The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1949-06-09
Divided Senate Begins
Taft-Hartley Debate

| washington (LIA)-A cOllluSeu
and divided Senate begins debate
this week on the bill to repeal the
notorious Taft t-Hartley law.
Last Friday a closed caucus of
Democratic Senators failed to
reach agreement on exactly what
amendments to the Thomas-Lesin-
ski bill-the measure AFL, CIO
and President Truman have been
supporting-will be necessary to
secure its passage.
A hard core Of Dixiecrats were
unwilling to cooperate with their
Democratic colleagues in trying to
work out a bill substantially hon
oring the party's campaign pledge
to repeal the anti-union law. And
the pro-labor Democrats were di-
vided somewhat among themselves
as to exactly what amendments
they would support.
Sentiment has crystallized, how
ever, in support of five amend
ments to the Thomas Lesinski bill.
They would:
/. Require unions to file finan-
cial statements with the federal
government.
2. Guarantee free speech to both
workers and employers.
3. Require both unions and en-
ployers to bargain in good faith.
A. Insist upon filing of non-Com-
munist affidavits by both union of
ficials and employers.
5. Provide for 90-day president
ial plant seizure orders if negotia-
tions broke down and a strike loom
ed which threatened the public
health or safety.
The last of these is the most con-
troversial. Several different ver-
sions of it are being discussed by
the Senators. One would provide
for the Presidents calling upon
both sides of dispute to continue
negotiations for 80 days after the
issuance Of his request. Plant
seizure could be invoked at any
time during that period that con-
versations broke off, and would
run another 30 days.
Some Senators are willing to
permit the courts a free range in
providing compensation to owners
for government use of commando
cred plants. Others insist upon as
surances that no net profit will ac-
crue to corporations while their
facilities are in government hands.
The AFL has declared its will
ingness to accept the above amend
ments, save the stipulation that
either party to dispute must bar
gain on the Others request The
AFL acceptance of the plant seiZ-
ure plan presumed 30-day, not a
90-day period.
CIO has issued no statement
comparable to the AFL's, but is
believed to have adopted approx ,
mately the same position, and is
demanding that employers whose
plants have to be seized make no
profits during the period of gov
ernment operation.
The United Mine Workers, the
Brotherhood of Railroad .Trainmen
and the United Electrical Workers
on the other hand, have all ann
ounced their opposition to any form
of plant seizure, which, they claim,
would often have the same effect
as an injunction.
Most pro-union legislators, and
the bulk Of AFL and ClO legisla-
tive representatives maintain that
if plant seizure isn't in the bill,
continuation of the Taft Hartley
is certain.
A printed version of these
amendments is circulating under
the names of several Democratic
members of the Senate Labor Com
mittee, plus Republican liberals
Wayne Morse (0re.) and George
Aiken (VtO.
Morse was out of town at the
end of last week. Aiken said that
ned support these amendments,