Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-02-02
High court Ruling
On Labor Practices
Puzzles Attorneys
By Robert K. Walsh

By Robert K. Walsh
Lawyers still debated today
whether a Supreme Court opin-
ion Of $500 words put a new
Interpretation on q section Of
the labor relations law or merely
clarified and frightened the pro-
vision.
The opinion delivered yester-
day by Justice Reed. with Jus
tees Black and Douglas dissent
ing, covered three cases and in
each instance upheld National
Labor Relations Board rulings
that:
/. The Radio Ofiicers Union
by disciplining member, caused
the Bull Steamship Co. to COM
NIT an unfair labor practice in
refusing to hire that member.
The company would not hire
Willard c. Fowler of Miami, Fla,
because the union had refused to
clear him for employment after
he sought the job without get
ting preliminary clearance.
2. The International Brother
hood of Transfers caused a COM
pany to violate the same section
of the law by preventing employ
ment Of member who fell be-
hind in payment of dues. James
F. Boston complained he was put
at the bottom of a seniority list
and therefore was not hired by
the Byers Transportation Co. of
Kansas City.
3. The Gaynor News Co. Of
New York went contrary to the
law by awarding a retroactive
pay raise and vacation payments
only to its employees who be-
longed to the Newspaper and
Mail DELIVERIES Union. Sheldon
Loner. non-union member,
complained this was a move to
encourage union membership.
Laws Wording Cited.
Justice Reed noted that the
Taft Hartley Act section involved
in the cases provided that sit
shall be an unfair labor practice
for an employer by dis
elimination in regard to hire or
tenure of employment or any
term or condition of employment
to encourage or discourage
membership in any labor organ
ization."
In the Gaynor case the high
court stated:
I'VE hold that in the circum-
stances of this case, the union
being exclusive bargaining agent
for both its members and nom
member employees. the employer
could not. without violating Sect.
8 (of the law :. discriminate in
wages solely on the basis of such
membership even though it had
executed a contract with the
union prescribing such action"
AS for the other cases, Justice
Reed wrote:
I'm each case the employer
Disseminated upon the instiga-
ton of the union. The purposes
of the union in causing such
discrimination clearly were to
encourage members to perform
obligations or supposed obliga-
tons of membership. Obviously.
the unions would not have in
voked such a sanction had they
not considered it an effective
method of coercing compliance
with union obligations or prac-
tees"
Justices Black and Douglas
protested that the court ma
jority today gives an entirely
new Interpretation" to language
which Is years ago became part
of what is now the Taft-Hai tley
Act. They contend that the rec
ord did not show that the as
serted discrimination in any of
the three cases occurred in order
to encourage union membership.
Other Actions.
Other actions by the court in
a busy decision day included:
/. Denial of a request by Nor
ton Sobell for a new trial. Sobell
is serving a 30-year sentence at
Alcatraz. He was convicted with
atom spies Julius and Ethel
Rosenberg. who were executed
last June.
2. UNFOLDING a lower Federal
court refusal to rule. at least
until all State court remedies
have been exhausted, On an
Alabama State law banning merit
system benefits to State employees
who join labor unions.
3. A unanimous opinion that
the Civil Aeronautics Board
should not have reduced pay
mentS to the Delta Air Lines for
carrying mail on its international
division. CAB cut the amount
because of profits made nv Delta