Fed. San DiegoConvention

More than 2,000 elected delegatesfrom AFL-CIO organizationsthroughout the state are expectedto descend on San Diego the weekof August 10 to 14, for the 1959convention of the California LaborFederation, AFL-CIO.The convention will be called to

order at Conference Hall in BalboaPark in the southern city at 10 a.m.,August 10, when President ThomasL. Pitts pounds the gavel which willsignify the opening of the largeststate labor convention in the nation.

State Secretary-Treasurer C. J.Haggerty said in San Francisco thatmore than 130 resolutions had beensubmitted by affiliated organiza-tions for consideration by the dele-gates. Subjects which will draw theattention of the estimated 2,000 del-egates range from the broadestproblems of international affairs tothe details of internal operation ofthe state AFL-CIO movement.Under the provisions of the Cali-

fornia Labor Federation constitu-tion, the convention is the supremegoverning body of the state labororganization.

Although the deadline for sub-mission of resolutions by localorganizations was Monday, July 27,it is anticipated that at least an-other 25 to 50 resolutions will besubmitted by various state craftcouncils which will meet in SanDiego on the week-end just prior tothe opening of the convention.

Statements of policy on broad is-sues affecting the welfare of laborand the public will also be sub-mitted for consideration of conven-tion delegates by the 36-memberexecutive council of the state AFL-CIO organization.Prominent speakers on both state

and national level have been sched-uled to address convention dele-gates during the week-long session.Lieutenant Governor Glenn Ander-son and State Attorney GeneralStanley Mosk will address openingsessions on Monday, August 10.

Governor Edmund G. Brown, whowas unable to accept an invitationas opening session speaker becauseof the scheduled conference of gov-ernors in Puerto Rico, will fly infrom the Governors' Conference to

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INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIALRELATIONS LIBRARY

Vol. 1 -No. 27July 31, 1959UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA_

BERKELEY i

C. J. HAGGERTY Publised by California Labor Federation, AFL-CIOExecutive

Secretary-Treaurer "jor

House "Labor Reform" Bill Unacceptable:Haggerty Flies to Washingtn, D.C.

The so-called labor-management reform bill reported last week to thefloor of the House of Representatives by the House Committee on Educa-tion and Labor is "unacceptable" to the AFL-CIO.

The condemnation of the bill was contained in a statement issued byAFL-CIO President George Meany, who warned that organized labor wouldnot "silentlv aca'iesce in miury"to honest trade unionism, "underthe guise of dealing with corrup-tion."

In response to a call for mobilizedaction by President Meany, C. J.Haggerty, secretary-treasurer of theCalifornia Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, this Wednesday flew to Wash-ington, D. C., to work with thenational office against the measure,which, according to the state AFL-CIO leader, "penalizes the many forthe errors of the few."

Haggerty is scheduled to take upthe unacceptable reform bill in de-tail with members of the Californiadelegation in the House of Repre-sentatives.Upon leaving for Washington, the

state AFL-CIO leader and veteranof many tough state legislative ses-sions in Sacramento said:

"I am confident that when mem-bers of Congress have the oppor-tunity to sit down and read this so-called reform bill, they will agreewith organized labor that it containsmany provisions which will griev-ously harm legitimate unions.

"It is my purpose to inform Cali-fornia Congressmen that labor in

this state wants anti-corruption

legislation as much as legislatorsdo, but not at the expense of satis-fying anti-labor prejudices, whichhave been written into the so-calledlabor measure. I am sure that nomember of Congress from Califor-nia would consciously permit a pub-lic climate against corruption to be

twisted into a drive to weaken thetrade union movement."The growing defects in the House

committee-reported "labor manage-ment reform measure" have beendetailed in a statement to Congressissued by President Meany. The fol-lowing are some of the majorcriticisms:

* The so-called "bill of rights"written in on the Senate floor is"unnecessary and unworkable" and"injects confusion and uncertaintyinto the conduct by unions of theirown internal affairs.

* By granting broad exemptionsto employers and labor relationsconsultants from reporting require-ments, the measure "has negatedthe usefulness of reporting as a de-terrent to crime."

* The section on trusteeships,while an improvement over theSenate version, contains a "majorand unacceptable defect" whichsubjects unions to "diverse and fre-quently conflicting" state and fed-eral laws.

* The organizational picketingsection provides "an incentive forcorrupt and unscrupulous ele-ments" on both sides to engage in"sweetheart" contracts by permit-ting an employer to block picketingby one union "simply by recogniz-ing ... another union."

