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Show LESSONS WHICH THE WAR TAUGHT INDUSXRY-b-ch p. swee Sr exactly the same procedure up to the point of rendering its decision or, as the board calls it, award. At tbut point the procedure switched to this extent: that instead of an award a "finding" was rendered. The lirst step toward the securing of maximum production by assuring ppaee in industry was the effort of the representatives of capital and labor to agree upou the fundamental funda-mental principles upon which industrial government gov-ernment should be administered. The very fact that capital and labor met for this purpose pur-pose committed capital and labor to the principle that a constitution was as necessary neces-sary a basis for industrial government as it was for political government, and the ses- Copyrlsht. 11110, with employes or representatives engaged in said establishments, the continuance of such conditions shall not be deemed a grievance. This declaration, bow-ever, bow-ever, is not intended In any manner to deny the right or discourage the practice prac-tice of the formation of labor uuiont or tiie joining of the same by the work-, work-, ers in said establishments, as guaranteed guaran-teed in the preceding section, nor tc prevent the war labor board from urging or any umpire from granting, under the machinery herein provided, improvement of their situation in the matter of wages, hours of labor, or other conditions as shall be found desirable from time to time. Established safeguards and regulations regula-tions for the protection of the health and safety of workers shall not be relaxed. by Public Ledger Co. other conditions prevailing in the localities locali-ties affected. The Living Wage. First. The right of all workers, Including In-cluding common laborers, to a living wage is hereby declared. Second. In fixing wages, minimum rates of pay shall be established which will insure the subsistence of the worker and his family in health and reasonable comfort. ON" APRIL S, 191S, President Wilson officially offi-cially approved the principles and since that day they have been the basis of our industrial judicialism. On that same day the President created the war labor board. held to the agreement betwetn capital and labor and the consequence was the commandeering com-mandeering of the Smith & Wesson plant by order of the President. In the course of a year the war labor board not only performed a prodigious amount of work 500 hearings of fact were held but it built up a mass of industrial law in its application and interpretation of the various clauses of the industrial constitution. con-stitution. This law, recently digested by a staff of legal and economic experts employed em-ployed by the board, should commend itself to the serious study of employers and workers. In every case where the evidence showed an absence of methods by which the workers fwT BE CAREFUL AiOT To STUB sx LS nEr Icjr Toes on those rdck.s; W 0T BOARD fTplj YCmt-DREN . VES, AMD KEBP j YL& s fj mllE employers and workers of the United 1 States may now reckon as to the good and rhe evil of industrial judicialism. For wa hve had a year of it, and the time has 8-r'ived'to conclude that it has been good or that it hasn't that it merits continuation ,s' on instrument of permauent industrial f lability or that it shall be scrapped ns a mere expedient of war. J Washington the feeling is qnite general that industrial judicialism in other words the function performed by the national war bbr board will be perpetuated in oua form or another. The theory upon which the war labor board, or industrial judicialism, has existed is that the operation of industry is a neces-jary' neces-jary' public service and that whatever threatens to disturb its operation becomes a matter of direct public interest and concern. con-cern. That was the attitude of President Wilson and of the secretary of labor when they asked capital and labor to join with the government in an agreement looking to ceaseless production of materials ..necessary . to the armed forces. Production for the armed forces, of course Involved, either directly or indirectly, virtually vir-tually every industry in the country. In accordance with the presidential request, capital and labor met to work out a basis upon which they could carry on without ftril.es and without lockouts. Achievement of this result required two things : First, agreement upon certain fundamental principles prin-ciples or guarantees for the government of industrial relations ; and, second, provision of a means by which disputes could be adjusted ad-justed in accordance with these principles - before they resulted in strikes or lockouts, and consequently in lost production. The country knows, in a general way, that all of this was done. The future will undoubtedly regard the experience as one of the most important im-portant phases of our participation in the war. Some regard it as much more than an aspect of our war-making, 'however, hold-in? hold-in? it to be a stage in our economic history ; in fact, the signal for a new industrial era ' the era of co-operation. Hut. however history may view it, we ourselves are beginning to remark signifi-tantly signifi-tantly upon the fact that the war forced us " to find a basis for industrial peace. And in the next breath we seek an answer to this paradoxical