Evening star., 1948-05-10
Union-Shop Elections
By NLRB Are Seen as
Help 10 Labor Peace
Also Held to Be Important
Protection to Employees
Exercise Of Work Rights
By David Laurence

~ Java Laurence
The drive is on to weaken the
Taft-Hartley law Gullible members
of Congress are listening to propa-
ganda cleverly devised by the Ma
tional Labor Relations Board to do
away with the elections under
which the union shop" is estab-
lished.
The argument is that the Labor
Boards machinery Is begging
down" because Of the multiplicity Of
elections. Another contention Is
that, because the workers in IS
per cent of the cases vote for the
union shop" elections are super
fluous. This Is tantamount to saying
that, because State votes Demo-
cratic or Republican 95 per cent OF
the time, there Is really no use In
holding an election.
The excuse that 1t is expensive for
the Labor Board to conduct elec-
tions Is also rather far fetched.
Everybody who knows anything
about labor union matters is aware
of the fact that the change-over
from the now prohibited closed
shop" to the newly authorized
union shop" has caused a conges-
ton Of elections. This was expected.
Once, however. those unions which
now have a CLOSED shop" status
have effected the transition, and
once those unions which have for
o long time maintained the union
shop" comply with the Taft
Hartley laws provisions. the num-
Der OF election cases will dwindle.
1t Is significant also that in al
most all the elections held thus far
about 95 per cent-the machinery
was exercised by the consent Of both
the employers and the union. This
indicates that the employer was sat-
isf1ed that the union members really
wanted the union shop" and did
not offer any of the challenges in
procedure permissible under the law.
Many Shops Don't Have Status.
Thus the unions themselves would
never have made test cases unless
they were sure of the result. So the
overwhelming number Of elections in
which the union shop" is voted
merely means that the established
system in many instances Is being
legalized. This does not In any way
indicate what would happen in the
overwhelming number OF instances
In which there are neither CLOSED
shops nor union shops" It was
for this purpose that Congress in
sisted that the workers themselves
should decide the issue OF compul-
sorry unionization.
AS a matter of fact, the House OF
Representatives in its original bill
last year wanted to cut out the
union shop" too. There is nothing
more repugnant to American civil
rights than to say to a worker that
he must Join a union as a condition
of retaining his job. The only differ
ence really between the union
shop" and the closed shop" is that
In the latter the stipulation that a
worker must join a union Is made
before a worker is. hired, whereas in
the case of union shop" he may
be hired as nonunion man but
must agree to join the union within
80 days after his employment If a
union shop" exists in the plant.
Whichever way one looks at 1t,
compulsory unionization is con-
trary to American civil rights. AS
a practical matter, there are often
logical arguments behind the
union shop" and the CLOSED shop"
principle, but they are no more
logical than the arguments of GER
tain big corporations that a monop-
oily is better way to conduct busi-
ness than by means Of competition.
Ives Introduces Bill.
Senator Ives, Republican, OF New
York. who helped to keep the pres
ent New Deal members in service
on the National Labor Relations
Board, has introduced the new leg
islation. He gives the usual excuses
for the abolition of the elections
on union shops He says that it
is causing great administrative diff
ficulty.'
He argues that the Labor Board is
cluttered with election petitions and
that the unions are voting for
union shops" by large majorities.
Senator Ives, however, does not want
to do away with the right OF the
employees to abandon union shop"
whenever they feel that they want
to get out of the shackles OF the
union shop" arrangement. This
does not by any means offer a rem
edy In the situations where a
minority of the employees themselves
are dragooned into voting for a
union shop" against their will
through the old-fashioned union
elections
The virtue of the Labor Board
election is that it is secret and
it is conducted impartially. There
is no such thing as coercion in 1t.
Many a so-called strike vote has
been taken by labor unions in union
halls where individuals are subject
to penalties or punitive action II
they do not vote as the majority
does.
Elections Are Important.
1t may be expensive to conduct
elections, but it is the democratic
process. The spending Of $500 900
for elections is not as expensive as
the spending Of many millions Of
dollars for strikes which grow out Of
Ill feeling inside the plants, and par
ticularly the development Of fric-
ton which results from the i'm
position of compulsory unionisation.
The unions. too, would be max
ing mistake in abolishing the
union shop" elections. At present,
when an impartial election is con-
Quoted by the National Labor Re-
latiors Board, 1t Is convincing
demonstration Of the way the
the majority feels in a plant, The
mere fact that the unions vote over
whelmingly in certain instances for
union shop" is a demonstration
of truth to the employer that the
employees really want the union
shop"
Under the law it is not neces-
sary for the employer to agree to
accept union shop but an elec-