Christian action in industrial relations

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HOW OTHERS ARE DOING IT

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CONTENTS

Churches Help in Industrial Relations (Lewiston-Auburn, Me.)
Ministers Try Social Action (South Bend, Ind.)

Consider Citizen Sann (New York, N. Y.)

Christianity in Industry (Syracuse, N. Y.)
Under the Aspect of the Eternal (Waterbury, Conn.)

Labor Peace is Their Goal (Berwick, Penna.)

Labor-Management School (Staten Island, N. Y.)
V, Church Group Panel Discussion (Atlanta, Ga.)

Church People Called Upon to Consider Industrial Relations
(Recent Statements— Official Church Bodies)

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INTRODUCTION

How they can help toward better labor and manage-
ment relations has been a major concern of the churches
for many decades. That this continues to be true today is
demonstrated by the reprints which make up the contents
of this pamphlet. These articles provide, as it were, a
mirror in which we see what church people are doing about
industrial relations in their communities; they provide also
a listening post where we hear what church people are say-
to each other and to labor and industrial leaders.

This pamphlet is not a headquarters document but in-
stead a report from the field. It is not an essay on the

churches and industrial relations but a compilation of sto-
ries and reports of church people speaking and acting in
many localities and under varying auspices.

What is done in one place and under a particular set
of circumstances cannot, of course, be taken as a fixed
pattern for every place and for all circumstances. But the
following accounts of what others have undertaken deserve
careful attention for the stimulus and help which they af-
ford toward more efforts among more churches and church
people on behalf of better industrial relations.

CAMERON P. HALL, Executive Director
Department of the Church and Economic Life

Churches Help In Industrial Relations

EDWARD E. BREWSTER

WTHEN a city is led to take a real look at its in-
dustrial relations it is an event significant for that
community's experience of togetherness and for its future
material and spiritual progress. Last spring an urban area
in New England comprising the twin cities of Lewiston
and Auburn, Maine, took a long step forward toward a
better understanding of the problems and opportunities
to be found in the area of industrial relations. It was the
Church which took the initiative. Offering its own non-
partisan offices, the Church provided the kind of broad,
inclusive leadership so necessary for an impartial consider-
ation of this problem.

In this urban center, textiles are a leading industry. Like
other cities in New England, the twin cities had been
seriously affected by the world recession in the textile in-
dustry. By early spring a labor-management dispute, in-
volving the manufacturers' demand for a drastic wage
cut, had reached an impasse and, under contract regula-
tions, had ben laid before an impartial arbitration board.
The cities faced a critical economic situation, with layoffs
in the textile and the shoe industry causing a peak of
some 3,000 unemployed. Under the impact of such a situa-
ti')n the feeling was general that the area of industrial re-
lations was of central importance to the welfare of the
community and that some effort was needed to increase
the community awareness of this fact and of its responsi-
bility in industrial relations.

l^OR MANY YEARS generally good relations have ob-
tained between the textile workers represented by the
Textile Workers Union of America, CIO, and local textile
management. E>espite this fact there was evidence of a
need for the encouragement of greater concern for mutual
welfare and social responsibility on the part of both the
union and of management. Even greater was the need
for a wider understanding of industrial relations and an
awareness of community responsibility on the part of
citizens in the twin cities. The need for such an under-

standing and awareness included also the people of the
outlying rural communities, many of whom have part or
full time jobs in industry and all of whom have an eco-
nomic stake in the prosperity and economic stability of
urban industry.

When it was proposed that an informal citizens group
meet to consider the sponsoring of an educational project
in the area of industrial relations, the invitation met with
an immediate favorable response. The initial invitation
to plan the project was extended by the writer to a small
dumber of persons representative of the clergy, labor, man-
agement and the general public. Two planning meetings
were held with persons from both C.I.O. and A.F. of L.
Unions, textile management, the Bates College faculty
and the local clergy being present. "This is just what we
have been looking for," commented the executive secretary
of the Lewiston Chamber of Commerce, when approached
4-egarding the project. The importance of broad and im-
partial sponsorship which the churches alone were able
to provide through their clergy was emphasized by this
business leader. Under such impartial leadership both
union and management leaders were willing to sit down
together to help plan and promote a community-wide ed-
ucational project.