* The provisions on union elec-tions protect "the company spy orCommunist agent pretending tounion candidacy for the sole pur-

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peared befbre:. the comm-itt6es -of b6thes in suppoHo'us 'I Of -.169-islation Which

A enf eable.was strong,' meapingful an orc

It was that kind 6f,,bQl, with. som6 few ex-

ceptions, which was''repborted'to the Sen-ate floor after long and careful study.

It -is tragie'that'on the floor of the Sen-.-trans, orm--Ate. this measure was f ed into a

weapon for, the harrasment, -of the unionmovements weapon- which -the Housecommittee has only slightly'blu.nted.We share with the distinguished col-

umnist Mr.'Walter Lippman the feelingthat "the Senate, which was set to enacta very useful bill, was stampeded by poli-tical demagogues who want an issue andnot a bill. The result is that unless themischief can be undone in the House, abrilliant opportunity will have been lost.

"It is still conceivable that the labor re-forms can be saved if the leadership inCongress and if the President in theWhite House want to save them. But theymust reckon with the demagogues who donot want a bill because it would deprivethem of an issue to beat their breastsabout."We do not believe the fight is lost. We

are convinced that those who truly be-lieve with us that federal legislation canmeet the problem of corruption and yetnot destror le itintate union activitieswill amend this bill on the floor of theHouse of Representatives so as to achievea measure that 'could legitimately bearthe title "reform legislation."

In principle we arie opposed to writinglegislation on the floor. It was exactlythis tactic which changed the Senate billinto punitive legislation. But the majorityof the House committee failed in its task.In response to pressure, the majority con-ceived a bill only slightly better than theSenate version and have reported onewhich could only be classified as anti-labor.

Therefore, we believe that it is essen-tial for members of the House to supportamendments designed to improve thismeasure by restoring it to its properconcept.So that there will be no misunderstand-

ing of our position, the following is a

summary of the AFL-CIO's bill of objec-tions to the measure reported by theHouse Committee on Education andLabor.BILL OF OBJECTIONSTitle I-Rights of Union Members:The committee has retained, although

in a somewhat less objectionable form,the so-called "bill-of-rights" inserted onthe Senate floor in haste, confusion andignorance.

'111716;1,m +16,& ^v";++,aA rnilioh rtf

the loose and demagogic language as well

as the broad, drastic criminal penalties ofthe Senate bill, it 'failed to come to grips

'the fact that such 'a titl is unneces-

sary. and unworkable.The rights pur rted to be protected by

this section are already protected eitherby other. titles of thebill or bythe courtsunder doctrines. worked out over theyears in accordance with. the traditionalevolution of common law. On the otherhand, the committee's -proposal injectscon'fusion and uncertainty into the con-duct by unions of their own internal af-fairs which can only be resolved afteryears of litigation. Every local union offi-cial and business agent in the country willbe acting at his peril in performing themost routine task in administering the af-fairs of his union. Every chairman of a lo-cal union meeting will be acting undershadow of a court suit each time he makesa ruling on the conduct of the meeting.*e, of course, do not object to the prin-ciples involved. Most, if not all, union cofl-stitutions fully recognize and implementthem. But it is. one thing for a voluntaryassociation to do this and quite anotherto compel it by law to do so.

Some of these provisions are so generalas to be susceptible of almost any inter-pretation. Others are so detailed as to in-hibit- obviously reasonable, and properunion practices.Title II-Reporting and Disclosure:The AFL-CIO has repeatedly urged re-

porting and disclosure-the goldfish bowlconcept-as the realistic vehicle for de-terring corruption.For this method to be effective how-

ever, it must be applied with equal jus-tice to all the parties to labor-manage-ment relations-union officials and theiragents, management officals and theiragents, and so-called labor consultantsand their agents.The deterrent would be, of course, the

fact that disclosure of all activities wouldact to prevent corruption. This deterrentpower evaporates with each exception tothe rule and the House committee has ex-

empted employers and labor relations con-sultants from reporting everything exceptthat already illegal. In fact, the Housecommittee has made reporting by employ-ers and labor relations consultants themerest sham. The House committee hasnegated the usefulness of reporting as adeterrent to crime, obviously respondingto the will of employers who want to carryon anti-union activities and which havesometimes encouraged, if not inspired,,corruption in the ranks of the trade unionmovement.Title III-Trusteeships:While for the most part the changes

made here by the House Committee are an

improvement over Ahe, genate bill's titledealing with- trusttseis'hips, a major and un-

acceptable defect remains. Despite thewhole new body of federal substantiveand procedural law established by thistitle, unions would continue to be subjectto the diverse -and -frequently conflictingbody of state rules. Unions should be ableto measure their -conduct in -establishingand maintaining trusteeshi.psaccording toa single standard, and not be subjected tothe sometimes impossible task of conforlming to the differing requirements of fed-eral and state regulation. If federal rightsand remedies apply, they should be ex-clusive.Title W-Eleetions:

