Should the Government Regulate the Trade Unions? A Symposium
Villard, Oswald Garrison
Should the Government Regulate the Trade Unions? A Symposium By Oswald Garrison Villard Author of The Disappearing Daily" etc. It ii net • theory but a condition which confronts us. Largely...
...LOWS WALDMan*S argumoat falls into two parts, la the first, be complains that the normal J processes of collective bargaining have been superseded by the regulations of the War Labor Board and other war agencies...
...So also would legislation outlawing racial discrimination...
...A judicially-minded officer, recently returned from on* sector of the Pacific, reported that the enlisted men were determined to hsve their jobs back and no nonsense about it They have suffered too much to hsng sround looking for jobs...
...Mr . WALDMAN is doubtless right in his diagnosis...
...AGAIN the cry "Regulate the Unions" is being heard throughout the country...
...More likely, it is a sound reason for educating such portions of ths public in the social value of honest and free trade unionism...
...As for tha AFL, sooner or later the forthright demands of such loaders aa David Dubinsky will awaken their entire leadership to a new sense of public responsibility...
...The amount of good which such regulation might accomplish will be mora than offset by the dangers Inherent in such government intervention...
...This, we are to suppose, is proof positive that restrictive legislstion is necessary or desirable...
...The second section of the article is not easy to discuss...
...How can an eppooition protect itself against expulsion ? Ws may be told that an aggrieved member of a union can always appeal to the courts against the denial of rights by the officers...
...Only be quick about it There won't be much time to lose after the New Year...
...Villard's premise thst unions must be "regulated" because they enter the public domain and affect public interest and welfare, then I urge that he stand up for "regulation" of a group which affects the public welfare even more directly...
...Let us not forget that the indigenous American progressivism, from the Grangers of the 1870s to the LaFollette Progressives, has been of the anti-monopoly brand...
...Ia each caae, the cure for the evil should be debated en Ha merits to determine whether it is justified on the facta and whether it is properly designed to remedy the evil aimed at...
...Of course, normal collective bargaining implies strikes and lockouts, for if agreement cannot be reached, the parties can only resort to the test of economic force...
...These unions are protected by the Railway Labor Act, and the National Labor Relations Act...
...CIO . Ws of tha labor movement are fully aware of th* evils which exist in our ranks...
...It is freedom of the unions, just as precious ss freedom of the press, thst the enemies of lsbor aim to destroy, and the half-baked liberals give sid snd comfort to the common enemy of sll liberty when they support special legislation against labor...
...Likewise, legislation requiring frequent elections under public supervision would strengthen trade union democracy...
...When unionism is quiescent, the big business groups' ("Wall Street) are the villains in the piece...
...Oar faults arc those *f th* American people hut their virtue* also are our...
...The restriction on the right to alrike however arises far more effectively from the self-discipline and self-restraint of labor'* no-strike pledge than from the clumsy and unrealistic verbiage of the Smith-Connally Act...
...Many unscrupulous snti-union employers will take this opportunity to demand anti-labor legislation for their own selfish purposes...
...Are we going to further jeopardize our position by arming their reactionary allies in government with regulatory powers which will be used to hamstring and destroy us, It is true that a realistic approach to the futara does not permit of a too dogmatic attitude on any of the more important social problems...
...In the course of time perhsps, when labor unlona have stabilised their foundations, when a genuine partnership exists between Industry, government and tha plain people, we may welcome Mutual regulation all along the line...
...Whenever an officer or member of a trade union does anything prohibited by the criminal code he, like any other person, is subject to its penalties...
...By Robert /. Watt AFL Repretentative, International Labor Organization TlIE intensity of present demands for "regulation" of trade unions is probably related to, and a consequence of the recent rapid growth of tha labor movement...
...For the fear of unionism is not confined to reactionaries but has also gripped many a progressive...
...Should Unions be Regulated...
...Strangely, this ' demand is being voiced at a time when the labor unions in this country sre being regulated in a measure hitherto undreamt of, even by the most vociferous proponents of union regimentation...
...W aid man favor wartime strikes and lockouts by labor and employers regardless of their effect on the war effort...
...Waldman is also on sound ground when he asks that th* remedies be directed to eliminating particular abuses...