Fortunately, valuable assistance in planning the pro-
ject was obtainable from the Boston Area Chaplain of In-
dustrial Relations for The Methodist Church, the Rev.
Emerson W. Smith, who met twice with the committee
and participated in the program. It was agreed that as
broad a basis of sponsorship as pxjssible should be secured.
Twenty-five persons widely representative of the commun-
ity, including business and professional people. Catholic,
Jewish and Protestant clergy, leaders of labor and man-
agement in both the textile and shoe industries and mem-
bers of the Bates College faculty readily agreed to sponsor
the project. Without exception there was general ap-
proval of the project and an expression of deep personal

interest in the success of this community-wide effort to-
ward a better understanding of industrial relations.

'T'HE PROJECT WAS finally set up as a public sem-
inar in industrial relations. The program was given
in two parts. The first, an afternoon session beginning
at 4 :30, at the Dewitt Hotel, comprised an informal leader-
ship workshop in industrial relations, and the second, an
evening public meeting and open forum at the City Hall.
The co-operation of the mayors of both cities was secured
and the use of the City Hall auditorium was offered free
of charge by the Lewistoh City Government. The Gov-
ernor of the State, the honorable Frederick G. Payne, a
businessman and public leader of wide experience in in-
dustrial relations, graciously accepted the invitation to
address the evening meeting. Helpful assistance in con-
tacting various civic and fraternal organizations was given
by the local Community Chest, while the T. W. U. A.
office willingly donated their mimeographing service.

Geared to the broad aim of contributing to a wider
community understanding of industrial relations, the after-
noon prcTgram was designed to provide a period of inform-
al discussion for interested leaders in business and civic
life, the clergy, labor, management and the professions.
Two panel discussions were held. The first on the
"Ethical Foundations of Industrial Relations" presented
the viewpoints of the three religious faiths. A Jewish
Rabbi stressed the underlying unity of ethical principles
in which the three faiths shared.

Presenting the Protestant view, a Professor from
Bates College pointed to the close tie between the
Protestant ethic and the rise of capitalism and empha-
sized the need for a greater conciousness of social re-
sponsibility on the part of industrial leadership. The
second panel centered upon a discussion of "Our Con-
tribution to Industrial Relations," with panelists from
labor, business and the clergy. The importance of the
human element in the relations between labor and man-
agement was stressed.

TN HIS ADDRESS highlighting the evening public
forum, Governor Payne outlined practical steps to be

taken for industrial development in the twin cities. He
warned against an apathetic community attitude toward
established industry and emphasized the need for a deep,
concerted interest in the problems of industry and in-
dustrial relations. Following the Governor's address, a
panel discussion on the subject of "The Community and
Its Responsibility In Industrial Relations" was conducted,
with Professor Quimby from Bates College as moderator
and with a Uni^ersalist minister, the Area Director of the
T.W.U.A. and a young local attorney participating. The
union official called for "community understanding, par-
ticipation and cooperation" in industrial relations and ad-
vocated "a program to make all segments of the commun-
ity concious of the development and growth of industrial
problems, not a sudden attack on a problem when it
arises."

The spokesman for the clergy agreed that the commun-
ity should know more about the labor-management picture
and pointed out that "we must never lost sight of the
basic integrity of people." Representing the general pub-
lic, the young attorney urged that the citizens in any
matter affecting industrial relations in the community to
reserve their decision until all the facts are in. Participa-
tion by the audience in the forum period placed further
emphasis upon the importance of human values in in-
dustrial relations. A working girl rose to contend for
a high opinion of Maine workers and declared, "It's time
the leaders in this community stopped selling their own
workers short." The Rev. Emerson Smith urged the audi-
ence to "put more meaning into what labor is," asserting
that labor "is not a commodity that you can buy and sell
to the highest bidder, but a group of people with social
and ethical problems."

HPHE GENERAL OPINION was expressed that this
public seminar in industrial relations was most worth
while in centering the interest of the community upon
this problem in a constructive manner, and in contribut-
ing to a wider community understanding and an aware-
ness of its responsibility..,.. The churches discovered that
they had an essential and strategic role to play in this vital

area of human relations

Reprinted from ZIONS HERALD, Oct, 8, 1952

THE MINISTERS TRY SOCIAL ACTION

By REV. FRANK CLEVELAND MARTICK, Minister, West-
minster Presbyterian Church, South Bend, Indiana.

