dependent upon the large manufacturer each year, and the Henderson report deals with that very effectively. Mr. LESINSKI. In that instance, talking about the small manufac turer, he was the first man that wanted to abide by the code? Mr. DENNISON. Yes, sir, he was. Mr. LESINSKI. It was the large manufacturer who forced him off the code? Mr. DENNISON. We had a case in point last fall. We had a small tool manufacturer there who was getting work from Chrysler and Packard in designing tools to produce automobiles for these companies. Our organization was trying to maintain a 40-hour week, at least. We had a lot of our members unemployed, and we went to a number of small shop owners, and we said to them it would be better for them and better for us if more men were put to work, and if we did not have so much employment, and that we would like to see our idle members put to work, so that we did not_want_to work more than 40 hours a week. So we closed down one Saturday morning, through our ability to do it, several of these smaller shops that received work from the large corporations to do. I was chairman of a committee in the mechanical engineering service in Detroit, working there at that time, and on the Saturday morning that we closed down that shop, to prevent working longer Mr. WOOD. That is, you adopted the 40-hour week? Mr. DENNISON. Yes; we did. We had power over the small manufacturer of tools who was doing work for Chrysler and Hudson, to force him to close down. He had to do it, because if he did not his men might have quit him. At 11 o'clock that morning my phone rang-I went back to my hotel and was sitting in my room-and it was this shop owner on the phone; and he said, "Mr. Dennison, you will have to come down to the shop. Mr. Lee, of the Chrysler Corporation, is here in my office now, and he threatens to take all of my contracts and all of my work away from me if I do not work these extra hours." So I had to do this. So far, our relationship was this small manufacturer had been fairly decent. He had given our organization some preference in hiring men. We did not have closed-shop conditions there, but tolerable working conditions compared to other places, and we had to save these men. We could now allow them to go under. They might have gone to a shop even worse than the one they were working in. So I had to call in 5 or 6 men to get out the particular jobs this company wanted in order to save him from losing his contract with these large corporations. So it is true that the difference in these codes between the little tool-die manufacturers' code and the automobile code has made it possible for the big manufacturers to coerce the small manufacturers by not living up to the spirit of the law. The CHAIRMAN. You said that under the N. R. A. it is practically mandatory for the trade associations to get together to organize trade organizations. Mr. DENNISON. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. But nothing about labor. Now, I will read you just what this committee reported out, just this short part, as a Board to be set up: The Board shall issue a license authorizing the licensee i that would be the trade associations to transmit through the mails and transport in interstate or foreign commerce, goods, articles, or commodities produced, processed, or manufactured by said licensee: (a) To any member of the national trade associations of any industry, if such association (1) represents persons who manufacture, produce, or process 50 per centum or more of the total goods, articles, or commodities in said industry; and (2) has entered into an agreement not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act with respect to wages, working conditions, and limitation of production with a national labor union representing the workers in such industry. That was a mandate on labor to organize, wasn't it? Mr. DENNISON. Mr. Chairman, it certainly was. I believe that the effect of such legislation would have been to permit such stabilization of industry as I have tried to picture between these workers and these newspapers in Detroit. The CHAIRMAN. Here is this provision. A license would be given by this Board (b) to any person not a member of the national trade association representing the industry in which such person is engaged, and coming within the provisions of paragraph (a) of this section, who agrees to comply with all the provisions of the agreement with respect to wages, working conditions, and limitation of production entered into by such association; (c) To any person not coming within the provisions of paragraphs (a) or (b) of this section, engaged in the production, processing, or manufacturing of goods, articles, etc., who agrees to comply with such rules and regulations as the board shall prescribe with respect to wages, working conditions, and limitation of production in the industry in which said person is engaged. There you were. Mr. DENNISON. Some such legislation eventually will have to be enacted, or we are going to be faced with continually growing industrial chaos, strife, strikes, etc., because of the effort of the wage earners to maintain some kind of a living, as opposed to the competitive practices of the employers, such as wage cutting and keeping labor costs down. The CHAIRMAN. I have always maintained that that Richberg decision in the automobile situation was responsible for every strike which has occurred from that time to this. Mr. WOOD. There isn't any question about that in my mind—a great majority of the strikes, at least. Mr. DENNISON. Well, there inconsistency in these codes which discriminate against the smaller manufacturer