...Also, the right to strike may be impeded but certainly it is net fully interdicted by the Smith Conaally Act That Act ia inherently bad for more important reasons than the abridged right to strike in time of wsr...
...If public officials are too cowardly or venal to enforce existing laws against corruption, racketeering, graft and extortion, the remedy is not additional laws, but setter administrators of existent laws...
...If he is opposed to wartime economic disputes, how would be settle the differences that inevitably arise in bargaining...
...The moral, however, seems sufficiently clear to require no further elaboration...
...All labor legislation, even such laws as the National Labor Relations Acts or the Railway Labor Act, could prove dangerous to labor in the hands of a> hostile government fsced by a weak union movement The history of the Clayton Act and even the Norris-LaGuardia Act, both intended to aid trade-unionism, is ample proof of this...
...services is equally high...
...By Selig Perlman Profettor of Economist, Univertity of Wtseonim...
...When wa eonsider the polyglot nature of it* vast membership, the gigantic scope of its responsibilities and tha magnitude of its task, the wonder is that conditions are not worse...
...Fortunately, the number and the extent of racketeering are very small, and undoubtedly the honesty of labor officials is as high or erven higher than thst of any other group in the community...
...It should not make the mistakes of the beneficiaries of tile "New Capitalism" by ignoring public interest and public opinion...
...Waldman is a bit too legalistic in his approach...
...They should now be willing to be policed internally by that same authority...
...It is easy to argue that the demand for regulation of labor unions stems from, ignorance or malice...
...Undoubtedly, these matters and their prominence in tha public.view have lent strength to the agitation for regulation...
...Unless the responsible anions urge s basis of aecemstodstien aad actively support reasonable legal anion regulations in the public interest, then sll unions will feel the wrath of public reaction and also without reference to merits...
...A large majority of the American people are influenced by day-to-day conduct of organized labor, and while many do not realise the difficulties of disciplining and leading a rapidly expanding labor movement, the unions can avoid those sctions thst srouse snimus against labor...
...Let the genuine "state's righters" cease to shield the "selfish interests," even though that will entsil the discomfort of upsets in established alignments...
...Thet will also be the dsy when unions will be legislated out of existence, for fascism « loves free unions even less thsn a free press...
...Although the record in the battle of production and in the field of conflict proves that a free nation breeds a tougher and more efficient people than tha slave state, those who distrust too much power In tha hands of the masses slways favor compulsion and super-boss control for others...
...There are, however, many abuses—and to my mind the worst —which are not violations of the penal code...
...Obviously labor unions are today burdened by unusually strict limitations...
...but in view of the lack of success of Dubinsky's fight for more positive sction sgainst racketeering, such a step is unlikely...
...Is it not, in effect, a special plea for legislation by Washington or the States to curb the rights of labor, limit the effectiveness of labor unions, rather than to do away with alleged abuses...
...No one in the labor movement has ever forced any member to support the Labor Party or any other party against his will...
...Villard shows that "in 1943 six states—Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Texas and South Dakota-passed laws restricting the activities of labor unions, snd there are signs that other states may follow suit...
...Bat an lea* we do a good job, we may face serious roor**si*a of the trade* oaioaiam so nrgeatl) asedsd to sasarc th* estabimhmcat of democracy ia industry...
...Villard, Pegler and the like want is not legal regulation of unions, something which already exists, but legal discrimination against them...
...That employers, small business men, people in villages and small towns, farmers, some professional men and even individual skilled craftsmen, not members of unions, are opposed to union labor is not proof of the need of general and further regulation...
...It is characterized by an economic claustrophobia—a fear of being closed in upon by massed economic power...
...It is difficult to comment on this section of Mr...
...Wa must not forget American trad* unionists are a cross-section of the American people...
...By Sterling D. Spero Professor of Economics, New York University...
...Waldman know* that wages are not the only point of difference that may arise between employers and employees, and consequently the War Labor Beard most, if it is to prevent leas of output, frequently determine many issues involving non-wage condition...
...from the lsbor movement...
...Take your choice, gentlemen...
...Villard is speaking utter nonsense when he suggests that this has been done or indeed that it could be done...
...They were long ago willing enough to erect that authority into the guardian of their "jurisdictions" against invasion by dual unions...
