Evening star., 1949-02-01
Democratic Platform
Seen Repudiated by
Truman Labor Bill
Recent Supreme Court
Decision on Compulsory
Unionizotion Ignored
By David Lawrence

~ Dana Lawrence -.
President Truman has repudiated
the Democratic platform, which
promised a new law balanced as
between labor and management.
The President also has decided
to ignore the latest decision of the
Supreme Court of the United States
which said, in effect, that compul-
cory unionization Is unconstitu-
tional.
Mr.. Truman has sent to Congress
the draft Of a new labor law which,
If adopted, would make lawful many
things that are now unlawful and
would take away fundamental rights
now possessed by workers as well
as by management.
IL Things Possible.
II the proposed bill becomes law,
the following things become pos
sible without any restraint from
the Federal Government:
/. For union strong arm men to
beat up workers who want to 60
back to work during a strike.
2. To molest workers in their
homes and threaten them if tHey
refuse to join a union.
8. To deprive workers Of a job
unless they agree before being hired
to join a union and accept all the
obligations and conditions decided
upon by unions as a qualification
for securing job.
4. For unions to form mass picket
lines to prevent workers or man.
agement from getting into or, COM
ing out OF factory, plant or ONCE.
S. To take away from managers
any right of free speech where labor
matters are involved and specifi-
cally forbid, an employer to talk
to workers on the picket line and
urge them to come back to work
or to persuade their union or its
Representatives to settle a labor dis
pute.
6. To take away any and all re-
straints hitherto imposed on unions
to let q worker decide for himself
whether or not he wishes to join q
labor union.
Z. To deprive q worker Of his
rights Of citizenship insofars as they
have hitherto protected him in his
political beliefs, and compel him now
to permit his union dues to be used
for any political purpose without his
consent.
8. For labor unions to use their
funds for political purposes while
denying corporations the right to
make political contributions.
8. To make 1t easier for Com
munists to control labor unions by
relieving unions of the necessity Of
filing affidavits saying their officers
are not members of or tied up with
the Communist Party or any or
ganization working In the interest Of
a foreign power.
10. To remove all restrictions on
the disposition of welfare and pen
sion funds established by unions
and employers, so union omcers may
t,isburse these funds without Federal
supervision.
IL. To relieve labor union Of
GERS Of the necessity Of telling
heir members in detail what they
% each year with the workers
.loney.
II. To make it unnecessary for
Dor unions to bargain collectively
n good faith" while imposing on
employers that very obligation.
What Platform Said.
Safeguards against the foregoing
ere but a few of the provisions
-hich were in the present law and
the elimination of which may cause
an unprecedented era Of violence
and O reign of terror in labor dis
putes. The Democratic national
platform adopted last summer-and
on which Mr.. Truman sought votes
from the people-read In part as
follows:
we advocate such legislation as
is desirable to establish a just body
Of rules to assure free and effective
collective bargaining, to determine,
in the public interest, the right OF
employees and employers, to reduce
to a minimum their conflict Of in
terests, and to enable unions to keep
their membership free from Com
munistic influences.
With respect to the proposal to
legalize so-called closed-shop mo-
nopolies irrespective of the fact
that State constitutions have
banned such monopoles, the Su-
preme Court Of the United States
has already spoken. In q decision
rendered in behalf Of a unanimous
court q few weeks ago, Justice Black
said:
There cannot be wrung from a
constitutional right Of workers to
assemble to discuss improvement Of
their own working standards, a
further constitutional right to drive
from remunerative employment all
other persons who will not or can
not participate In union assemblies" 4"
The Truman bill, II put into law,
would permit employers and unions
to engage in a conspiracy to take
jobs away from persons who refuse
as a matter of principle or for
other reasons to allow themselves
TO be enslaved In any form of or
ganization as the price of a job in
free America. For If 1t is lawful to
permit an employer to agree with a
LABOR union that only union men,
bers shall have q job 1t becomes
lawful-and this already has hap
pened-for such unions and en-
ployers to bar workers from jobs be-
cause Of their color or religion OF
nationality. This makes a shambles
Of the so-called civil right" plank
In the Democratic national plat
form.
(Reproduction Aishts Reservsd).
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