Evening star., 1948-08-15
West Coast Maritime
Settlement Unlikely,
Facf-Finders Report
By The Associated Press

~ "e AS3oetoSeo PreSt
A White House fact finding board
reported yesterday that the pros
poets OF settling West Coast Mari
time dispute seem slim. indeed" !"
but on the East Coast are very
good"
The board made its final report
to President Truman under the ma
tional emergency provision of the
Taft Hartley Act.
1t made no recommendations, but
merely described the situation. The
dispute over methods of hiring is
still the big barrier to q general
agreement. it said.
Under the law, inquiry boards
must make up their final reports
60 days after the issuance Of an
injunction.
Election Is Next Step.
The Justice Department blocked
an all-coast strike of seamen and
dock workers by getting court or
ders on June II at New York, Cleve-
land and San Francisco.
The board was headed by Harry
Shulman Of the Yale University Law
School.
Now that the fact-fnders have
reported, the law requires that the
National Labor Relations Board
conduct elections to determine
whether the workers wish to accept
the last offers made by the employ
ers. Such elections must be finished
in IS days.
Within five days after that (Sep.
tember 2 in this case) the injunc.
tions are supposed to be thrown out
leaving the union legally free tc
strike if the vote has gone against
accepting the employers offers.
Hiring Is First Problem.
Government officials don't set
how the NLRB can conduct elections
in such short period with seamer
scattered all over the oceans of the
world. Seven unions are involved
the most important of which ART
CIO Longshoremen headed by Harry
Bridges and the CIO Nationa
Maritime Union headed by JOSEPH
Curran.
The board said that in the west
Coast dispute in which Bridges.
union plays leading role, relation.
ARE characterized by bitterly hos.
tile institutional and personal at.
titudes'
On the Pacific Coast, the boare
said, the controversy over hiring
practices continues as ".the major
controversy blanketing all others.
BY contrast, the board said that
on the East Coast, where MIR. Cur
rams seamen play an important
part, "the parties appear to have
made earnest and effective effort
to reach agreement"
The barrier Of the hiring issue,
said the board, has been removed
by the expressed willingness of the
employers to continue the existing
hiring halls"-by which the unions
furnish employees when needed
until there is judicial determina-
ton of their legality under the
Taft Hartley Law.
Some Demands Withdrawn.
The board said the unions on the
East Coast have withdrawn a num-
ber of their demands, tentative
agreement. E. has been reached on
other issues, and the remaining
differences are quite narrow with
good prospect for q settlement in
the. near future.
The board said the prospect is
also good with respect. to Alaska,
where the hiring ball issue has been
similarly treated and negotiations
are continuing. ,-,- .,.,...-
The board said that on the Great
Lakes the employers do not bar
gain jointly and some have already
reached settlements. Others have
made offers satisfactory to the
union in all respects except on the
hiring issue, which continues to
block agreement"