Los Banos Rotary Club History
Reis Discusses New Labor Law

A brief analysis and interpretation of the much discussed Taft-Hartley Labor Law was given members of the Los Banos Rotary Club at their luncheon Tuesday noon by Rev. Robert Reis, pastor of the local Methodist church.
Citing the several factors that control or influence our domestic economy, Reis stated that first, there must be world peace and solidarity among the people of the world to engender a healthy economic condition. The unsettled conditions that have followed the war have produced an unstable economy in which labor and management alike are fearful of the future. The false prosperity born of shortages is like wise unhealthy, Reis said, in that it is temporary at best, and holds no permanent security for either labor or management.

Tracing the gradual development of labor organizations through the last 15 years, Reis stressed the fact that there are very few men who are capable of having authority, and consequently, many of labor's new leaders have proved incapable of the trust placed in them for intelligent, understanding leadership. Many have been unscrupulous and selfish, and their actions have been detrimental not only to management but to the general public as well.

With the increasing infringement upon the rights of the public, Congress had no alternative but to take some action, Rev. Reis said, and the result was the Taft-Hartley law. It is not a bill against labor but rather puts certain restrictions upon the leaders, outlaws the closed shop, provides for union shops, prohibits subscriptions to political parties, prohibits sympathy strikes, requires unions to file annual financial reports, and in other ways sets up rules and regulations for proper conduct of both labor and management.

The new law, Rev. Reis said, is beneficial in that it prohibits many of the excesses demanded by labor's leaders, encourages capital investment, and engenders confidence and security for the workers.

November 25, 1947

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