THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
'Nome, Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box fii<
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W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER..,.Editor*.
Entered as second clas§ matter October 14, 1943, at the postoff*****
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Monday, February 17, 1947
Labor Laws Must Recognize All Rights
(The Denver Post)
SENATOR BALL of Minnesota has introduced in
Congress a bill to prohibit any contract or agreement
making either membership or nonmembership in a
union a condition of employment. That would outlaw
the closed shop, union shop and maintenance of union
membership systems. At the same time, it would con
tinue the ban against the “yellow dog” contract which
has been illegal since 1932.
This bill is not anti-labor. Actually it is pro-labor be
cause it would assure to all individual workers full free
dom to join or not to join any labor union, and it would
protect them against coercion or intimidation from any
source. Senator Ball’s arguments for this bill are un
answerable to any person who believes in individual
freedom.
“There is no question,” he says, “but that the closed
shop is a deeply illiberal device. It turns over to an out
side agency, the union, absolute control over the indi
vidual’s right and opportunity to work and earn a live
lihood. The temptation to abust that kind of power is too
great to place before any human beings, even union
leaders. It violates two fundamental American princi
ples: One, that all individuals should enjoy the maxi
mum freedom consistent with enjoyment of the same
degree of freedom by others; and, two, that any monop
oly in private control is wrong and dangerous in a free
society.
“Actually the closed shop is just as wrong in principle
as the hated ‘yellow dog’ contract by which employers
sought to make nonmembership in a union a condition
of employment. Employers are now compelled by law to
bargain with unions which enroll a majority of their
employees, and are prohibited from discriminating in
any way against union employees.
“It seems to me that unions how having closed shop
contracts and doing a good job for their members will
continue to be about 100 per cent organized as the rail
road brotherhoods are today without a closed shop.
Those unions whose members belong only because of
compulsion are the ones likely to have trouble, and they j
should have it.
“The main thesis of those who favor compulsory I
union membership today is that without it, individual
employees will either drop out of a particular union or
join a rival, raiding union and that thereby in the long
run unions will be hurt and the employees themselves;
injured. That line of reasoning must assume that indi-'
vidual workers in America are too stupid to make pro
per decisions for themselves even in their own interest, i
and that union leaders must make the decisions for them. |
“That, I submit, is completely totalitarian thinking,
typical of that which prevailed in Nazi Germany and
prevails today in Soviet Russia: Namely, that the people
are too stupid to know and decide what is good for them
and that some particular group must have dictatorial
power to make their decisions for them and compel
them to go along.”
As to the “free rider” argument, that all employees
benefiting from a union contract should share the cost
of maintaining the union, Senator Ball declares:
“Those who make this argument assume that unions,
like government, should have power to tax and that
American workers generally are chiselers unwilling
voluntarily to pay for benefits actually received. I will
not accept either assumption as valid.”
The worst vice of the closed shop system is that it
gives an organized group life and death powers
he r fellows. When a man must belong to a particulax \
union in order to get a job to earn a living, he is at the ,
absolute mercy ^f that union. That is un-Ameiican even i
though the closed shop contract is peculiar to America.j
The closed shop system was started to defend
-ight of workers to join a union against another un
American policy, by employers, of refusing emp.ojmon^
to men who were union members. Now that the right cn
emp’oyees to belong to unions is fully protected, it i
just as important that their right, as free men, to lefurc
to join a union should have equal protection.
Bartender Or Teacher?
(New York Times)
WAR VETERAN PHILIP LYNCH of Queens is a!
public school teacher by day and bartender at a tavern
:r> Hollis at night. For his work at Jamaica Junior High
School he receives $51.25 a week. For mixing drinks the
ocy is $60 a week. Although he has taken the night job
"st s deline, it may be reasonably asked in view of its
superior pay rate whether Mr. Lynch is first of all, a
bartender or a teacher.