xpiestiou : But was the peace only for the war? IX THE United States today there are ap- proximately 1000 employers or employing companies and approximately three-quarters r of a million workers whose opinions as to ;! Industrial judicialism are valuable. They jr me valuable because, whatever they are, i; . they were formed after direct contact with :: ft. For these employers and workers were directly involved in controversies adjudicated 4 by the war labor board. The exact figures, -r op to date, are as follows : Number of establishments directly affected li0S4 Number of workers directly af-fected af-fected : ,v Industrial plants 600,495 Street railway cases $0,271 :: These figures are exclusive, of course, of r such establishments and groups of workers 'j adjustments in whose relations were made outside of court, so to speak, but upon the basis of the war labor board's decision in similar establishments or in the same localities. The number of plants and work-',' work-',' ers thus indirectly affected .can, of course, only be estimated, but a conservative esti-' esti-' mate by officials of the war labor boarrt " places the number of workers at more than 2,oo.noo. " During the year of the war labor board's existence there were one hundred and thirty -)-' eight strikes averted, or called off, as a ;t result of its intervention. This intervention consisted merely of suggesting to contending parties that they pool their differences, get - hack to work and let the war labor board 'r be their guidiug counsel. Where a strike actually existed the board refused to take jurisdiction until the men returned to work. Iu the vast majority of cases the responses i. ; ,0 'he board's suggestion were mutually and "n- immediately affirmative. With only a half "jf dozen exceptions, no strike during the war s. lasted more than forty -eight hours. Wlieu both the employer and the workers 'o a particular controversy agreed to abide hy the decision of the war labor board jjj the hoard proceeded at once to get the facts, f, by public heariugs. conducted generally by thoroughly qualified examiners, and by in- vestigations iu the field. When all of the tf. facts were obtaiued the case was taken up by a Bo-called "section" of the board one ii. employer and one labor leader who en-(t en-(t , deavored to reach a decision. A decision 'X'. reached, the complete board confirmed it. If jjc the section could not agree, the complete ,,;: board tried to. If it failed, the case was j.,: thrown to one of ten "umpires" selected by ji: the Presideut to meet such emergencies. ;:, : u cases where but one party to a contro-6 contro-6 wi-sy originally sought the offices of the ;s : board and the other party declined to sub- H 1011 i's arbitration, the board followed I being that organized labor gave up the striks, gave up efforts to close shops to all but union men, and capital gave up its antagonism antagon-ism to unionism and agreed to a form of industrial government thnt provided tha workers a voice in the determination of coa- ditions under which they toiled. And, so, in hundreds of its decisions, th war labor board has said : The principles upon which the national war labor board is founded guarantee the right to employes to organize and to bargain collectively, and there shall be no discrimination or coercion directed against proper activities of this kind. Employes in the exercise of their right to organize shall not use coercive measures of any kind to compel persons to join their unions, nor to induce employers to bargain or deal I with their unions. As the right of workers to bargain collectively Ihrouch committees has been recognized by the board, the company com-pany shall recognize and deal with such committees after tbev have been constituted consti-tuted by the employes. The matters which the board at differen times stipulated as proper for determination by the workers through the committee system sys-tem include classification of occupations, wages, hours and overtime, working and sanitary conditions, holidays, weekly work periods, piecework rates, payment for special services, establishment of apprentice systems, sys-tems, etc. In several important cases 'the board classified occupations, a difficult undertaking. In one case, that of the Corn Products Company, Com-pany, the work was done by the ndminis- trator. Sam Evans. Classification involves the separation of each individual task in a plant, establishment of rates of pay for it, relating it to other tasks and, iu brief, giving to each piece of work au individual status. The Corn Products classification advanced pay rates nearly a million dollars a year. But it proved such an accelerator of efficiency and production that the company officials said.it was well worth the money. The company could uot have arbitrarily classified the plant without incurring much bitterness and misunderstanding on the part of the workers. Put when the wru'isers had a voice and were accorded equal bearing and consideration through their committees tha operation was smoothly accomplished. Tha' result is a harmonious understanding between be-tween management and men, which means greater efficiency and larger production. The board gave a close ear to questions affecting the health and safety of workers. Iu the case of the Northern Indiana Gas and Electric Company it ordered the company to furnish to the workers the