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Show THE SEARCHLIGHT oO the Copper’s Labor Policy~ (Continued ‘Independent’? from preceding at the open page) pit mine at Bing- ham. Foremen and Company officials actively cooperated in the organization of the new and more elaborate Snipe Hunt. Members of. legitimate union organizations were systematically discriminated against. Company union employees were given most of the breaks. A sample of the coercion used by the Company against legitimate union activities may seen in the following excerpt from an ployee’s affidavit: be em- The Copper foreman said: “You are just sore at the union.” “What union?” asked the employee. “The Independent union, and if you know when you are well off you will cut out talking like you do. You are being watched and followed around here. The first thing you know you will be going down the hill after your time. This God-damned ganging up around here has got to stop.” Complaints to the National Labor Relations Board brought tion. Following investigation each after inquiry investiga- into Copper methods, Doug Moffat agreed to be a good boy and behave himself. He posted the notices required by NLRB through the Copper area informing his employees that the Company would not interfere with the right of employees to organize But Doug bona fide labor immediately would lapse after into unions. posting his notices nose-thumb- ing at the National Labor Relations Board by newing the tactics he had agreed to abandon. tient Government officials went through farce four or five times. It got to be a game strip poker with Doug. He got a whale of a rePathat like kick out of it. the Federal authorities tired of the monkey business and summoned the ‘‘Employees General Committee’? at Bingham, the ‘“Independent Association of Mine Workers’? at Bingham, and the ‘‘Independent Association of The Mill Workers’’ at the Magna-Arthur mills into a hearing before a Federal trial examiner. The ‘hearing lasted nearly three weeks. At its conclusion the examiner’s report to Relations Board recom- trial examiner also recommended to the Board that Utah Copper Company be required to refund the dues its Snipe Hunt had collected from the victimized employees. However, when NLRB issued its order of dis-estab- lishment of the three Company Unions on February 20, 1945, it failed to require the Company to refund the dues collected from employees by Doug’s fake ‘‘labor’’ organizations. But Doug was not satisfied. He attempted to circumvent the orders of NLRB. He eaused the Copper Company and the mis-ealled ‘‘Independent Association of Mill Workers’’ to sign a joint application before the Nonferrous Metals Commission at Denver asking permission for the Company to raise wages 25e a day. The schemers reasoned that if the Commis- sion or the War Labor Board would accept the joint application, the order of NLRB would be nullified effectively, and could be flouted with impunity. The Snipe Hunts would be given a new lease on life. They could continue the pretense of bargaining for Copper employees while Doug would in keep the NLRB order court for several years. of dis-establishment But the Nonferrous Metals Commission refused to hear the joint application. It indicated, however, that it would tion to an application signed Company—but give considera- only by the Utah would not consider any application signed by the Company Union. Commission made it it clear would The not be a party to any pretense that the ‘‘ Independent Association of Mill Workers’’ represented emplovees of Utah Copper Company. Thereupon Moffat and Damron went into a huddle unless Finally Labor mended dis-establishment of all three Company Unions—the two at Bingham and the so-called ‘‘Independent Association of Mill Workers’? at Magna-Arthur. Copper such cynical National should and the emerged Nonferrous back down and with a threat to strike Metals Commission recognize the Company Union as the bargaining agent for employees at the Magna-Arthur mills. In the end it was Doug Moffat and the Company Union that backed down. When they finally discovered that the United States Government refused to be coerced into disavowing its own decisions, and would use the Army to The enforce its orders, the plot collapsed. Company Union died a second death. |