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That Old Issue ls Buck

Click to see original imageLegislation to legalize the socalled “common situs” picketing (secondary boycott) in the construction industry is before Congress. lt’s been there before – and two years ago it lacked only President Ford’s signature to become law. But the President, after first indicating he might go Ialong with the measure, had second thoughts and vetoed it. President Carter indicated during the 1976 campaign there may be little chance for a presidential veto this year. In any event, Congress is expected to be quite a battleground for the controversial legislation before it is finally acted upon. What the unions are seeking is the right to throw a picket ine aroun an entire construction site even if a labor dispute involves only one subcontractor on the job. The Supreme Court banned such ‘picketing in 1951 as an illegal secondary boycott, and organized labor has been trying to persuade Congress to overturn the court ruling ever since. Aligned against the legislation are such groups as the national chamber of commerce, right-to work committee, and various contractor groups. Robert A. Georgine, president of the Building and Construction Trades Department of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, has been quoted as saying the new bill would give the building trades a tool for organizing the unorganized, provide the unions with a “better way” to resolve grievances, reduce the possibility of frivolous picketing, and bring greater stability to the construction industry.” But the National Right to Work Committee said in a recent statement: “When all the rhetoric is stripped away, common situs picketing boils down to nothing more than a scheme for turning the construction industry into a nationwide closed shop. Only those willing and permitted to join the union will be allowed to work.” The Herald has opposed the common situs legis ation on previous occasions and goes on record once again as being against its passage. Aside from the arguments on what the measure will or will not do for unionization, or how it will affect non-union workers, we feel it is unfair for imion workers of one subcontractor to picket and tie up an entire construction site. In our view, this legislation can only lead to unnecessary costs and delays by contractors on a project and inconvenience to the public.