WHEN Bendix Local No. 9, UAW,
C.I.O., walked out of the South
Bend Bendix Products Division and
the Bendix Aviation Corporation on
strike on April 20, 1949, we knew it
might be serious. But no one dreamed
that weeks would pass without a hint
or hope of settlement. Claims and
counterclaims by labor and manage-
ment made fair judgment of the case

almost impossible. Our ministers'
committee of nine included the presi-
dent, the president-elect, and the ex-
ecutive secretary of the council of
churches, a Jewish rabbi, and repre-
sentatives from the major Protestant
denominations. It was commissioned
originally as a fact-finding group to
help the ministers and their congre-
gations to understand a critical situa-

tion. In May when we first met we did
not presume or even attempt to settle
anything, and thereby begins a tale!

The strike had a background of
unrest in the brake-shoe department
reaching back at least to 1945. The
corporation's side of the story was
ably presented by their top men, the
general manager, a vice-president,
and the industrial relations manager.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

in your community - -

1) Study - problems, issues, and developments

in present day industrial relations
in the light of Christian principles
and concern.

2) Learn - about conditions in various industries

of the community by
visiting plants
talking over problems with

both labor and management

representatives
co-operating with other interested

community organizations

3) Plan - for continuing effective contact between

the church and the industrial community--
both workers and management

The pamphlet Christian Action in Industrial Relations gives examples
of what church leaders and groups are saying and doing in the above
areas. It can be used

a) as a guide to individual thinking and action for
the local pastor, chairman of Christian social
relations, leaders of men's and women's groups,
council of churches' executives and committee
chairmen, or

b) as a springboard for a discussion in any church
group on the subject

WHAT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY IN THE CHURCHES FOR
BETTER INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS IN OUR COMMUNITY?

See other side of this sheet for some questions to be considered in
such a discussion.

What have official church bodies (particularly your own denomination) said about
the responsibility of church people toward industrial relations? (See "Church
People Called upon to Consider Recent Developments in Industrial Relations" -
also your own church reports and publications.)

What recent developments in attitudes and practices of management and labor are
taking place in Industrial relations? At what points are these in accord with
Christian principles of justice and human dignity? (See "Consider Citizen Sam"
and other references under Additional Reading Suggestions, p. 15.)

What is the present state of industrial relations in your community? To what
extent are labor and management forces working together co-operatively toward
industrial peace; or, is the general atmosphere still one of hostility or "armed"
neutrality?

What is the general proportion of persons who come from among workers or manage-
ment in the membership and leadership of your church or churches? How does this
proportion compare with the community as a whole? Does this raise problems re-
garding inclusiveness of membership?

What, if anything, has this church or the churches of the community, done in
the past (a) to inform its members about human relations in local industries, or
(b) to express the concern of the church on behalf of justice in a local industrial
conflict? Why should you, as church people, be concerned with these problems?

Does the picture of "Citizen Sam" (see "Consider Citizen Sam") reflect, in general,
attitudes of workers and management in this community? What factors have encour-
aged, or retarded, the development of more enlightened relationships?

Does the situation call for more attention to the bases of the church's concern
for industrial issues from the pulpit (along the lines of the sermons "Chris-
tianity in Industry" and "Under the Aspect of the Eternal")?

Which of the following seems most appropriate as a possible course of action
for this group, following upon this discussion?

a) Organization of a community-wide, citizens' approach and
understanding — as in Lewiston-Auburn, Maine — ("Churches
Help in Industrial Relations")

b) Approach to a current strike situation through the local
ministerium or other responsible church body ("The
Ministers Try Social Action")

c) Conduct of a School of Industrial Relations under the
leadership of the local church or denomination ("Labor
Peace Is Their Goal") or the local council of churches
("Labor Management School to Open on Staten Island")

d) Other interchurch or community action, such as visits to
industrial plants ("Christianity in Industry") ; inter-
denominational consideration ("Church Group Plan Panel
Discussion") ; encouragement of more participation by lay
people, as Christians, in management and labor organiza-
tions ("Church People Called upon to Consider ... Industrial
Relations") .

197 6 A

At the beginning the corporation was
very gracious in granting us an inter-
view immediately and at great length.
Their claim was that they had caught
forty-seven men in the brake-shoe
department cheating on their time
cards. They had watched and dis-
covered that the men were reporting
more "downtime" than was legiti-
mate. Under the incentive piecework
plan, when machines sometimes
break down or the supply line fails
for a time, and a man or a group of
operators must shut down their
machines until they can work again,
the corporation allows an agreed
amount for "downtime" to compen-
sate for this lost time. The forty-
seven men were warned that they
would get only legitimate downtime
and be strictly called to account for
it. At the same time the corporation
pointed out that it would expect the
department to produce almost the
same number of brake shoes. When
the union objected that this was in
essence a "speedup," and countered
with a "slowdown," the corporation
discharged the forty-seven men and
named four of them troublemakers.
It was a violation of contract, the
corporation said, since it was not a
wage rate dispute and therefore
under their contract not subject to
either arbitration or umpire.