In the provisions dealing with elections,which we have long supported, the com-mittee has included a dangerous and self-defeating provision.By including "the right to inspect and

copy" the unions' membership rolls, thecommittee provides protection for the proforma candidate for office who is in real-ity a company spy or a Communist agent,pretending to union candidacy for the solepurpose of obtaining membership lists fornefarious purposes.Title V-Safeguards forLabor Organizations:Operating from a premise with which

we certainly agree and which we haveconsistently supported, that union officeis a sacred trust, the committee has pro-ceeded to establish standards of fiduciaryresponsibility which could only lead towidespread confusion and the multiplicityof litigation.The prime responsibility of the union

officer is to advance the interest and wel-fare of the members. The prime concernof the banking official is to enhance thevalue of the property he holds in trust.A union does not exist for the purpose

of making money. It exists as a mecha-nism through which its members can com-bine to promote their mutual improve-ment, both as employes and as membersof society generally, and both materiallyand in other ways.One of our main objections is that the

reach of this fiduciary concept as ex-pressed in the bill is not determinable andthe property of many union activities nowconsidered as normal union functions isshrouded with the blanket of uncertaintyand confusion.Under this provision, union officers may

be hailed into court for making legitimateexpenditures, such as charitable contri-butions, which have. been approved by a

majority of members.The specifications under which union

members are barred from holding union

The following is slightly condensedversion::.of -- AFL-CIO Pres., GeorgeM-6any. s statement givin the.-,feAera-,.tio'n'Ps opposition' to the laboir-manage-ment bill reported by the House Labor.Committee:The bill'which the House Labor Com-

mittee has.just- re''p6ited is' unac.cePtableto the AFL-CIO.

Despite the valiant efforts of somemembers of the committee, to prevent thereporting of the punitive bill, this bill,under the ''guise oUlabor reform doesgrievous harm to legitimate unions.The bill does not. meet the test which

the AFL-CIO believes must be appliedto this legislation.We have repeatedly made clear our

determination to seek legislation whichwill get at the crooks and to oppose legis-lation which will do harm to the legiti-mate trade union movement. We haverepeatedly pointed out that there areforces seeking to capitalize upon the cor-

ruption issue and determined to use it asa vehicle for the passage of punitive leg-islation disguised as a labor reformmeasure.

The AFL-CIO wants honest, effectivelabor-management reform legislation.The AFL-CIO will not, however, si-

lently acquiesce in injury to the legiti-mate trade union movement under theguise of dealing with corruption.We have been urged, advised and coun-

seled to "acce V this measure eventhough we know its specific and inherentdangers. As a matter of practical exped-iency, we have been told that if we don'taccept this package, worse damage willbe done to the labor movement. Wei can-not agree to the doctrine that principleshould be sacrificed for expediency.We have been advised and counseled

that the "people demand legislation thisyear, no matter what kind of legislationit be." This we have been told is a political reality and that politicians must heedthe voice of the people.We do not for a moment consider the

public a moronic body demanding a mea-sure which will hamstring free demo-cratic trade unionism under the guise ofgetting at the crooks.We must recall to both parties the fact

that the AFL-CIO, in testimony beforeboth platform committees in the summerof 1956, urged the adoption of public dis-closure statutes to cope with the possibil-ity of corruption in -the handling of wel-fare funds. This was some time before theMcClellan committee came into existence.In March 1957 we urged the extension ofthis principle to union funds generally.Nor have we been content with just

urging platfrom language. We have ap-

office are not equated by the provisionsdisqualiflying individuals from holdinglabor relations positions in corporations.Labor history is replete with instances inwhich employers, especially in heavy in-dustry, have used ex-convicts as goons inlabor relations disputes. The disqualifica-tion should apply to all officers, directors,and employes engaged in labor relationsactivities for an employer.Adding to the list of specified instance's

which bar a union member. from union of-fice is "assault which inflicts 'grievous bod-ily injury." -What. this means is subject tovariable interpretations for the stautorylanguage of the several states differsmarkedly. More importantly, injusticewould invariably follow if, for example, itshould be interpreted that a black eye suf-fered in a picket line scuffle involvingexcitable individuals could bar a man fromunion office or from a labor relationsposition with an employer.Title VI-Miscellaneous:This title retains a "States' Rights" pro-

viso which is, at best, a vague statement ofanti-union prejudice, and at worst, a devicefor compounding the confusion alreadyengendered elswhere in the measure.

