The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1950-07-27

OllOWIIS eAplOIdCOiy CdlhS WIN
Chairman w. Stuart Symington of
the National Security Resources
Board, a committee of 9 top lead
ers of the AFL, CIO, Railway Bro
therhoods, United Mine Workers
and Machinists has been formed
for the purpose of charting the
unions course in the present inter-
national emergency and helping
government to mobilize, if neces-
sary, the nations economic and
man-power resources.
At the same time, the spokesmen
of 16 million organized workers
have made clear that such all-out
participation, according to COM
mittee statement, calls for "full
and adequate union representation
in the planning and operational di-
visions of the government agencies
involved" In other words, the trade
union movement, in exchange for
assuming responsibilities, must be
granted full and equal participation
on all government boards and
agencies-a far cry from World
War III when labor shared repre-
sentation and responsibility on only
one agency, the War Labor Board.
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Precise details of the programI
which would place organized labor
on an equal footing with industry
in policy making and administeringl
the national defense program re-
main to be ironed out. Whether as
signment alone of the now vacantl
$4,000 year vice-chairmanshipl
of the Resources Board and fewl
other jobs to leading unionists
would allow labor to achieve its
aims is questionable. The late Sid
ney Hillman's co-directorship in the
production effort during World
War IL is not too happy a preced- |
ent.
The committee members must
also painstakingly weigh the ques-
tion whether issues not connected
with the Korean or any future
crisis should be brought into the
framework of such government
union-industry cooperation. This is
especially significant in the light
of the New York Times report that
John l.. Lewis intends to use labor's |
participation in emergency plann
ing as springboard against the
Taft Hartley Act and Robert N.
Denham, NLRB general counsel,
for his "harassing and labor-per-
scouting policies"
Among the most serious pro-
blems confronting the committee is
an eventual man-power draft and
the subsequent subordination of
our working people to a regimenta-
tion of which World War III gave
them only a vague inkling. Most
likely, another worldwide conflag-
ration will almost Immediately lead
to restriction of civil rights to am
extent American democracy has
never known before.
However, the fundamental issuel
remains whether the nations . Sc
curity and survival will not best be |
served by voluntary means, instead
of resort to measures as abhor-
rent to American traditions and
principles as they are deadly to the
very purposes which we profess
and for which we are determined
to fight.
= = =
This challenge to the nation andI
its labor movement has been
met by another trade
union leader. AT the opening ses-
sion of the 44th annual conven-
tion of the New York State Coun-
ell of the AFL United Brotherhood
of Carpenters and Joners of AM
erica, in Binghamton, n. Y, Coun-
Gil President Charles w. Hanson
told the applauding delegates and
guests:
'lf there is to be war, | be-
lieve that American organized
labor must have a direct voice
in the mobilization and direc-
tion of our country's economic
and manpower resources o..
Labor must make its influence
felt in the shaping of defense
policies and production and
all other measures necessary
to protect the interests of the
nation at home and abroad.
This is not only important from
the viewpoint of national de-
fense. 1t is equally vital in re-
pelling the twin monsters of
communism and Soviet imper-
ialiSm.
I'm helping TO organize and
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