Evening star., 1949-12-06
Right 70 Work Law,
Wagner Act Section
by High Court

and a Wagner Act section involv-
| ing the closed shop had Supreme
Court support today.
The tribunal, in an 80 opinion
written by Justice Jackson, yes
terday upheld an Arkansas law,
under which two men were con-
victed on charges of using force
to prevent a non-striker from
working during a 1945 strike.
The Wagner Act case concerned
81 workers discharged from the
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Co.'S glyc-
crime plant at Berkeley, Calf, in
1945. This occurred while the
company and the CIO had a closed
shop contract. The National La
Dor Relations Board ordered the
men reinstated because, it said
the company knew the union de-
manded firing of the men in re-
prisal for their activities in favor
of an AFL union.
Justice Minton, in an opinion
from which Justices Reed and
Burton dissented. ruled the COM
pany need not reinstate the men
Although the Taft-Hartley Act of
1947 banned future closed shop
contracts that require workers to
be union members to hold jobs, 1t
did not apply to such contracts
previously in effect. Justice Min
ton said the high court majority
found the company's conduct un-
der the Wagner Act of 1885 was
mot an unfair labor practice.
Closed Shop Protection.
Zone of the oldest techniques in
the art of collective bargaining is
the closed shop" he declared, lit
protects the integrity of the union
and provides stability to labor re-
lations. To achieve stability OF
labor relations was the primary
objective of Congress in enacting
the National Labor Relations Act. "
Congress knew that a closed
shop would interfere with freedom
of employees to organize in an
other union and would, if used,
/ lead inevitably to discrimination
in tenure of employment. It
is not necessary for us to justify
the policy of Congress. That policy
cannot be defeated by the boards S
policy, which would make an un-
fair labor practice out of that
which is authorized by the (Wag-
ner) act"
In another labor case. the court
refused to review New York shoe
company's plea that, under the
aft-Hartley Act, it should not be
required to bargain with union
which no longer represents its
employees. The refusal upholds the
order of New York courts that the
Endicott-J johnson Corp. bargain
with the CIO Fur and Leather
Workers Union.
Royalty Oath Case.
Other rulings by the Supreme
Court yesterday included:
An opinion, written by Justice
Frankfurter, that 26 Los Angeles
County employees who are chal-
lenging Constitutionality of a
loyalty oath requirement have not
yet exhausted all recourse to
State courts. Justice Frankfurter
stated that 'it will be time
enough for the petitioners to
claim denial of a Federal right
after the State courts have def
nitely denied their claims under
State law" He added that this
is not a ''technicality," but a mat
ter of Importance to orderly court
procedure and the relationship be-
tween State and Federal jurisdic-
ton.
An agreement to rule on the
power of American civil courts
to review the court-martial con-
viction of Eugene Preston Brown,
an American soldier, on charges
of a murder in Germany.
A 5-to-2 decision. written by
Justice Jackson with dissents by
Justices Black and Reed, holding
the Government failed to prove
it's charges that the Yellow Cab
Co. and it's affiliates violated the
anti trust laws in the sale of cabs
to companies operating lines in
Chicago. New York, Pittsburgh
and Minneapolis.
Oil Lands Hearing Set.
Refusal to consider Justice
Department complaint that Fed
eral Judge Ben H. Rice, jr., of San
Antonio. Tex, had shown an
abuse Of judicial power" by or
dering separate trials for 81 small