We do not mean to criticize Mr. Lynch. He is only one
of a great many teachers in New York and elsewhere
who find that a teacher’s pay does not provide satisfac
tory living. The New York Teachers’ Interest Commit
tee has made a survey on this subject, finding that of
women teachers in this city who answered a question
naire-, 22.5 per cent held outside jobs and of men
teachers replying more than 70 per cent had such dual
jobs. These percentages are based on only 3,500 replies;
it is quite possible that they would fall if the whole
teaching force were represented. But we know from
this and other sources that more teachers are doing out
side work now, in view of the high cost of living, fham
at any time recently.
A law now temporarily suspended by the Legislature
forbids teachers to hold other city, State of Federal jobs. I
But there is no law that at any time prevents a teacher;
from spending his spare time working as a bartender,!
riveters, cashier, waitress, elevator operator, auto me
chanic, or a dishwasher, as our New York teachers are
doing. The public, which is the employer, must ask it
self this question: Is it not getting the worst of the bar-!
gain when it pays teachers so inadequately that, in spite!
of the exhausting drain on their energies involved ip
teaching, they still find it essential to hire away time
that should be spent on rest, professional training and
cultivation of the mind and spirt?
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FAIR PLAY
Sweden does not even approx
-- 1
---
imate the wealth in natural re
sources of Russia or America, yet
her per capita income is far above
Russia’s and is almost as high as
America’s. What is the secret of
.this prosperity? For twenty years
I have been trying to find the for-1
mula for national prosperity in J
observing nations all around the.
vorld. What is it that given Swe
it*n—a country the size of Okla
loma and Arkansas, with limited
latural resources — an individual
jrosperity that puts her high in
ne running?
The people of Sweden are very
du.dy, with more than half of
,aem passing the age of 70. The
leaith of the people is remarkable,
ne personal appearance of the
it^ple on the streets excellent. Al
no.-.t without exception they are
ieut, clean, and well-dressed,
streets in Swedish cities are un
usually clean and in good repair,
Lor apparently all citizens take
pride in keeping them that way.
Wholesome Thinking
I found everywhere a spirit of
wholesome living and lair play,
and 1 discovered also that these
things were based upon the strong
lei.gious foundations of the peo
jie. During the week I spent in
the heart of Sweden’s largest city,
i saw not a single drunk nor any
indications of lewdness, things
which are so apparent in the parks
of London and New York.
The spirit of fair play and hon
est competition is manifest in ev
eiy quarter in Sweden. People
count more on it and talk more
about it and mean it more sincere
ly, than any people I know. For
example, the man who is respon
sible for running the affairs of
Sweden’s trade unions wants in
dustrial corporations to make a
reasonable profit.
Typical Altitude
He wants to maintain private
ownership and management. He
wants fair play between labor and
industry. He wants wages kept at
a level that will assure a market
for the greatest volume of goods.
He wants cooperative understand
ing between labor and industry.
His attitude, I was told by every
one, is typical of the Swedish la
bor leader. He shuns Communism
or State Socialism. He wants indi
vidual freedom, not regimentation
of people’s lives.
Honest-to-goodness fair play,
manifested through a spirit of fine
cooperation on the part of every
group that competes in t.ie game
of economics, is the key to the
prosperity of this small but great
country. The people think of com
petition — real active competition
—as the basis of prosperity. None
of them suffer the illusion that
state management of industry
could provide effective comnct,
tion or the prosperity equivalent
to that of private enterprise.
Floors, But No Ceilings
There is much that we could
emulate in Sweden. This lair play
and competitive spirit goes right
down to the shops and factories,
85 per cent of which are operated
on incentive plans based on piece
work, or on bonuses paid for cer
tain achievements. There are floors
for wages, but no ceil ngs. This
means that those willing to vronc
harder may earn more than the
minimum. This rule rightly be
longs in our own American tradi
tions, but let us not forget it.
A Swedish labor leader told me:
“Piecework is the chief means of
increasing production. That’s why
most of our industries have it.
This enables a good worker to
earn more than a lazy worker. Our
workers all agree to it, so it is a
happy situation. We realize that
high productivity offers the only
means of sustained high wages. I
am amazed that people every
where do not recognize this prin
ciple.”
An estimated 100,000,000 tons of
freight were carried over the
Rhine in peacetime years.