necessary rubber appliances to protect them in case of high voltage and to furnish rubber coats and boots to the workers in bad weather. It has insisted in-sisted that safety appliances conforming to recognized state and federal standards should be maintained and adequate sanitary and toilet facilities provided. THROUGHOUT its decisiouj the board protected the rights of women in industry to equal pay for equal work aud to freedom from tasks disproportionate to their strength. With respect to the fixation of minimum wares, that for women was made lower than that for meu, but when men aud women did the same work, their pay was to be equal. It also ruled that colored women should receive equal pay to that received by while - women for equal work. It set its face against dismissals of women because they were women, and demanded good aud sufficient suffi-cient cause for dismissals. This, in the case of the Cleveland railways, was directed against the carmen's union, which objected to couductorcttes. The women remained on the cars by order of the board. Although committed to the principle of the eight-hour day where law required it, the board never came to a determination of a uniform working day for the country at large. Thus, the hope of the labor movement move-ment that the war would universalize tha eight-hour day has not materialized. Tha war labor board, however, in several cases applied a forty-eight hour week, divided into six days of eight hours each, adding "all time worked iu excess of eight hours within any one day or forty-eight hours withiu any one full week, shall be considered overtime and shall be paid for at the rate of time aud a half; but any time worked on Suuilajs or holidays shall be coiyidereil extra time and shall be paid for at the rate of double time. With respect to wages, the awards of the war labor board resulted in ndvaucementa of payrolls by hundreds of millions of dollars. dol-lars. These increases, however, would in greut measure have hail to be made anyhow. The important thing the board did iu the matter of compensation was to establish a minimum wage below which no worker could be retained iu employment. For men this minimum was fixed in most cases at forty cents au hour, aud applied to all over tho age of twenty-one years. For women it v, as generally thirty-live cuts an hour ami applied ap-plied to all over eighteen years of age. The foregoing conveys an impression of the vast work of the war labor board during dur-ing the war. The board is now virtually ; dead. P.ut the question remains as t9 '" whether the lesson it lias taught during waf will profit industry during pence. sions of employers and labor leaders, presided pre-sided over by William Howard Taft and Frank P. Walsh, representing the public, might well be called our first industrial constitutional con-stitutional convention. Out of that effort came the first industrial constitution. It reads': PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES TO GOVERN RELATIONS BETWEEN WORKERS AND EMPLOYERS IN. WAR INDUSTRIES FOR THE DURATION OF THE WAR. There should be no strikes or lockouts lock-outs during the vcar. Right to Organize. The right of workers to organize in trade unions and to bargain collectively through choseu representatives is recognized recog-nized and affirmed. This right shall not be denied, abridged or interfered with by the employers in any manner whatsoever. The right of employers to organize in associations or groups and to bargain collectively through choseu representatives representa-tives is recognized aud affirmed. This right shall not be denied, abridged or interfered with by the workers in any manner whatsoever. Employers should not discharge workers for membership in trade unions, nor for legitimate trade-union activities. The workers, in the exercise of their right to organize, should not use coercive measures of any kind to induce in-duce persons to join their organizations nor to induce employers to bargain or deal therewith. Existing Conditions. In establishments where the union shop exists the same should continue, and the union standards as to wages, hours of labor and other conditions of employment shall be maintained. In "establishments where union and nonunion men and women now work together and the employer meets only Women in Industry. If it shall become necessary to employ em-ploy women on work ordinarily performed per-formed by men, they must be allowed equal pay for equal work and must not be allotted tasks disproportionate to their strength. Hours of Labor. The basic eight-hour day is recog-- recog-- nized as applying in all cases in which existing law requires it. In all other cases the question of hours of labor shall be settled w-ith due regard to governmental govern-mental necessities and the welfare, health and proper comfort of the workers. work-ers. Maximum Production. The maximum production of all war industries should be maintained, and methods of work and operation on the part of employers or workers which operate to delay or limit production, or which have a tendency to artificially increase in-crease the cost thereof, should be discouraged. dis-couraged. 