About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

248 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. vii (1946)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0248 and id is 1 raw text is: FOREWORD THE American labox movement within the past fifteen years has telescoped, if not surpassed, an evolution which had been expected to take a half-century or more. In 1932 the La Guardia Anti- Injunction Act reversed the position of unionism at court from that of a victim of judicial processes to one of increas- ing immunity from them. In 1935 the National Labor Relations Act outlawed the age-old forms of opposition to la- bor organization practiced by employ- ers, and placed upon them the further obligation of dealing affirmatively with any union representing the choice of the majority. Other Federal statutes and parallel measures in some of the states extended the arm of the, law to areas and employments not otherwise covered. Especially important was the unques- tionably friendly attitude shown by the agencies of enforcement and interpreta- tion. For example, during the last two years of its existence the National War Labor Board granted a modified form of the closed shop in practically all of its decisions. The Supreme Court, hith- erto a bugaboo of labor legislation and once anathema among unions, over- turned hoary precedents and doctrines by surprisingly broad interpretations of the new laws. Thus rejuvenated, or- ganized labor surged forward. While in 1932 it had numbered less than three million members-many of these hold- ing cards but not working under labor agreements-by 1946 it had acquired over fifteen million members, had estab- lished collective bargaining as the pre- vailing pattern of American industry, and had shown notable evidences of permanence and strength. Unfortunately, this advance has been accompanied by disturbances in labor relations which at times have assumed an alarming character. Strikes under- taken on a coast-wide, industry-wide, or nation-wide scale on several recent oc- casions have well-nigh paralyzed our economic life. Such developments have shocked, perplexed, and bewildered the average citizen. For public support of collective bargaining has been founded not on mere partiality for unions but on the belief that unionism is good for so- ciety as a whole; that the special place given to organized labor in the law would release for constructive activity energies previously forced into belliger- ent channels; that it would result in a more stable, productive, and prosperous economy; and that it would promote a more democratic and satisfying way of life for all. Citizens all over the land know that it takes two to make a quarrel, and they are therefore haunted by troubling ques- tions such as these: Is the employer or labor principally at fault? Are present ills merely the temporary difficulties of postwar readjustment? Will the con- tinuance of demands for higher wages and shorter hours, and an increasing resort to strikes, merely bring about inflation and then another depression? Are all these manifestations mere grow- ing pains which will disappear as em- ployers and unions attain maturity in their relationships? Should the situa- tion be left to its own natural outcome, or, should it be dealt with by new legis- lation and new administrative controls? Informed and thoughtful views on such questions are offered by the distin- guished contributors to this symposium. Though differing in many particulars, they have in common a deep interest in maintaining for labor an important and protected status consistent with demo- cratic government. Some of these con- tributors believe that further govern- ment intervention and control would be vii

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most