Evening star., 1949-02-01
New Truman Labor Bill
Declared 'Reuctionory'
Would Bring Back Days When Nation
Was at Mercy of Labor Bosses
The Political MiU

Would Bring Back Days When Nation
Was at Mercy of Labor Bosses
By Gould Lincoln
The Truman administration has gone "re-
actionary"-it Is proposing to return to those
good old days when the country was at the
mercy Of labor bosses, no matter how irrespon.
sible; to the good old days of the Wagner
Labor Relations Act II that is not reaction.
what is?
For this is just what the new administration
labor bill, repeating the Taft-Hartley Act and
reinstating the Wagner Act with some milk
and water amendments would do II it should
pass Congress in its present form. Fortunately
for the country, 1t is unlikely that Congress will
put the measure through without important
amendments. And If, when the measure
has passed. it does not please President Truman
and his allies, the labor bosses they will have
to take it or else leave the Taft-Hartley law
on the books intact.
The bill was presented to the Senate Labor
Committee by Secretary of Labor Tobin-who
appeared as the first witness when the COM
mittee hearings started. Mr. Tobins defense
Of the bill was as adequate and adroit as
possible, considering the poor subject for
defense.
Fanfare on Amendments.
Quite fanfare was made over the so-called
Truman amendments to the Wagner Act
which amount to very little-and some of the
labor leaders, including William Green, presi-
dent of the American Federation of Labor,
uttered some feeble protests. It's dollars to
doughnuts, however, that this coyness on the
part Of the labor leaders will soon wear of, and
they will be fighting tooth and nail to get the
Presidents bill through without further amend
ment Indeed, there Is reason to think they
would simply be delighted II this could happen.
It Is now quite evident, rs 1t should have
been from the start, that the desire of the
labor leaders to have outright repeal of the
Taft-Hartley Act and immediate restoration Of
the Wagner Act-and then the consideration
OF possible amendments to the Wagner Acts
out OF the window. Even the minor amend
ments proposed by the President violate that
idea. Under the parliamentary situation which
exists In the Senate, there Is no way to bar
the offering Of amendments to the Truman
labor bill, when it comes to the floor for
consideration and action. Only by majority
adverse vote can amendments be defeated
there.
The Senate Committee on Labor-as Is the
House committees well weighted with So
called friends of labor. Since that is the case,
the amendments to the Truman bill, proposed
by Senator Taft and others who wish to see
some semblance Of fair play in labor laws, will
be voted down, and the administrators meas
ure will be given favorable report. In the
Senate itself, however and probably in the
House, the chances are a majority will lean
the other way. That's one reason why the
administration forces on Capitol Hill have
issued call to the labor lobby in washington
to get busy and bear down on individual mem
bers of House and Senate.
Changes Demanded
The Republican members of the Senate
almost without exception. will demand further
amendment Of the Truman labor bill. Nor can
the administration rely upon anything like
solid support from the Democratic members
OF Congress for this measure. One of the
Democratic Senators, Ellender, of Louisiana,
was the first to sound OF in attack on the
Truman bill when its contents were made
public. Senator BLENDERS principal complaint
against the Truman bill Is that it will leave the
country practically defenseless against national
like John L. Lewis.
The Presidents plan for dealing with strikes
which may imperil the Nation Is to appoint
a report with recommendations There would
be 30-day period while the board was at
work. But there are no penalties attached If
the disputants decline to follow the recon-
mendations of the board and settle the strike
The power of injunction, exercised by the
Government in such crises and four times used
by Mr.. Truman under the Taft-Hartley Act,
is wiped out by the Truman measure.
1t was not long ago, when railroad workers
threatened to tie up the Nation tighter than
a drum by strike, President Truman went to
Congress and urged the passage of ~ giving
him the power to draft the workers into the
armed services. Those were the good old
conservative days when the labor bosses were
supreme, before the enactment of the Taft
Hartley law. 1t is amazing that the same
President should now ask q return to such
conditions.