Title VII-Taft-Hartley Amendments:The committee's wise choice of a simple,

sound solution to the "No Man's Land"problem and its wise provision giving vot-ing rights to economic strikers does notmean that the committee's judgment inthis title has been uniformly sensible.

It eliminated a desirable provision in theSenate bill designed to make it clear thatservice assistants in the communicationsindustry are not "supervisors" excludedfrom the protections of the NationalLabor Relations Act.

It made the pre-hearing election provis-ion illusory by raising an extraneous issue-and it failed to correct the serious de-fect in S. 1555 which repeals present con-sent election authorization.Although the so-called "hot cargo" pro-

vision has been somewhat improved bymaking clear it does not force union mem-bers to cross lawful picket lines againsttheir will, the provision still remains ob-jectionable in principle. In. the crucialarea of transportation by common carrier,it strikes a mortal blow at long-recognizedright of unions to appeal directly to em-ployers to assist the union in removingsweat-shop conditions in an industry byrefusing to deal with unfair, anti-unionemployers.The "hot cargo" provision is simply in-

tended to keep union people from usingone of their most traditional methods ofimproving the lot of the workers. It isanother prime example of an attempt toeliminate one of labor's effective economic

weapons under the guise of fightingracketeers. The "ho ision' hasvery little to do with labor reform.The committee has unintenionally, we

are sure, provided an incentive for cor-

rupt and unscrupulous elements on boththe union -and employer sides to engagein collusive deals and. "sweetheart"'-con-tracts. This is done by providing that anemployer could, prevent picketing by oneunion simply by recognizing and contract-ing with another :union.

principal pu e of orangized pick-eting is to persuade workers to join un-ions. Such activity is clearly legitimate,since organized workers cannot maintain,their hard-won wages and working condi-tions if non-union employers are free todepress those standards and labor is pre-vented by law from advertising that fact.The Supreme Court has repeatedly up-

held organizational picketing as a validexercise of the fundamental right of freespeech. The Hobbs act, a federal statute,already imposes severe criminal penaltiesfor abuse of the right to picket. The com-mittee bill imposes an additional criminalpenalty for extortion picketing. The addi-tional restriction on picketing containedin this bill can only further burden hon-est trade unions performing legitimateand reasonable functions.Codes of Ethical Practices:The committee chose to kill Title V of

S. 1555, designed to encourage unions andemployer associations to subscribe tocodes of ethical practices. It thus discour-ages the voluntary self-policing efforts ofthe labor movement to rid its ranks ofcrooks and gangsters.

Virtually alone, without support fromCongress, and often in the face of scornfrom other quarters the labor movementhas endeavored to develop its own prin-ciples and procedures for dealing withcorruption and unethical practices withinits own ranks. Certainly such efforts de-serve support. Certainly it would servethe public interest to encourage employerassociations to take similar action, for un-ethical conduct, to say the very least, haspervaded the ranks of employers to anunsavory degree.Such voluntary efforts cannot entirely

eliminate the need for federal legislation,as the AFL-CIO has repeatedly stated. Butthey can, if successful, considerably re-duce the need for such legislation. Cer-tainly recognition of the merit voluntaryefforts is in the national interest. The onlypurpose served by the committee's de-struction of this concept is to conceal thefact, that employer associations have re-fused or failed or been unable to engagein any similar self-policing activities; or

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0 0p

California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO9S Market St.San Franciso 3, Calif.

FORM 3547 REQUESTED

Itndtistrin1 Relations LibrarianInstitute of industrial Relations214 California HallUniversity of CaliforniaBerkeley 4, Calif.

NON-PROFITORGANIZATIONU. S. POSTAGEPAID

Permit No. 7085San Francisco, Cal.

