Labor Unions, the Public and the Law

Report Outline
Organized Labor and the Public Interest
Trade Unions and Industry-Wide Bargaining
Position of Unions Under Anti-Trust Laws

Organized Labor and the Public Interest

Problems raised by recent actions of organized labor confront all three branches of the federal government as the New Year opens. President Truman will give a prominent place, in his annual message on the State of the Union, to recommendations of the Executive Branch for new legislation to promote industrial peace and protect the public against labor stoppages likely to paralyze the nation's economy. Action to be taken on those recommendations, and on other proposals to restrict or regulate labor unions and labor-union activity, will be a leading issue before the 80th Congress during the coming weeks. Meanwhile, on January 14, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the appeal of John L. Lewis and the United Mine Workers from their contempt conviction for failure to obey the restraining order issued by a lower court six weeks ago in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent a walkout by 400,000 soft-coal miners.

Reaction to Strikes in Basic Industries

When striking trainmen and engineers brought railroad transportation throughout the country to a halt last May, the public had a convincing demonstration of the ability of strategically-placed labor unions, not only to stop the operations of a whole industry, but to upset any number of other economic activities and threaten widespread personal suffering. At that time President Truman proposed drastic emergency remedies, and an aroused House voted overwhelmingly to give the Chief Executive temporary authority even to draft into the armed services strikers in industries taken over by the government. However, after the railroad strike had been called off and after a bituminous coal strike then in progress for two months had been settled, Congress let the administration's emergency measure drop and the President himself vetoed a permanent strike-control bill sent to the White House on the heels of the two strikes.

Renewal of the coal strike, on the verge of winter and as a strike against the government, stirred widespread public resentment. Before Lewis ordered the miners back to the pits, railroad service had been curtailed, freight, express, and parcel post embargoes had been imposed, and dimouts had been ordered. Hundreds of thousands of workers had been laid off and early unemployment loomed for many additional workers. Although Lewis capitulated before the effects of the approaching coal famine had reached dire proportions, the damage already done and the immediate prospect of much greater damage if the strike continued were sufficient to insure that the administration and Congress would put forth more determined effort than they did in 1946 to come to agreement on legislation calculated to prevent any repetition of such threats to the national welfare.