Evening star., 1949-03-01
Supreme Court Opens
Halls 10 Unions, Curbs
Work Interruptions

! Unions should have access to
the only meeting hall in COM
pany town, but may not call
meetings anywhere for intermit-
tent work stoppages as "coercive
device" for wage demands, in the
opinion of the Supreme Court.
In a 6-to-3 decision yesterday
the court held that an employer
may not use the freedom of
speech section of the Taft-Hart-
ley Act to prevent union from
meeting in the only possible hall
when it is owned by the en-
ployer.
In 5-to-4 ruling the court
upheld Wisconsin State law
prohibiting unions from summon
ing members from their jobs for
frequent surprise" meetings, in
stead of outright strikes, to force
an employer to submit to "unde-
clared demands
The opinion written by Justice
Murphy in the meeting hall case
upheld National Labor Relations
Board order that four companies
in North Belmont, N. c., must per-
NIT the CIO Textile Workers
Union to use meeting hall owned
by the companies. The United
States Court of Appeals in Rich
mond had held the order invalid.
Specified Order Required.
The high courts ruling, how
ever, sent the case back to the
board to make the order more
explicit.
Justice Reed, joined by Chief
Justice Vinson. dissented on the
ground that the Taft Hartley Act
does not give unions the same
right to utilize the property Of
an employer not directly a part
of the employment facilities, as an
employer has"
Justice Jackson dissented in
part.
27 Calls in Work Hours.
Justice Jackson wrote the ma
iority opinion in the Wisconsin
case involving periodic stoppage
during working hours. He was
Joined by Chief Justice Vinson and
Justices Reed, Frankfurter and
Burton.
He noted that a group of auto
mobile union members in MilWau-
kee were called off the premises
on 27 occasions at two plants for
varying periods during working
hours from November, 1945, to
March, 1916. He sustained the
Wisconsin Employment Relations
Board and the State Supreme
Court view that this was form
of the sltdown strike.
Justice Douglas dlssented on
the ground that the work stop
pages constituted a strike ana
that the States effort Ito make IT
unlawful must fail because 1t con-
f1icts with national policy con-
cerning the rights of unions to
strike. Justices Black and Rut-
ledge concurred in this dissent
Justice Murphy also dissented on
the ground that the Wisconsin
boards order conflicts with the
Taft Hartley Act and the Wagner
Act.
Other Rulings.
In other rulings yesterday the
Supreme Court:
t Unanimously reversed Navy
court-martial conviction OF Har-
old E. HirSchberg on charges OF
striking two fellow prisoners in
japanese prison camp. The
high court held that HirSchberg
was illegally convicted because the
court martial took place after he
had re-enlisted.
Refused to review the conVic-
ton of Douglas Chandler. former
Baltimore writer, on a charge Of
treason in connection with Nazi
propaganda broadcasts from Ger
many during the war. Chandler
was convicted in Boston Federal
Court and sentenced to life i'm
prisonment and fined 100000
Upheld a South Carolina law
prohibiting tieups between the
life insurance and undertaking
businesses.
Refused to review a CIO union
appeal from an order issued by a
Federal judge in Hawaii limiting
to three the number of pickets
during a strike.
Refused to review the appeal
of the Paper Book Manufacturers
Association from a Federal Trade
Commission finding that the as
Sociation'S Al affiliated comma rlieS