and only makes the centralization of industry go on at a much more rapid rate than before the enactment of the N. R. A. And, as I have pointed out, these codes do not protect the skilled worker. With regard to these elections, I do not want to forget to testify before I leave, something contrary to what this previous witness testified, about the American Federation of Labor holding only four and a fraction percent of these labor-board elections. The CHAIRMAN. I wanted to get a parallel of the situation of your codes. If the Democrats on this committee sitting around this table here should write a bill and decide on a bill and would not allow Mr. Welch, of California, and Mr. Hartley, and Mr. Hope, and Mr. Lambertson, and Mr. Marcantonio to talk or vote on that bill, you would not say that that was legislation by the people of the United States, would you? 133130-35- 7 Mr. DENNISON. No, indeed. The CHAIRMAN. That is exactly what happened in the case of your codes. The manufacturers write the codes, and labor does not even have a vote, even as a minority, on the codes. Mr. DENNISON. That is very true. Mr. Wood. They not only write the codes but administer them after they are written. Mr. DENNISON. I would say, Mr. Chairman, that one of the main causes for the American Revolution, from which this country started, was the fact that we had to live under a government without any voice in it and we had taxation without representation. That was one of the cries of the early Americans and one of the reasons why they broke away from England, because they had to live under conditions without having any voice in the government. And in the industrial field it is just about this way with us workers in Detroit now. We have certain conditions imposed upon us and we have no voice in forming the rules under which we work. With regard to the Government Boards that have been appointed so far, the gentleman who spoke this morning tried to show that the American Federation of Labor and the rail unions were not recognized on the Boards. He might as well have included us. He might as well have included the A. E. M. W. A., because none of us were recognized on the Boards in the elections. I want to show you why. I have an exhibit here that will interest you. I want to make it perfectly clear, if I can, why the real bona fide labor bodies representing the workers in Detroit cannot take part in the elections under the National Automobile Labor Board. Here is a notice which was posted by the Automobile Labor Board in the Packard Motor Car Co. I will turn this over to the stenographer, if it can be entered as an exhibit. The CHAIRMAN. Yes; we ought to have that. (The notice referred to is as follows:) NOTICE TO ALL EMPLOYEES OF PACKARD MOTOR CAR Co. On February 12, 1935, the Automobile Labor Board will conduct a nominating election under the terms of the automobile settlement of the President of the United States, dated March 25, 1934. On the ballot used at this election you may write in the name of any person you desire to have represent you in dealing with the management and the labor group affiliation, if any, of your candidate. Representatives will not be restricted to employees. Employees such as foremen, subforemen, or group or gang leaders who act in a supervisory capacity will not be eligible to vote. The plant has been divided into 20 districts. The names of the two persons in each district who receive the largest number of votes at the nominating election on February 12, 1935, will appear on the ballot used in the final election on February 21, 1935. In the final election the candidates receiving the largest number of votes will be the representative of your district. If the representatives receiving the largest number of votes for all districts do not provide proportional representation on the bargaining agency for all substantial labor groups, additional representatives will be added from among candidates receiving the next highest votes in the plant in any groups entitled to more representatives. The departments and election booth locations in each district are as follows: District 1-Booth location, building 9, fourth floor, department SA: Salvage-- Receiving Department RV SA District 2-Booth location, building 12, fourth floor, department AH: Experimental-stores- Proving grounds_. Experimental: Garage_ Assembly. Machining- RXB LGB RSW AA AF AG AH AM District 3-Booth location, building 19, fourth floor, department LD: Body metal finish. LD Plating. DE District 4-Booth location, building 17, fifth floor, department HM: District 5-Booth location, building 12, first floor, department FG: District 6-Booth location, building 12, second floor, department LF: LF Sewing and pasting Body painting--. LB District 7-Booth location, building 12, third floor, department DC: District 8-Booth location, building 2, second floor, department DB: Crankshaft. Axle assembly. Department symbol DD DJ District 9--Booth location, building 23, fourth floor, department LM: District 10-Booth location, building 2, fifth floor, department RPF: District 11-Booth location, building 61, first floor, department EP: Die models__ Clerical_ District 12-Booth location, building 45, first floor, department LHA: Die room.. Stamping Sheet metal parts. B RPL RPJ LHA LHB District 13-Booth location, building 70, second floor, department RRC: L District 14-Booth location, building 27, Court, first floor, department VTS: Small parts machine___ Large parts machine_. Service tools___ Gear machine and assembly. Assembly__ Sheet metal_ Paint__ RRC RRE RRF RRH RRK RRS Trim. Stores__. Return goods_ ODB ODC ODF ODS OFA он OM ON VTB VTC |