Show I ITHE THE VOICE OF BUSINESS Secondary boycotts wrong here as well as there By ny L L. L Lesher Chamber of or Commerce of or the he United States Stales What's wrong with the boycott of oC Israel by some Arab states stales in the Middle East Politics and arid religion aside the problem is that a secondary boycott is involved That is the boycotting powers are not simply refusing to trade with Israel Israel which is their prerogative they are tire also trying to prevent third parties from Crom trading with Israel third parties not included in the dispute It is this this- conversion into hos hostages of oC innocent third parties that makes the secondary boycott morally reprehensible In recognition of this point Congress is currently seeking ways to prevent US U.S. firms from being used by foreign governments as pawns In international politics I SALUTE our legislators in their pursuit of principle I hope lope however that they can find some way to resolve the problem without making life liCe harder still for Cor the hostages American businesses trading overseas I f wonder too how a practice that is correctly viewed as immoral on the International scene can undergo a miraculous moral rehabilitation when it comes home Such a transformation transformation tran tran- must be contemplated contemplated con con- because Congress is eagerly considering legislation that would permit the construction construction construction con con- trad trades S 'S unions to use a type of secondary y boycott WHAT THE TILE unions s want is the right to shut down an entire construction project when one union has a beef with one subcontractor If the plumbers for example struck the plumbing contractor they could picket the site and keep out the employees of the electrical contractor the mechanical contractor the roofing contractor contractor contractor con con- tractor the insulating contractor contractor contractor con con- tractor etc This practice known as common situs silus picketing is presently Illegal But a law to permit it was passed by the last Congress and stopped only by President Fords Ford's veto Now the unions have the Congress they paid for in the last election as aswell aswell aswell well as a President who has pledged to sign a common situs silus bill when it reaches readies his desk Under these conditions only a massive public outcry could stop it Since we Americans tend not notto notto notto to get excited until actually faced with the costs of a new law I am not too optimistic But you should know that the costs of oC this one arc are likely to be heavy If a common situs law is passed Any union at a construction site could shut down operations to force a nonunion contractor off the job thus eliminating independent competition with union wage rates and work ru rules s. s Most minority contractors are nonunion They would therefore suffer r disproportionately t ely Trades union wage rates which are already among the thel l highest in the nation would go higher Hourly wages now average 1146 1140 including fringes and most of these people work a full Cull year Not only would construction construction con con- housing costs go up because of oC higher wage demands but other costs would rise too With added power the unions could prevent the use of oC saving cost-saving techniques The unions probably have the raw political power to get their common situs law enacted raw power is necessary they'd never make it on the merits of the case But might seldom makes right It will be interesting to watch your congressman handle these two issues See if he votes to condemn international secondary boycotts as morally wrong then votes voles to permit them domestically as politically expedient |