Show Fighting Words The Textile Workers Union of Amer America ca recently asked that President Johnson issue an executive or- or order order der banning the award of government contracts to toan toan an important supplier of vitally needed defenso inn ma- materials tennis The Tho reason t A standing long controversy between the union and the tho company HappilY the Chairman of the tho House Honse Armed Services Committee ill in Washington Democrat L Mendel Rivers is both a patriot and a fighter The Tho Congressional Record for Juno June 20 carries some omo fighting words by tine the Congressman which jump jumpoff jumpoff off the page to remind us how precariously intertwined inter inter- intertwined twined are aro battles being fought hero here at home and andin in Vietnam I would like said Rep Rivers to bring to the tho attention of the tho Congress what I consider the real story behind the current controversy be- be between tween the tho National Labor Relations Board the tho CIO OIO and J P Stevens Co Inc one of the country's largest textile firms By way of review let mo me saY briefly that this controversy began in 1963 1063 with witha a massive effort on the part of a group of unions to organize the plants of Stevens It is not my purpose to argue here to today ay the tho merits of this controversy Let mo 1110 just say that in elections held in eight Stevens plants employ employ- COB cos have voted against the union in each and every everyone ono one of these elections In one of these plants the NLRB ordered a rerun election the employ employ- employees ees cos went to the polls and voted the w union on down by bya bya a margin twice as largo as before This case caso has been argued in two US dis- dis district district courts and the US court pf of appeals as the union and the NLRB sought an injunction against the company Each one of these courts refused to issue such an injunction I to unequivocally individual say you ou anY or group that asks the tho Federal Government to withhold contracts for vitalI vitally needed war materials mater mater- from n a com company pan simply because it has been found hr by the NLRB to be in violation of th Federal In labor 1 01 lair is acting irresponsibly and and without any aur thought for the welfare of our Arm Arm- Armed Armed ed Forces This is merely a desperate attempt by tho CIO Council to gain b by fiat from our Gov bargaining authority which it has not been boen able to Will in secret ballot elections Critical supplies an and equipment for Vietnam are involved ill in this front home fight Congressman Riv- Riv Rivers livers ers thinks that our sol soldiers iel's take tako priority over labor bosses We 0 agree |