...Of course, insofar as labor unions go into politics, th* public will attempt to impose restrictions, not only on those unions which are in politics, but on every labor anion in the same manner as it regulates political organizations...
...The plea that the criticisms of labor union practices should be specific has much to recommend it...
...It seems to me, however, that while some of the antagonisms against unions is due to the propaganda of the enemies of organized labor, not all of it arises at this source...
...Villard has been able to discover...
...It should give responsible union leadership pause and make them think hard about remedies...
...public to labor unions ai an argument for more restraints...
...Unions are part of the American scene snd American environment...
...And as for "gag rules" and the absence of criticism against officials inside union organisations, surely Mr...
...Finally, to my mind the only question is who shall lead in planning the inevitable regulation—the decent labor men and the friends of labor, or embittered soldiers, or exploiting capitalists, or legislators seeking to work both ends against the middle, or professional haters of labor with axes to grind...
...There is too much evidence of this to give any hope that this spirit is exceptional...
...The public will not believe that the union movement will purge itself of its crooks and scoundrels, for it knows thst the AFL will not snd does not clean house, thst William Green continue* to consort with crooks, snd thst slmost the only union rascals sent to prison have gone because of the revelations of Westbrook Pegler...
...Villard wishes to shield snd foster with restrictive legislation sgainst unions...
...If it is Mr...
...In the January IMS issue of the Pattern Mtksrs' Journal I wrote ia part as follows: From 1M7 to 19S2, the American labor movement rejected government intervention in employer-employee relations...
...Far from being "tyrannized" into submission, recalcitrant members have haled unions to court and have had protection from the law even when they have outraged all rules of decency and probity established by their fellow members...
...Our prestige has suffered from .he restlessness of the msny recent recruits new alike to industry snd unionism...
...We must above all recognize that the labor movement has grown out of its swaddling clothes...
...Villard's latest exhibition of affection for labor is in- the form of an article in the American Mercury entitled "Why Unions Must Be Regulated...
...Waldman argues eloquently for the defense...
...Many labor leaders are aware of the hazard of "explaining away" every abuse, and the leading example of the recognition of the importance of public opinion is David Dubinskyrs fight against racketeering...
...As it is, we normally are confronted by tha herculean task of grappling with tha Sewell Averya and Girdlers and find pitted against us formidable arrays of financial and industrial empires...
...Inexperience of man}- union members aad leaders haa been a handicap...
...But with 13 million organized workers, unionism easily looms as another massed power, even the massed power that is closed in upon the small fellow...
...Ths number of strikes has been magnified fay beyond their importance...
...I solicit the cooperation and "advice of Mr...
...Perhaps the most satisfactory method would be the setting up of an impartial tribunal by the unions themselves...
...It is true that some employers only go through the motions of bargaining, and are content to leave the decision to the War Labor Board...
...We have a real task to make union members into trade unionists...
...The law should sarve only to encourage the maximum self-government within a geographic area or an industrial field and to provide sanctions against the chiseler who tries to undermine the foundations...
...By George Q. Lynch President of the Pattern Makers' League, AFL...
...By Max Zaritsky Pmident of Hat, "tap and Millinery Workers, AFL...
...However, the receptiveness of the American public to anti-union propaganda is itself a most significant phenomenon...
...It is difficult to conceive how the movement could be hurt by legislation requiring public accounting of union funds, particularly if newly organized groups with slender resources were protected to the extent of not having to account until a reasonable period after their organisation, say a year or eighteen months...
...Grafters and racketeers are subject to prosecution and punishment in unions ss in other organisations and endeavors...
...Instead of attempting to control the detailed operations of business and the complete employer-employee relationships through statutes and cumbersome administrative machinery, our objective thould be to provide only the ntcemary broad authority for the operation ef repretentative labor-management contrnlt...
...Thst bitterness is not merely due to the misrepresented sttitude of highly-paid civilian war-workers...
...Villard has no qualifying little doubU In the matter...
...Premium pay for Sundays and holidays is regulated by Executive Order| A man's right to move from job to job for economic or family reasons is covered by the regulations of the War Manpower Commission...
...It is pitched on a legalistic level, and Mr...
