Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-12-15
Wildcat Strike Called
Blacklist Chapter
In Labor History
Sick Roll Switchmen
Insult Intelligence of
Army in Particular
By David Laurence

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This week is being written the
blacklist chapter in the history of
organized labor in America.
BY concerted action, railroad
switchmen in several cities re-
ported sick" and thus insulted
the intelligence of the country in
general and the United States
Army in particular.
With war materials being
rushed across the country to our
armed forces In Korea. trans
portation systems have been i'm
paired and millions Of travellers
Inconvenience
The Nations railroads are to-
day being operated by the U. S.
Army under a presidential Or
der Of seizure. Thus the switch
men are striking against the Gov
eminent Of the United States.
The railroad unions have been
called on by the Government to
discipline their men and get them
back to work. Some of the leaders
facetiously have declared they
couldn't take the men by the neck
and force them to go back. Prob
ably not-but the men can be
made to understand what dam
age is being done to the coun-
try and perhaps to the unions.
Could Seize Union Cash:
For if the union leaders have
no authority over their members,
then the Government may have
to step in and seize the union
treasures and take over the man
agement of their affairs, just as
the Government has taken over
the railroads.
No employe of the Government
can strike against the Govern
ment. The laws passed by Con-
gress make it unlawful to pay out
money to anyone who is a men,
Der of any organization which
strikes against the Government.
Thus the striking switchmen,
who are Government employees at
the moment, may never get paid
for the time they are absent from
their jobs. Likewise it remains a
legal question whether the labor
unions themselves cannot be &C
cused of contempt and their
leaders punished if convicted for
failing to act in good faith in
ordering the men back to work.
Railroad executives are claim
ing that it isn't an unauthorized
strike at all and that the work
stoppage is the result of concerted
action. The same thing happened
last year in the coal industry,
when the United Mine Workers
was ordered by the court to get
the men back and the union
claimed it couldn't do it. The
Justice Department argued that
there was collision and that the
union was responsible for the
strike. Judge Keech ruled there
was no evidence of bad faith and
the case is still under appeal in
higher courts. Judge Goldsbo-
rough, in previous case with
somewhat similar circumstances,
held the union and It's leaders
responsible and fined them heav-
lily.
Labor Leaders Silent.
It is curious that not a single
labor leader of Importance has de-
nounced the striking switchmen
This in itself is a strange COM
mentary on the class feeling that
apparently has developed in Amer
lea. Union leaders evidently feel
that they cannot criticize their
brethren. But, in failing to do so.
they do injury to the labor move
ment as whole and particularly
to the right to strike.
The dispute between the rail-
roads and the unions has been
dragging along for weeks in the
Office of President Truman's as
sistant, John r. Steelman. Nu-
merous attempts to solve the
controversy have moved beyond
boards and other negotiating tri-
bunals. The latest episode empha-
sizes that, when labor unions and
management do not agree, seizure
by the Government doesn't always
offer solution. Reliance on pa
triotism even in time of national
emergency does not seem effective
either. The strikers apparently
do not hesitate to put their own
material interests above the vel
fare Of their country and above
the needs Of the soldiers and sail
ors In the Armed Services who
need the freight that isn't moving
promptly to them.
Is compulsory arbitration the
answer? Congress has been con-
sidering such legislation. But the
real answer lies in thorough
investigation of the whole matter
by some committee of Congress
to determine why wildcat or un-
authorized strikes occur and who
starts them. They certainly dc
not start spontaneously in three
cities at the same time, nor dc
the strikers all ignore the orders
OF their leaders and their Gov
eminent without some instruction
from somewhere.
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