Summit County Labor News

Consumers' League and Cleveland Press Hit "Right-to-Work"

The Cleveland Press and the Consumers League of Ohio announced their opposition this week to the so-called "Right-to-Work" proposal which the Ohio Chamber of Commerce is attempting to get on the ballot through an initiative petition.

The Press, a Scripps-Howard newspaper, is the third large daily newspaper in the state to oppose the proposal which would make the open shop compulsory in the state of Ohio. The Akron Beacon Journal also has taken exception to the mis-naming of the proposal.

In a lead editorial last week, The Press made the following comment:

"If this proposal actually gets on the ballot, The Press expects to oppose it for two major reasons.

"First, and most important, labor relations work out best when there's a minimum of government interference.

"Public policy should be to encourage labor and management to handle their problems on their own, without a lot of coaching from the outside.

"The inevitable result of too much law in labor negotiations is that both employers and employees fall into the habit of leaning much too heavily on government.

"Secondly, this proposal has already been offered in the Legislature, and failed.

"The Legislature is the right place for decisions on bills such as this one.

"If the backers of every proposal turned down by the Legislature went running to the people, it would lead to hopeless confusion.

"Furthermore, it would give legislators a handy excuse for ducking every hot potato, since they could argue the issue would be offered directly to the people anyway."

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Consumers' League and Cleveland Press Hit "Right-to-Work"

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The Consumers League stressed the deceit involved in both the labels "Right-to-Work" and "Freedom of Choice." Here is the League's statement in full:

"Far from providing a right to work or a freedom of choice, the proposal would in fact substitute a compulsory open shop law for the present satisfactory form of voluntary union shops which may be agreed upon by mutual consent in collective bargaining.

"The amendment would inject wholly unnecessary compulsion into an area where freedom now exists.

"The Consumers League believes the proposal for the amendment is based on the desire of certain factions among employer groups to render impotent or abolish entirely the legally-recognized labor movement and is therefore undesirable, a subterfuge for an ulterior purpose, and an invasion of the rights of free citizens.

"The Consumers League calls attention to the refusal of the Federal Congress to enact similar provisions in the Taft-Hartley Act or in other regulations affecting labor relations.

"Labor relations in Ohio have been and remain on a wholesome plane, requiring no interference in this field on a state level.

"Finally, the League believes adoption of the amendment would disrupt the generally peaceful, cooperative relationships which exist between those who employ and those who labor in this state."