...The notion that if you do not approve of all the actions of organized labor, you are only a misguided individual seems to me a bit smug and dangerous...
...Unfortunately this tide of hostility will be swollen by sll the regular enemes of labor...
...In many cases the suspended member cannot work st his trade pending sn appeal, and the legal fees are for the ordinary worker not a minor matter...
...My suggestion, advanced at Harvard in April 1943, was as follows: Establish a new agency within the Department of Labor vested with authority to hold hearings, isoue directions and defend auch directions in courts of competent jurisdiction m mstters of unfsir practices in unions...
...Frankly, I wish it were true...
...In April 1943 before the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration I said in part: Also, in a democracy every right carries with it an implied responsibility...
...The truth is that there it not an activity of the trade uniont and their leadert and members which it not already tubject to legal regulation and rettrietion...
...Today, the normal processes of collective bargaining hsve largely dissppesred...
...It is a mutual organisation with 10,000,000 policy holders...
...Stealing from union treasuries has resulted in prison terms for the offenders just as in the case of stealing from a church box or a store till...
...The alternative is policing by government...
...This process is a long snd costly one...
...Second, snd more important, he agrees with me...
...Labor's "disaffection" with Franklin Roosevelt is something only Mr...
...There are too many cases in which the membership found itself helpless sgainst racketeers to require the laboring of this point...
...By Philip Taft Professor of Economics, Brown University, author of "Economics of Labor...
...The fees, dues, fines and assessments paid into unions by them workers run to many millions of dollars eerh year...
...His position over the years, at least, had all the virtues of consistency The NLBA, however, was sponsored by Senator Wagner with AFL indorsement Under its previsions and administration, organised labor haa become big business...
...The fact is clear and undeniable that trade unions sre and have been for many years thus subject to public regulation...
...That each opposition has grown is aaesrsUndabl* in view of the unprecedented growth «f trade unionism in tha last decade...
...Then the misdeeds of a few unionists become excellent stuff for atrocity tales, for biased editorials...
...With respect to picketing and other union activities, there are civil and criminal laws applicable...
...that they frequently are and can be more often a great stabilizing factor jn society, making for industrial peaee and advancement...
...Ospositioa h> labor union* if to be e> pec ted from ftntr foettonr ef the community whoa* rights, in-|mmhf nan privilegea are limited or challenged by trjaniiad labor...
...The issues do not, however, involve the penal code, but matters of public policy...
...If organized labor refuses or delsys taking vigorous action against racketeers and grafters or Communists, public opinion will demand legislation which will not only strike against these undesirable elements, but will aim regulate and restrict union activity as such, regardless of the wisdom of such legislation...
...If an employer or worker is loath to invoke his rights under civil law, Basra unused law is not the answer to the problem...
...This naturally leads us to the important consideration of suggested solutions for sdmitted snti-soeial practices...
...It is yet risky to dismiss the rising tide of sntagonism as of no concern or importance...
...in to a fret of depreciation for the Now Deal...
...His appeal to the criminal code as proof that adequate means exist to punish malefactors within the labor movement is correct but fails to meet the issue...
...Walamsa's reference to War Labor Board aa-thority ia without importance to the matter at iasse because it ia temporary aad applies to both employer and employees aad without redosvnu* to conduct The authority of the Board arises from so Act ef Congress, October t, IMS, which directed thst wage* aad prices be stabilised and gives authority to th* President to consummate the daairn expressed by tint Congress, substantial difference of opinion exist* with respect to the equity of enforcement of Board orders...
...Under wartime conditions unions have been put into a state of animated suspension and the present clamor for their regulation by law can be in no way a genuine reaction to multiplied instances of misbehavior...
...Waldman's article, for while he implies that wage rates and other conditions of employment should be settled through economic pressures and bargaining, he yet avoids taking this position ex-pHcMry...
...And the public, which constantly suffers from the corrupt unions and from the trend in unions to create needless jobs, to string out work, and to check and control entry into the unions on class, race and even sex lines, will be resdy for serious legislstive action...
...Surely the press affects ths public Interest, and just as surely there sre corrupt, subvened, grafting, arrogant and insolent members of the press...
...It is very regrettable that so many persons believe that collective bargaining Is stifled by the War Labor Board...
