The determination of labor policy must be governed not by the vagaries of
political expediency but by the firmest principles and convictions. Slanted
partisan appeals to American workers, spoken as if they were a group apart,
necessitating a special language and treatment, are an affront to the
fullness of their dignity as American citizens.
The truth in matters of labor policy has become obscured in controversy.
The very meaning of economic freedom as it affects labor has become
confused. This misunderstanding has provided a climate of opinion favoring
the growth of governmental paternalism in labor relations. This tendency,
if left uncorrected, could end only by producing a bureaucratic despotism.
Economic freedom is, in fact, the requisite of greater prosperity for every
American who earns his own living.
In the field of labor legislation, only a law that merits the respect and
support of both labor and management can help reduce the loss of wages and
of production through strikes and stoppages, and thus add to the total
economic strength of our Nation.
We have now had 5 years' experience with the Labor Management Act of 1947,
commonly known as the Taft-Hartley Act. That experience has shown the need
for some corrective action, and we should promptly proceed to amend that
act.
I know that the Congress is already proceeding with renewed studies of this
subject. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor is at once beginning work to
devise further specific recommendations for your consideration.
In the careful working out of legislation, I know you will give thoughtful
consideration--as will we in the executive branch--to the views of labor,
and of management, and of the general public. In this process, it is only
human that each of us should bring forward the arguments of self-interest.
But if all conduct their arguments in the overpowering light of national
interest--which is enlightened self-interest--we shall get the right
answers. I profoundly hope that every citizen of our country will follow
with understanding your progress in this work. The welfare of all of us is
involved.
Especially must we remember that the institutions of trade unionism and
collective bargaining are monuments to the freedom that must prevail in our
industrial life. They have a century of honorable achievement behind them.
Our faith in them is proven, firm, and final.
Government can do a great deal to aid the settlement of labor disputes
without allowing itself to be employed as an ally of either side. Its
proper role in industrial strife is to encourage the processes of mediation
and conciliation. These processes can successfully be directed only by a
government free from the taint of any suspicion that it is partial or
punitive.
The administration intends to strengthen and to improve the services which
the Department of Labor can render to the worker and to the whole national
community. This Department was created--just 40 years ago--to serve the
entire Nation. It must aid, for example, employers and employees alike in
improving training programs that will develop skilled and competent
workers. It must enjoy the confidence and respect of labor and industry in
order to play a significant role in the planning of America's economic
future. To that end, I am authorizing the Department of Labor to establish
promptly a tripartite advisory committee consisting of representatives of
employers, labor, and the public.