On January 28 a coalition of Republicans and farm-area Democrats in the state legislature blocked passage of a $3.8 million appropriation needed to keep the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) functioning until July 1.

If money is not appropriated, the board, which conducts the representation elections, will become virtually defunct by February 6 when its present operating funds run out.

The law, which went into effect this past August 28, was enacted on the basis of an agreement that Democratic Gov. Edmund Brown worked out between the growers, Teamsters, and United Farm Workers. Now, after five months of the law, the growers and Teamsters are having serious second thoughts.

The growers and Teamsters are charging that the statute is weighted in favor of the UFW and that the ALRB is biased toward the UFW.

The reality is, however, that the growers and the Teamsters underestimated the support the UFW could mobilize among the field hands. The UFW has come out ahead in the elections held to date, despite widespread coercion and fraud and despite the persistent failure of the ALRB to halt the massive violations of the farm labor law.  
 
February 12, 1951
The "sick report" walkout of railroad yardmen went into its 9th day as members of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen demonstrated their rebellion against the two-year stall of their completely justified demands.

President Truman, who has it within his power under the "seizure" of the lines to force the companies to come to an agreement, has centered all his fire upon the union, which he charged has "acted in bad faith" by refusing to accept government mediators' proposals for settlement.

If Truman were seriously concerned with the effects of the rail walkout on the military situation, he could settle the dispute as he did the miners' strike in 1949 after government seizure. After every attempt made to force the miners back to work proved unsuccessful, the government mediators ordered a wage increase acceptable to the union.

But in the railroad dispute, Truman has taken advantage of the craft division in the rail unions, the lack of militant leadership, and the cover of the Korean war to try to force the workers to work against their will without a decent wage and hour agreement.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home