...Instead of relying upon the system of self-government by the representatives of labor and management, too many individuals are jockeying for, postwar advantages and are trying to exact conditions which will afford a maximum advantage whan th* war ends...
...They want the restrictions against the violence and the hostility practiced by anti-labor elements removed from the statute books where they have been put as a result of Roosevelt's New Deal...
...It is true that antagonism is not proof of lack of merit or of the need for government regulation...
...Such matters as seniority provisions, layoffs, promotions and the handling of grievances need-never reach the War Labor Board if the representatives of labor and management would both make earnest and intelligent effort* to settle their difference* by negotiation...
...For example, Negroes "sre barred from membership by some of the best administered snd effectively led unions in the United States...
...The "tyranny" which is supposed to exist in union circles is largely a figment of anti-union invention which Mr...
...The Wage Stabilization Act and subsequent Executive Orders do severely restrict collective bargaining, but here, too, labor accept* the principle of stabilization and chafes under the misapplication of th* principle because of fictitious estimates of coat of living and complexities and inaccuracies of wage brackets...
...snd it does not in fact even impede strike* ia essential war industries...
...With respect to contracts between unions and employers, the law of contract applies, and limits and defines the rights of both parties...
...The sufferer is the whole labor movement, especially its weaker sections...
...Any officers convicted of unfsir practices should be debarred from acting personally or by deputy hi matters involving labor relations with, or before, agencies of government or from negotiating anion agreements which include a closed shop or a check off of dues in private industry...
...A union official who does not cater to the membership will not long maintain his power...
...Racial bias and religious restrictions which the lsbor movement combats sre infinitely less prevslent and accepted among organised labor than* among other elements of American society, elements whose customs and prejudices Mr...
...Why then this outburst of talk about making unions amenable to or responsible under the law...
...f It is neither fair nor logical for advocates of additional legislation to cite the opposition or antagonism of certain portions of the...
...As one soldier on lesvs remarked in Waterbury, Connecticut, the ether day, they will not say: "If you please, sir, may I have my job back," but will walk into the factories and say: "Hey, buddy, you've got my job...
...Some comes from those who recognise the extent to which trsde union abuses play into the hands of labor's enemies...
...Largely becsuse of misinformation in the press snd over the radio, as well as becsuse of the corruption of many union leaders and their brutal and shsmeless exploitation of the members of their onions,- there has sriscn s demand, especially in the Army, for rigid regimentation of all unions...
...Without passing on the merits of the "check-off" and "maintenance of membership," it is factual that hundreds of thousands of workers must pay a tax to unions ss a condition of employment This by direction of government in decisions rendered by boards created by Executive order...
...Does Mr...
...Villard has never attended a local meeting or he could not display such complete ignorance of ordinary union practice and existence...
...Will he support restrictive snd regulatory legislation against writers and the press as he does against unions and their members ? The dsy when restrictions are imposed on the press, corrupt snd contemptible as some of its elements may be, will be the day when fascism and tyranny will overwhelm our country...
...d ' . • What is to be done about exorbitant initiation fees, permit fees, dosed books and nepotism ? Unions 'engaging in such practices may not be numerous but they are important...
...that labor unions achieve for workers a measure of economic security otherwise unattainable...
...Waldman would perhaps be on sound ground...
...When s* record consistently show* thst voluntary organisations fail te observe their reeponaibilitiee in the exercise *f their rights aa they relate to the public, then the rheeen representatives of the people invariably legislate to protect the public interest...
...In the interest of Mttar understanding, h*»-ever, it might be well to dJetfaffalsh and separate ha aig amen to sgainst regulation and bin substantia] agreement with my paoitisa lemg antes stated...
...What eaw.be done about the absence of democracy in a number of unions...
...Waldman has cited many of them...
...On the other hand, there are those who believe thst free, self-governing unions are a bulwark of democracy...
...By Louis Waldman Author of "Labor Lawyer...
...In the matter of-practical suggestions to this end Mr...
...While there are penalties against bribery and extortion, it is extremely difficult to get action against racketeers in a labor unions...
...There is little which government regulation can do that education and self-discipline will not do batter...
...His thesis ia a positive one: Unions mutt be.regulated...
