Evening star., 1949-02-08
Congress Is TackIine
New Labor Bill Like
Political Football
Taft's Statement Called
ToctIess; Will Serve
To Tount Democrats
Bv David Laurence

The approach thus far to the
writing of a new labor manage
ment relations law has been dis
appointing. What the country
would like to see Congress tackle
as q nonpartisan problem has be-
come a political football.
There was no good reason why
Senator Taft. for example. should
be announcing at this stage OF
the game that the new law will
resemble more the Taft-Hartley
act than the Wagner act. It was
a tactless statement which could
only taunt the Democrats and tend
to make them partisans. too.
The Ohio Senator is one of the
ablest men in public life today.
He has a usefulness in commit
tee and in debate which is un-
paralleled. Few men in Congress
know the ms and outs of labor
legislation as we'll as he does.
This is ali the more reason why
his statements at the recent news
conference appear misguided.
Must Satisfy Public.
The problem of writing new
labor law is not just a matter OF
pleasing labor unions or manage
ment or both. 1t is primarily
matter of satisfying the public
interest.
1t is Just as wrong for labor
and management to be given
power through collective bargain
ing to hike the price of goods or
commodities by conspiracy to
Ak the wage rates at a point
which pushes prices beyond the
power of the consumer to buy
as it is for several competitors
to get together and do the same
thing with respect to the price
level.
The American people in the
DOS put the Sherman Antitrust
Act on the books to regulate
competition and prohibit monop-
oily. They are just as much op-
posed today to monopolistic power
exercised through the closed
shop"
The purpose of trade unionists
In seeking to cause non-members
to bear the costs of union opera
tions can as well be served by au-
thorizing a system of employer
collected assessments covering
the share of non-members as by
permitting a closed shop mo-
nopoly. There is no need for
compulsory unionization in either
the union shop" or closed shop"
The vice of the "closed shop" sys-
tenn is that it freezes certain
group in power in labor union
and any attempt to unseat such
officers can result in a member
being expelled from union and
his job. The democratic process
has no chance when the form of
"closed shop" permitted under the
Wagner Act is legalized. The !
Taft Hartley Act at least required
a majority vote and authorized a
procedure for decertifying union .
which had obtained CLOSED shop"
powers and abused them,
Haste Will Bring Abuses.
The problem of protecting COL
Iective bargaining against abuses
either by unions or employers
never was dealt with adequately
under either the Wagner Act or
the Taft-Hartley Act. The ten
dency under the former was to
let the National Labor Relations
Board legislate changes through
split decisions and contradictory
opinions issued through an often
biased and changing personnel.
The Taft-Hartley Act did not
spell out sufficiently the rights
of labor unions in the collective
bargaining process. Too much
was left to be inferred. Hence
the obligation now is for the
Democrats to see to it that. as
promised in the Democratic plat
form last summer, a "just body OF
rules" be written into law gov
erning both employers and unions.
It is not job to be done in
haste or else it will have to be
done over again after the adverse
reaction that will set in at the
next election.
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