Statement of Arthur J. Goldberg, General Counsel, Congress of Industrial Organizations and United Steelworkers of America

STATEMENT OF ARTHUR J. GOLDBERG, GENERAL COUNSEL, CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS AND UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA Upon instructions of President Philip Murray of the United Steelworkers of America, CIO, I have filed with George J. Bott, General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, and with the Regional Directors of the Board at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Cleveland, Ohio, Chicago, Illinois, Youngstown, Ohio, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania unfair labor practice charges against the six leading companies in the steel industry. These companies aro: United States Steel Corporation, Bethlehem Stecl Company, Republic Steel Corporation, Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company and Inland Steel Company. Separate identical charges were filed against each of these companies. Each charge asserts that the company named has entered into a conspiracy and combination with the other major companies in the steel industry to prevent collective bargaining with the United Steelworkers of America, CIO, the duly designated collective bargaining representative of the employees of each of the companies. The purpose of the conspiracy, it is charged, is to prevent any one of the companies which is a party to the combination or any other smaller company not a party to the combination, from concluding a collective bargaining agreement with the Union on terms mutually agreeable to such Company and the Union. This conspiracy, the charge asserts, constitutes a direct violation of the duty of each of the companies involved in it to bargain collectively with the Union as provided for in Section 8(a)(5) of the National Labor Relations Act as amended. Each of the companies is charged with violating this section of the Act and also Section 8 (a) (1) of the Act. TRUMAN, "NATIONAL ARCHIVESA The charge asserts that the continuance of the present steel strike is a RECORDO ADMAL direct and immediate result of the unlawful conspiracy between the six major companies under which each of the companies is jgiven a veto power of the collective bargaining of each of the other companies. The charge requests the National Labor Relations Board, through its General Counsel, Mr. Bott, to issue complaints against the six named companies and immediately to seek an appropriate restraining order or injunction under Section 10 (j) of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 against the six companies to enjoin the continuance of the unlawful labor practice.