Farm labor Organizing Drive Action to BlockBracero Exploitation

Recognizing that Mexican na- tee is recommending that "the pre-tionals are beingmported in exces- vailing rate" be set at 18 cents persive numbers to displace domestic 50-pound box in the first picking offarm workers, leaders of the AFL- an average tomato field. TheCIO farm labor organg cam- Tomato Growers Association in thepaign last week moved to block the San Joaquin Valley on the otherimportation of an estimated 15,000 hand, is said to be moving to obtainMexican nationals to harvest the a prevailing rate of 12 cents a boxSan Joaquin $20 million tomato on the first pickings, which is con-crop. sidered far below the rate which

Efforts of the farm labor orga- will attract domestic workers.nizing campaign have been directed Norman Smith, overall directortoward preventing farm employers of AWOC, said the strategy of filingfrom unilaterally establishing an rate recommendations was neces-artificial low "prevailing rate" for sary because requests for contractimported Mexicans that would drive workers must be submitted at leastaway domestic workers seeking a a month in advance of harvest, add-fair return for their labor. ing "at that time, of course, thereIn a letter to the State Farm is and can be no 'prevailing rate'

Placement office, Ed Williams, for the crop activity. The govern-president of the AWOC's (Agricul- ment has just accepted whatevertural Workers Organizing Commit- the growers intend to offer as thetee) Stockton division, said "Uni- so-called prevailing wage. The Mex-lateral wage fixing-by growers' as- ican national program is thus asociations is clearly contrary to the self-starting and self-perpetuatingnrovisions of Public Law 78. and arrangement.M-vest-VAUI.J~ %1 Ad%, 6.1 T %I,

contrary to a policy directive re-cently issued by the California De-partment of Employment. This di-rective states: 'Careful field workwill be done to see that the prevail-ing wage represents a level whichwill attract and retain domesticworkers'."

Organized labor has repeatedlycharged that there has been collu-sion in the past between farm orga-nizations seeking Mexican labor andthe state Farm Placement Servicein determination of prevailing rates.The importance of the action

taken by the AWOC was under-scored this week by the announce-ment of dismissal charges againstWilliam N. Cunningham, Assistantchief of the Farm Placement Serv-ice, by Director of Employment,John E. Carr.

Carr said, "This is the first actiontaken to correct abuses in the FarmPlacement Service . . . more maybe forthcoming."The AFL-CIO organizing commit-

House 'Labor Roform' Bill(Continued from Page 1)

pose of obtaining membership listsfor nefarious purposes."

* Standards of fiduciary respon-sibility for union officers "couldonly lead to widespread confusionand the multiplicity of litigation"because they are "shrouded withthe blanket of uncertainty and con-fusion."

* Specifications barring someunion members from holding officeon the basis of criminal records arediscriminatory unless applied equal-ly to all officers, directors and em-ployes engaged in labor relationsactivities for an employer.

* The so-called "hot cargo" pro-vision, while "somewhat improved"over the Senate bill, remains "ob-jectionable in principle" because it"strikes a mortal blow at the long-recognized right of unions" to ap-peal to employers not to deal withunfair, anti-union firms.

S. Diego Conention(Continued from Page 1)

address convention delegates onWednesday afternoon.Among other convention speak-

ers are: President Clark Kerr ofthe University of California; EwanClague, U. S. Bureau of Labor Sta-tistics Commissioner; Roy Simpson,Superintendent of Public Instruc-tion; John F. Henning, Director ofthe Department of Industrial Rela-tions; John E. Carr, State Directorof Finance; Joseph Kennedy, Presi-dent of the Northern Area of theNational Association for the Ad-vancement of Colored People, andPeter McGavin, who will addressthe convention delegates as the per-sonal representative of AFL-CIOpresident George Meany.

Here's Wha's Wrong(Continued from Page 3)

in any method for putting their own

house in order.The elimination of the tripartite advis-

ory committee to the Secretary of Laborcharged with administering the act is cer-

tainly ill-advised. Since this bill repre-

sents an excursion by Congress into newand uncharted fields, such an advisorycommittee, representing employers, work-ers and the public, could contribute sub-stantially to constructive administrationof the act.

Conclusion:During the debate on the floor of the

House of Representatives, it is possiblethat this measure can be restored to itsoriginal concept-a bill which would getthe crooks and not damage legitimateunions.We urge every member of the House

to adopt that as his goal. Anything lesswould be unworthy of the House of Rep-resentatives; anything else would be de-str:uctive of democratic organizations andvoluntary associations which are the very

life blood of a democratic nation.We look with confidence to the House

of Representatives for the achievement ofjustice and the adoption of legislationwhich can honestly be called "reformlegislation."

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