Evening star., 1949-09-27
Courts to Handle Industrial Disputes
Called Answer to Labor Problems

Courts to Handle Industrial Disputes
Called Answer to Labor Problems
To the Editor of The Star:
With the coal strike on and the steel strike
impending. and with the possibility of many
other crippling strikes in the future, isn't
1t about time that we did some rethinking
about the matter of strikes?
The whole philosophy of strikes is wrong.
A strike Is the concerted action of group of
employees to force an employer to grant their
demands! regardless of whether those de-
mands are just or unjust. A strike Is q
threat to ruin an employer. and sometimes
it does ruin an employer when he fails to
comply with the unions demands. Is 1t
morally right to ruin anybody? Frequently
strike Is accompanied by violence and
bloodShed by mobs Of strikers. Again ask.
is that right? To make the strike more
effective the strikers resort to picketing, thus
preventing men who want to work from
working. Frequently the strikers 60 so far
as to prevent the owners from entering their
own plants? Frequently strike is called in
an essential industry such as coal. steel or
transportation. The public is made to suffer
for lack OF essential commodities or services.
Many union workers are forced to strike
against their will, thereby losing wages. When
an employer is finally forced to yield, or
suffer ruin, and wages are raised and other
costly concessions are extorted. who pays for
it? The helpless public. Is any of this
right?
But then the question may be asked how
is the worker to get justice? Do the unions
really want justice? There is strong doubt
IN my mind that the unions really want
justice. They want more than justice They
want something for nothing at public ex-
pense. They want their wages raised They
want insurance and pensions at public ex-
pense. But in all fairness, If the unions
want their wages raised, together with pen
Slons and insurance at public expense are
not all workers. whether union or nonunion,
equally entitled to an increase of wages and
insurance and pensions at publics expense?
And by workers mean all who work for a
living. whether in overalls or in white collars
And that takes in the entire public. Then
who would pay the increased wages pensions
and insurance? The public would be paying
these benefits to itself. Then why not have
everybody pay for his own insurance and
pension? Then again. If all workers were to
be treated fairly and all received an increase
in wages with pensions and Insurance. the
cost Of living would increase to such an
extent that any monetary gains would be
wiped out. 1t would be like puppy trying
to chase after its own tail and never catching
up Therefore, the unions are not interested
III cqudl ticdCiIlcuI IOT dll, DuL are nJereSCeQ
only in their own gain. So in a final show
down. it comes to conflict of union interest
versus public interest. Therefore, the public
has severy moral right to protect itself by
outlawing strikes with effective penalties for
violations.
However. that does not settle the matter
OF justice for the workers. The worker, as
well as the employer, has every right to full
justice. I believe that the public sense OF
fair play would insist that right and justice
should prevail, for the worker as well as
for the employer.
The solution is so simple and obvious that
I am amazed that our responsible public off-
cials. from President down, have not applied
the obvious solution to our industrial strife.
1t would save literally billions Of dollars in
tangible and intangible value. The solution
Is simply this: That system Of courts of
justice be established dealing exclusively
with industrial disputes. These courts should
be established on a strictly nonpartisan
basis The justices should be men of known
integrity, and should be acquainted with the
problems Of labor and management, as well
as the rights Of the public The details of
setting up such judicial system can be left
to our legislators.
Think of the vast benefits that would
accrue to the worker. the employer and the
public in general. Everyboy would gain, and
nobody would lose except possibly the labor
bosses who gain from the misery of their
dupes. SAMUEL r. BAUER.