'Mobilization of Labor. For the purpose of mobilizing the labor supply with a view to its rapid and effective distribution, a permanent list of the numbers of skilled and other workers available in different parts of the country shall be kept on tile by the Department of Labor, the information to be constantly furnished First. By trade unions. Second. By state. employment bureau aud federal agencies of like character. Third. By the managers and operators of industrial establishments throughout the country. These ageucies shall be given opportunity op-portunity to aid in the distribution of labor as necessity demands. Custom of Localities. In fixing wages, hours and conditions of labor regard should always be had to the labor standards, wage scales aud composed of the same men who bad framed this code of industrial law, for the purpose of administering it. Scattered throughout the governmental establishment were many other boards and agencies dealing with the labor problem, but their jurisdictions were confined withiu specified limits. Thus, the labor problem in coal mining was handled by a separate fcgeucy of the fuel administration. The wage adjustment board of the Emergency ;Fleet Corporation administered the labor affairs of the shipyards. The railroad administration ad-ministration had its own division of labor. Industrial relations in the packing industry were subject to the general directiou of Judge Alschuler, of Clficago, the federal administrator. In the War Department a number of divisions werfc dealing with the human problems in ordnance manufacture, in the clothing industry, etc. But the war labor board was uncoufined by trade or industrial limits. While the above named agencies relieved it of concern in their respective fields it was in reality the supreme court of all industry, aud early in its career it asserted its supremacy in questions of industrial law by declaring void a decision of the United States Supreme Court, which had upheld the right of employers em-ployers to exact from wrorkers individual contracts signing away their right to join a labor union. The decision in question was that iu the case of Hitchman Coal and Coke Company versus Mitchell, 245, U. S. 220. It was upon that decision of the highest tribunal that the Smith & Wesson Company based its refusal to comply with a finding of the war labor board, condemning the individual indi-vidual contract as a form of discrimination contrary to the first clause of the industrial constitution. But the war labor board might deal as groups with the employer, the board restated the principle of collective bargaining bar-gaining and in its award directed an administrator admin-istrator to apply the law. Subsequently, in hundreds of plants "industrial elections" - ere held. Workers cast their ballots for shop committeemen and plnnt committeemen, and the employers were required to meet with these committees when they were formed. Thus, a measure of industrial democracy came out of the war. Collective bargaining, although not yet universally applied, is so firmly established and so rapidly spreading throughout the country that it will in a short time be the general rule. THE agreement by capital and labor upon the right of collective bargaining represented repre-sented a compromise by both sides. Labor, of course, would prefer the closed union shop. Capital has been opposed to the union shop or the recognition of the existence exist-ence of unions. The two extremes met for agreement, not disagreement. The employers said, in effect: "We will deal(with our workers, but we will not deal with business agents of unions." Labor said, iu effect: "Will you recognize the right of the workers to organize and will you cease all practices intended to prevent pre-vent them from joining trade unions?" "We will," said capital, "if you will agree to surrender the strike weapon during the war." "We will agree to that," said labor, "if you w-ill agree to the right of workers to organize in plant groups, select committees from among their number, and if you will agree to deal with these committees as the representatives of the whole group of workers." So they came to agreement, the result x Vh ""Lewi,, k s , j VI v v - i N s . - , Bl j n v s ' " - ts n " frv ?,,. f - ' ' 'j, i ' '.....:. ?"? ' ..;''-- - .I f..:;-r-, .- -5s...-; . - S: - ' ' ., . . )f t. V t ...v :. :L-::-::.-yr.!j e w. ; , v-..: t. "... y ..... - is:3KMi.i....a ' rw,i - ... :. . ; .. t-'l "THE SUPREME COURT OF INDUSTRY" THE NATIONAL WAR LABOR BOARD rJ. ' Standing. In the rear, are Fred Hewitt, editor of the Machinists' Journal; William Harman Black, of New York, and Frederick N. Judson, of St. Louis, alternate chairmen, and H. H. Rice, vice president of the General Motors Company. :' vv ?ither fi9ures shown in the above photograph, from left to right, are Jchn J. Manning, of the Brotherhood of Carpenters; T. M. Guerin, of the same organization; Matthew Woll, president of the Photo Engravers' Union;' Adam Wilkinson, vice president of the United Mine Workers of America; William H. Johnston, president of the International Association of Machinists; Frank P. Walsh, former joint chairman, who has been succeed-d by Basil M Manly 'william Howard Taft, Joint chal rmari j Loyall A. Osbornc vice president of the Westinghouse Electric Company! C. E. Michael, president of the Viiginia Bridge and I 'on Companyj W. H. VanDervoort, president of the Vanflervoort &. Rice Engineering Co " c- A- Crocker, of the Crockcr-McEwan Company, paper manufacturers, and C. W. Marati, prr-iltn.t of the Pittsburgh Pneumatic Tube Company "'' |