...The lsbor movement has no responsibility to rid the world of sin or to punish crime, but it can and must clean its own house as a requirement for future rtrr-vivtA and a continuance of its commendable contrib*-tion to the social and economic advancement ef people it represents...
...Samuel Gempers took the position that what government gives, government can taker away...
...Its gains in wsges, improved working conditions and size of union membership will compare favorably with any period in our history...
...If we effectively pot oar own boas* in order sad aee oar own members to edacats their neighbors, we need hove no fosr ef fame witnesses against as...
...Friend as 1 am of the decent union* and fully aware aa I sm of their Urge number and importance, I atill believe that the movement will no more clean house itself than Franklin Roosevelt will drive the Hsgues and Kellys snd other political booses out of the Democratic Psrty so king ss he csn profit by his hypocritical and despicable association with them...
...He is content to point to "existing lsws sgainst corruption, rscketeer-ing, graft and extortion," which is rather naive for s lawyer familiar with recent court decisions in labor matters and in the factual absence of lsws dealing with rsckets snd graft per se...
...If abases were limited to racketeering, Mr...
...There is every sign that veterans will insist on union control...
...By Samuel Wotchok fr\ ahfaill, United Kttmil and WheUealt Department Store Employee...
...Their conclusion Is that labor unions ought to be stimulated rather than hindered, and that legislation subjecting labor unions to further regulation is neither necessary ear desirable, whether from the standpoint of labor or tha public interest...
...Unfortunately the individuals in the union movement who play into the hands of this propaganda are not those that feel the impact of the attack...
...It is yet important to recognize that labor has fared exceedingly well under the arrangement...
...The right to strike is now enmeshed in the complications of rod tape and procedure under the Smith-Connelly Act...
...Waldman's silence is impressive...
...ONE of the self appointed friends of labor Is Oswald Garrison Villard, a professional if not always practicing liberal, whose friendship for labor, platonic though it is, is of the kind we aak God to save ua from...
...Waldman and othera to debar snti-soeial and lawless element...
...The relatively small nucleus of competent leader* and members is swamped by the multiplicity and eorrfu*(»* ef wartime burdens...
...the National War Labor Board not only regulates the wages psyable to working men, regsrdless of whst their trade unions msy be able to gain for them otherwise, but it also supervises the terms snd conditions of employment with regard to matters such as seniority, layoff, dnes, promotions...
...This is unavoidable, although it is to be deplored...
...The fsct that these lsws have been declared unconstitutional in practically every case where they could be brought to a test is not mentioned by Mr...
...They are no more corrupt and probably much less so than the rest of the community...
...This is not unknown...
...It is no longer a group of isolated organizations operating in the peripheral sectors of the economy, but a vast network of unions extending to every important industry...
...No amount of regulation, except perhaps outright emasculation, or laws that will legislate unions out af existence, will satisfy »m« critic...
...That can hardly be a good reason for regulating the unions...
...With such persons, necessarily and inevitably, the opposite conclusion is reached...
...Certainly, in labor unions as in other components of society, specific evils or abuses arise from time to thaa which require particular measures or remedy...
...They believe that labor unions perform an important social function ia lifting the masses of society to a higher and better standard of Ufa...
...Organised labor should, therefore, orient its position and face the facts in this matter of government-labor collaboration...
...Labor and its friends realize this and should meet the issue intelligently and ably...
...After all, the labor movement bat reflects the morals, the principles and standard* of eon* duet of the American people as a whole...
...Tha outcry is definitely a move in an anti-union campaign for postwar consumption...
...How can the membership regain control over their union once it has boon taken over by an aggressive and ruthless leadership...
...It represents also a determination of the soldiers to get their jobs back...
...What Mr...
...He, however, fails to realize that the United States is not composed of partisans of organized labor on one side and its bitter enemies on the other...
...I suggest thst he apply the isms measure he Inflicts on union workers to the practitioners of his own craft...
...These wartime restraints are supplementary to the normal restraints to which labor unions, like all bodies and orgsnizations in our complex society, are subject Relations within unions snd between unions, employers and the public sre regulated by the civil and criminal law...
...We would he foolish to smart thst we are without fault...
...that they alone enable workers to bargain on equal terms with their employers...