The ministers' next move was to
get an interview with the union strike
committee. After several unsuccess-
ful attempts to reach the strikers, the
chairman of our committee and I
went down to the union hall for an
interview. It was obvious that the
union committee was suspicious of
us. However, they told us their story,
which, of course, differed like day
and night from the corporation's
position.

The union held that the corpora-
tion had been allowing an arbitrary
amount of downtime each day on
every time card, not only to take
care of actual downtime, but also to
bring wages in that department up
to a level the workers thought right,
without going through contract nego-
tiations. Therefore the union felt this
was a wage rate dispute subject to
umpire, since it changed wage rates.
To back up their charges, the union
further claimed that the corporation-
loyal foreman had approved this rate
of downtime for some years over his

signature, that higher superintend-
ents also knew of it and winked at
it, giving thereby their tacit ap-
proval. Now suddenly the corpora-
tion wanted to get "righteous" and
call it cheating! But the union held
that they should either submit it to
arbitration or reopen contract ne-
gotiations. This the corporation
adamantly refused to do, and con-
tinued to regard it as a "breach of
contract." Here the union leader
wryly observed that since the lush
profits of wartime production were
passing and competition was keener,
this was one way the corporation
could cut corners. The union claimed
that if time records were opjn to
impartial investigation they would
show their claims to be right. But
such inspection was not allowed. As
we walked out into the dismal night
rain we remarked: "Now which side
is lying? They both can't be right!"

Negotiations stalemated at this
point and the economic picture in
the community grew more difficult.
... Eventually even the Federal medi-
ators were stymied and the governor
called the disputing parties to Indi-
anapolis and proposed a plan. It
would have ended the strike and sent
the men back to work while new rates
were worked out and a few men were
disciplined. Reluctantly the corpora-
tion agreed to it. The union sub-
mitted it to a vote.

By now the ministers' actions were
much in the news. Almost every
group in town, including our com-
mittee of nine, urged the union to
take a secret ballot. But for some
reason they refused, and a standing
vote was taken on the governor's
plan, with impartial observers pres-
ent.

Perhaps some of the men were
afraid to vote publicly against their
officers. Anyway the governor's plan
lost, the Federal mediator went back
to Detroit, and everyone just seemed
to settle down "for a long winter's
nap." Our committee had tried to
encourage where encouragement was
justified, criticize where blame really
lay, and needle all parties to action
for the good of the community. But
at that point we had not taken any
actual mediatorial action.

After much deliberation we de-
cided, not entirely unanimously,
though all went along with it, to offer

a plan of settlement. We took riie
governor's plan, cut it down a bit,
and offered the union a few more
concessions perhaps than they had
had before. Our hope was simply to
get men back to work.

The newspapers thought they had
the trail of a good story when there
was no real news, and grabbed our
plan of settlement and spread it in
the headlines. The union welcomed
the plan. Perhaps they were partially
convinced that we wanted to be of
help.

Corporation officials were furious
and flatly rejected our plan. They
even refused to consider it! But
public opinion was now against
tbera, for now they too had rejected
something for the welfare of the
community. Talk in "big business"
circles took an uncomplimentary
turn about preachers. Things in the
city looked blacker than ever, though
there was practically no violence.

Then something happened that
tipped the balance for the union.
Bendix had been making parts for
the landing gear of the United States
B-36 planes, and these planes were
grounded in many parts of the world
for want of parts. The principals to
the strike were called to Washington
by Air Force Secretary Syihington.
...In just a few hours the strike was
settled and the men went back to
work. The troublemakers were repri-
manded and a few disciplined, but
everyone was happy to be on the job
again. July 4, 1949, was a real cele-
bration, while the ministers went
home to catch up on lost sleep.

In certain parts of the business
community our activity in the strike
is still held against us, mostly on the
basis that labor relations are not the
business of religion. But by and
large there are heartening indica-
tions that "the little fellow" in the
community realizes that the Church
of Jesus Christ is concerned about
his and his community's welfare, and
that justice be done in the market
place. The Church was there!

Reprinted from
SOCIAL PROGRESS
September 1950

CONSIDER . . .

