Evening star., 1954-01-12
President 'sP|an
On Strike Votes
.Stirs Debate
interpretations Vary
Widely on How to
Cory Out Proposal
BY jones Y. Newton

ton today on President Eisen-
howers labor law program CEN
tered on the proposal for Gov
ernment-conducted strike votes
and there was no little confusion
on the subject.
No two administration Officials
seemed to have the same idea as
to how the votes would he con-
Quoted. when they would be held
and there was grave doubt in
some quarters as to the prac-
ticality Of the idea.
Union leaders and pro-labor
members of Congress denounced
the proposal as "anti-labor" and
as a "strike-breaking weapon. u
There was no official comment
from the big employer organiza-
tlons. They apparently wished to
wait until the situation had
cleared.
Message Not Specific.
The Presidents message to
Congress. in which he recon-
mended l3 other changes in the
Taft-Hartley labor law, was not
specific on the subject Of the
strike vote He merely pointed
out that in the field of labor
relations there is nothing which
so vitally affects the individual
employe as the loss of his paw
when he is called out on strike .
Then he added one sentence:
"In such an important deci-
sion he should have an OPP
portunity to express his free
choice by secret ballot held under
Government auspices"
This was interpreted on all
sides as meaning the vote would
be conducted before a strike But
late yesterday. Senator H. Alex
ander Smith, of New Jersey.
chairman Of the Senate Labor
Committee. made public the bill
he will introduce to carry out
the Eisenhower program. and it
specified that a vote would be
conducted after a strike is
started.
Uncertainty Over Vote.
At his news conference TODAY
White House Press Secretary
James c. Hagerty was told con-
siderable confusion had devel-
oped over whether the Presidents
message called for a strike vote
before or after a walkout.
Mr.. Hagerty said he didn't
know the answer. but would try
to find out.
He also said, In response to a
question. he didn't know whether
Senator Smiths bill represented
the Presidents views.
Secretary Of Labor Mitchell,
discussing the labor law rev;sions
with reporters. seemed surprised
when told Of the language in the
Smith bill. He was a leading
drafter of the Presidents pro-
gram.
A prominent Republican in
Congress said the Presidents S
language as to when a strike
vote should be held was in
tentionally vague so Congress
could use its discretion i'm the
matter.
Labor Objects.
Labor objected to both ap-
proaches, especiall. the hold
ing of a Government-conducted
vote after strike was on. Union
officials said that such formal
balloting before contract ex-
pired would hamper bargain
ing and tend to provoke strikes.
They said If it were held after
a strike was started it would
tend to break the strike.
Senator Smiths bill, which
he described as the administra-
ton measure. provides for the
National Labor Relations Board
to conduct the voting. But there
were 5000 strikes in 1858, the
most peaceful year labor rela-
tions-wise since World War II.
It was obvious the NLRB would
have to take on many thousands
OF employees to run such whole
sale voting.
Chairman Mcconnell Of the
House Labor Committee said
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