" asked the
Senator. Hedges reply was clear,
eyes! They do. We have true un-
adulterated collective bargaining at
IVA. We don't have it at Bonne-
vile dam or any other government
project"
Continuing with his testimony,
Hedges said that strikes at the
iva are virtually extinct. "What
the Congress hoped to do last year
with the Taft-Hartley Act was al
ready accomplished at the iva
through collective bargaining. The
workers do not want to see this
policy or this program upset" Ten
nesee Valley Trades & Labor Coun-
Gil represents $1,000 AFL members
who work in the IVA.
Hedges concluded his testimony
by urging the committee to see the
issues, "that this propos-
al means less efficiency, less demo-
cracy, questionable constitutional
lesser preparedness, not
so good industrial relations and
probably a lowering of the stan
dard of living"
Speaking for President William
Green, Walter J. Mason, national
legislative representative of the
AFL, outlined the purpose of IVA:
"to conserve water resources and
forests, to preserve and increase
fertility of the top soil, to improve
water transportation and control
flood water, to provide for indus
trial and agricultural development
of the Tennessee Valley Region,
and to promote national defense"
The American Federation Of La
bor," he said "believes that the
present Authority is admirably or
ganized to carry out this purpose
which is social as we'll as national
in scope.
"The proposal to substitute US
Civil Service regulations for the !
IVA merit system invites the de-
ays and inefficiencies inherent in
control. 1t is difficult to
see why a system devised to serve
governmental administrative needs |
should replace a system developed |
to serve public economic enter
prise"
Masop said that we should not |
apply the ordinary standards of |