Permanent Law?

The Senate had debated labor legislation for two weeks, trying to do something with the House's Case bill, aimed at curbing the economic powers of labor. The debate had grown violent; into dignified speeches crept such words as "skunk." Labor's overheated friend, Claude Pepper, and a little coterie of other friends waged an undeclared filibuster against laws which would take away any of labor's rights. Then the Senators walked over to the House to hear what Harry Truman had to say.

Some were shocked; others were troubled. Senator Robert Taft, who has long demanded revision of labor laws, turned thumbs down on the President's "expedients." Republican Senator Eugene Millikin thought it unconstitutional. Oregon's Wayne Morse, incensed because the bill had been short-circuited around the Education and Labor Committee, resigned from the committee. Action was postponed. But the Senate, jolted by Harry Truman's explosive move, really got down to business on the Case bill.

Before the night was out they passed the bill, bristling with tough amendments.

In some respects, it was even tougher than the House version which the Education and Labor Committee had tried to eviscerate. Committeemen like elderly Senator Elbert Thomas, James E. Murray, James M. Tunnell, Joseph Guffey, Claude Pepper, were routed. The driving forces were Senator Taft and Minnesota's Joe Ball, both pressing for permanent labor legislation which would correct the in equities of the well-meaning but lopsided Wagner Act.

The chief points:

P: Health and welfare funds, such as John Lewis wants, must be administered by joint management-union committees.

P: Management and workers must observe a 60-day cooling-off period before resorting to strikes or lockouts.

P: Fact-finding commissions would be set up to settle disputes in public utilities.

P: Workers (as well as management) must bargain collectively. (Under the Wagner Act workers can now bargain or not, as they like.)

P: Foremen could join or form unions but could not be recognized as bargaining agents under the Wagner Act.

P: Unions, like management, would be legally responsible for violation of contracts. Heretofore, some unions have violated labor contracts with little fear of penalties. Individuals who went on "wildcat" strikes (outlawed by union leaders) could be fired.

P: "Secondary boycotts" (refusal of nonstriking workers to handle "hot" goods from struck plants) would be illegal.

The bill would now go back to the House, which would hardly weaken the bill. It was a bleak day for labor.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.