No Time for Trouble

Labor had been quiet for a long time. But this week the nation found itself with two strikes, both nationwide. Telephone workers walked out; soft-coal miners stayed out. From labor's own point of view, trouble could scarcely have come at a worse time.

The Senate labor committee, after musing for months, announced the working draft of a new labor bill. There was nothing final about it, but whether it ultimately came out harsher or softer might depend on labor's behavior in the next few days or weeks. The working draft was not very harsh.

It imposed some limitations on industrywide bargaining and the union shop. It set up a federal mediation board to handle major disputes and required waiting periods before strikes. It prohibited the secondary boycott and jurisdictional strikes. It required unions to register and lay bare their finances and made them suable for contract violations.

It sought to deal with national strikes affecting "trade, commerce, transportation, transmission, communication" when "national health or safety" is imperiled by giving the Attorney General the right to get a 60-day injunction in court.

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