| Show Bru charts washington digest time f for or showdown in labor situation Is not far distant serious reaction follows attitude of NLRB public also resentful of conditions caused by union leaders leade rs inquiry mav bare startling facts by WILLIAM BRUCKART service national press washington D C washington there is every indication that the labor situation in this country government policies labor union policies employer atti tude is fast approaching a new tangle A reaction has set in on the part of the public to certain phases of the roosevelt tra tion s earlier but not necessarily the current policies likewise la bor union leadership has produced certain conditions that are not find ing public support and there are still some employers who continue to make fools of themselves by follow ing eighteenth century methods I 1 have suggested in these columns previously that the national labor relations board was riding for a fall it was riding too high there was bound to be a serious reaction the board s arrogance unfairness over bearing attitude its general con tempt for anyone disagreeing with its conclusions were elements tain to lead to an eventual show down the time of that showdown seems not far distant it is likely that the board and its staff of ism controlled theorists will pay a heavy price for failure to use common sense and adopt a judicial view point the same type of mentality as that which jeopardizes the pies ples of the national labor relations act also has caused a blowup in the wages and hours division of the la bor department the division which administers the year old law limit mg ing hours of work and prescribing minimum wages administrator el mer F andrews was the goat and he had to resign no one ably ever will know whether it was foolhardiness on the part of mr an drews or the treachery of his sub ordinates that brought about the ex but explode it did and as a result col phillip fleming is in the job of wage and hour adminis without benefit of senate con fir mation of his appointment al though the senate is in session lewis and green warfare shows no signs of letup let up no cessation of the warfare be tween john L lewis C 1 I 0 and william green s A F of L is fore seen the lewis faction of organ iced labor continues to do a lot of things that do not fit into the picture of americanism despite a strong denial by mr lewis that comma fists are in key positions mr green s organization is building up a magnificent record of fighting within itself one craft is pitted against another here there and ev ery where with the result that peo pie generally are getting pretty tired of having to wait to get work done because carpenters and bricklayers for example both go on strike over the question of which one shall do particular work the unhappy labor board has few defenders any more for a long time the board its attorneys and investigators were commonly re carded as an adjunct of the lewis labor union surely there was ground for such belief by the ad missions that came from time to time coupled with consistent and concerted attacks by leaders of the A F of L wherever it was feces sary to make a choice between lew is followers and green supporters it was an odds on bet that the lewis group s contention would be sus bained all of this was followed ultimately by an attack from the C 1 I 0 on he the functions of the board that happened lapp ened at the annual C 1 I 0 con bention and came from mr lewis no 0 o one seems to know the real rea soi so and now the labor board is con rented fronted with an investigation by a special committee of the house of representatives it is by far the most serious effort to bring to light the processes that the board has used the influences that have been active within its personnel or that have bave operated upon its personnel if f one may judge in advance of any congressional inquiry the current inquiry is likely to produce rea conclusions expected to examaire facts and then propose a remedy the house committee is headed by y rep howard smith a virginia democrat who long has been noted for fairness As far as his record goes I 1 believe it can be said that mr ir smith has seldom been anti or pro on any question without first having facts with him on the committee are representatives hea ley of massachusetts and murdock of arizona democrats and halleck of indiana and of ohio republicans mr healey is about the only member of the group who can be suspected of leaning violently one way or the other mr healey s record marks him as a new dealer an on nearly all occasions sometimes without too much reason I 1 have heard mr halleck praised for his fairness any number of times in house debate and the commenda com menda tion has come as much from demo brats as from the republicans so there is every indication that the investigation will be of the type that examines the facts and then proposes a remedy much evidence has been gathered and will serve as the basis for further inquiry some of it is reported to be of a sensational character but it is not mr smith s idea that the commit tee is operating solely to make newspaper headlines among other things the house committee has sent out question baires to hundreds of employers hundreds of labor leaders of both factions of unionism and local bials such as police chiefs and oth ers charged with law enforcement the purposes of the questions are rather obvious with the statements from all of these sources the corn cittee believes it can sift out much chaff from rumors complaints counter charges and propaganda further the committee wants to as certain whether there is evidence that the board itself had any con lection with labor disturbances and if so which of its personnel was in evolved may uncover facts that will startle legislators copies of records in nearly all of the board s hearings are being ex by the committee staff board decisions have been under fire many many times it seems to have been the rule rather than an exception that the board was willing always to listen to C 1 I 0 attorneys and almost never pay at to alleged facts which em players or others tried to submit from this source alone there is every reason to believe the corn com cittee will uncover enough abuse of power to stun the legislators who fought for passage of a law which the administration described as per feet in any event if the principle of the labor relations act is to sur vive and become a workable part of governmental interference in rela eions between worker and employ er it seems that the smith commit tee must produce the proper basis concerning the wages and hours bureaucracy however there is less optimism that a sound solution can be found colonel fleming is tak ing over the job with feeling among all types of partisans at fever heat that is a handicap mr andrews went in with wishes of good luck but he had to administer and en force a law that was loosely drawn a principle untried As in the case of labor board personnel either through his own mistakes or be cause nutty individuals were forced upon him mr andrews immediate ly was surrounded by a sour group of subordinates it seemed almost that if a wrong way to solve the problem was available the wage and hour division folks would find it As far as I 1 can ascertain colonel fleming has had only the minimum of experience in dealing with such principles and problems as now face him his status is rather indefinite because the law requires that the appointment of a wages and hours administrator shall be confirmed by the senate as a policy making cial but mr roosevelt had asked congress to consider only the so called neutrality legislation at the extra session and hence he did not submit colonel fleming flemings s name another army officer takes job outside military work colonel fleming is the third army officer to take over a job outside of the military service lately first there was col F C harrington who was made head of the secondly brigadier general watson was made mr roosevelt s secreta ry and lastly there came the appointment of colonel fleming it is rather hard to forecast how an army officer is going to deal with one particular part of the job now undertaken by colonel flem ing application of the law to tain types of farm labor and to busi nesses directly connected with farm ing A number of organizations at fil directly or indirectly with farm operations have been engaged in a do or die struggle here in wash ington with mr andrews I 1 think the mere change in headship of the wage and hour division is not likely to quiet those people because the increase in wages that became ef october 24 represents the dif ference between profit and loss in most instances probably the seers who invented the idea of federal control of wages and hours never milked a cow after dark or husked corn on a frosty morning these con editions were not of the making of colonel fleming but his is the task of attempting to reconcile an ble law with conditions that vary in every county in the united states if he can succeed come political party ought to nominate him as its presidential candidate next year |