...It would be equally foolish to denounce the demands indiscriminately, or to be fearful of tha outcome, or to ignore the menace to our free institutions...
...Union officials sre never ss high handed as the grafting cop who clubs workers on the picket lines or the hired sheriffs who shoot strikers and drive their representatives out of town...
...The small percentage of stoppages' aa contrasted with the vast number of factories and other linea of employment in which there has been no stoppage at any time, haa not been brought out by anybody with sufficient suthority to check the "pstriotic" attacks upon the so-celled "union traitors...
...In the main, and particularly in the CIO and the Brotherhoods, tha labor unions are democratic to the core...
...A number of states pass outrageous and discriminatory lsws againat American working people and their trade organisations, therefore outrageous and discriminatory laws sre just snd proper...
...Labor leaders are certainly less arrogant and insolent than industrial tycoons...
...Wa knew of the Browns, tha Bioffs, tha Realists, but they represent bat aa infinitesimal part of th* trad* union leadership aa a whole...
...Legislation which would strengthen the democratic forces in the lsbor movement would ultimately strengthen organized labor...
...Not svsn that greet "friend of labor" Franklin Roosevelt has found the time to tell the story factually over the radio in an endeavor to have full justice done to the great majority of workera and to head off the conflict between labor and Army bound to ensue if the soldiers come back after the war in their present bitter frsme of mind...
...Should a union engage in an illegal strike or in some violation of contract, it is subject to an action in damages or for an injunction, and many a union has realized this fact the hard way...
...Even in cases where the criminal statutes have been and are being violated, it is not an easy mstter for the membership to get sction...
...Villard, the "friend" of labor, accepts as fact ? * » TllE whole assumption that unions are not subject to law snd therefore require special legislation to "regulate" them is, of course, one of the stupendous fictions of anti-labor propaganda...
...They want not legislation, but sanctions against the unions...
...First, the remedies of the union must be exhausted, and only then can an appeal be ssade...
...Pretty much everything else haa been regulated, the men will declare that now* it's labor's turn...
...Rigorous scrutiny is unavoidable, and if necessary for the public good, regulation will follow...
...Many of these men hsve personally experienced labor autocracy and exploitation, have seen at first-hand ths corruption, the needless jobs, ths economic wsstes, the extravagant salaries psid to lesders who hsve piled up fortunes...
...Is the final analysis, doesn't it all com* down to taw's attitude toward trade unionism and it* function and phw* in our modern industrial civilization T If it p assumed that trade unions arc oppressive monopolies, shat their leaders are self-seeking demagogues or grafters, the conclusion is inevitable that they ought pa he restricted and regulated by law to the extent that a union's every act become subject to the careful aBrattay and direction of a government probation or panes officer in the manner of a paroled convict or a criminal suspect...
...To this end I suggested a plan for consideration snd amendment to those who are not too cowardly or vensl to face the facts and do something more important than deal in vague generalities snd go on record as being opposed to sin...
...The agency may require personal appearances of the officers involved, demsnd copies of union constitution and by-laws, together with statement ef all finances germene to the complaint at issue...
...His liberalism is as curious snd1 puzzling as his friendship, for it is so expansive and undiscrimmating that it can go both into a fever of admiration for the Nasi system and...
...But In the light of our experiences with government* In the past, we say "No Regulation...
...Not all the advocacy of trade union regulation comes from lsbor's enemies...
...Move over and out now...
...It therefore behooves the responsible segments of the movement to stop insisting on absolute union autonomy and to sccept external control—control by the central authority in the movement...
...The heat is kindled by malice and fear but fuel is supplied by ignorance of the purposes of labor unions and by inexperience within the rqnks of labor...
...The irresponsibility of finance ss represented by Wall Street snd the industrisl practices of certain corporations led to public reaction which affected all employers snd banks without reference to merits...
...He does not ask whether it U just er necessary to impose restrictive legislation on the trade unions...
...You will note that there are no ifs or huts about this title...
...t T is impossible for me to take issue with the posi-I tion of Louis Wsldman in the matter of trade union regulation for two compelling reasons: First, he is my friend...
...One of every three or four American workers it a member of a trade union, and the percentage of unionists in the armed...
Vol. 27 • September 1944 • No. 36