CITIZEN SAM

Here's the man who can determine a
company's success or failure; his needs
and interests rate top priority

by W. HOWARD CHASE

Three Linii.s

• When an employee is made to feel that he is a vital part of the
organization, that his welfare is important, and that his opinion
is respected by his boss, the result is ultimately better production

GORDON ALLPORT writes inter-
estingly of Citizen Sam, who
moves and has his being in the great
activity wheel of New York City:

"Let us say that he spends his hours
of unconsciousness somewhere in the
badlands of the Bronx. He wakens
to grab the morning's milk, left at the
door by an agent of a vast dairy and
distributing system whose corporate
maneuvers, so vital to his health,
never consciously concern him. After
paying hasty respects to his landlady,
he dashes into the transportation sys-
tem whose mechanical and civic mys-
teries he does not comprehend. At
the factory he becomes a cog for the
day in a set of systems beyond his ken.
"To him, as to everybody else, the

company he works for is an abstrac-
tion. He plays an unwitting part in
the 'creation of surpluses' (whatever
they are) and though he doesn't know
it, his furious activity at hig machine
is regulated by the 'law of supply and
demand' and by 'the availability of
raw materials' and by 'prevailing in-
terest rates.' Unknown to himself, he
is headed next week for the 'surplus
labor market.'

"A union official collects his dues;
just why, he doesn't know. At noon-
time the crowded cafeteria swallows
him up, much as he swallows one of
its automatic pies. After more ac-
tivity in the afternoon, he seeks out
a standardized daydream produced in
Hollywood, to rest his tense, but not

efficient mind. At the end of the day
he sinks into a tavern, and unknow-
ingly victimized by the advertising
cycle, he orders in rapid succession
the brands he has seen advertised in
magazines and on billboards.

Sam has been active all day, im-
mensely active, playing a part in
dozens of impersonal cycles of be-
havior. He has brushed scores of
'corporate personalities,' but has en-
tered into intimate relations with no
single human being. The people he
has met are idler-gears like himself
meshed into systems of transmission,
far too distracted to examine any one
of the cycles

in which they are engaged. Through-
out the day Sam is on the go, impU-
cated in this task and that, but does
he, in a psychological sense, partici-
pate in what he is doing? Although
constantly task-involved, is he ever
really ego-involved?"

Thinking about millions of citizen
Sams. I have noted some prevailing
beliefs or attitudes toward our busi-
ness system. These citizens are say-
ing, rightly or wrongly: "Management
is more interested in the dollar sign
than in humanity." "Management
manages without heart." "Manage-
ment has to be forced to provide de-
cent working conditions." "Manage-
ment has to be forced by government
and by unions to share profits.''
"Management still makes fantastic
profits."

Such thoughts are running through
the mind of Citizen Sam despite the
fact that a dynamic business system
has provided the steel sinews for vic-
tory in two gi eat wars. The evidences
of men and women co-operatively at
work are everywhere about us in the
great cities, the magnificent trans-
portation systems, the farms which
are literally feeding the world, and the
great educational and cultural sys-
tems which may be our temporary
despair but which remain the envy of
other peoples.

Why , then, has this business system
lost steadily in the competition for
men's minds and men's loyalties? The
tangible fruits of our common efforts,
the brands, the things we make and
deliver, are synonymous around the
world with high standards of liviilg.
A so-called subsistence in America
would be a princely living for 75 per
cent, or 1,500,000,000, of the world's
people. But is it possible that we have
so exalted our ability to deliver brands
ai.d physical products that we have
lost sight of man's around-the-clock
needs? Have we so hypnotized our-
selves with bathtubs, telephones, cen-
tral heating systems and automobiles
that mass production has become an
end in itself?

At any rate, we may be sure that
only superhuman effort, first to com-
prehend human wants and aspirations,
and then to move convincingly toward
satisfying them can prevent the tragic
decline of a system magnificently pro-
ductive of things.

"Mankind," writes Alfred North
Whitehead, the philosopher, "is in one

of its rare moods of shifting in out-
look, ■ The mere compulsion of tradi-
tion has lost its force. It is the busi-
ness of philosophers, students and
practical men to re-create and re-
enact a vision of the world. . . . There
is now no choice before us. Either
we must succeed in providing a ra-
tional co-ordination of impulse and
thought, or for centuries civilization
will sink into a mere welter of minor
excitements. We must produce a
great age or see the collapse of the
upward striving of our race."

How can the practical men of whom
the philosopher speaks help to re-
create and re-enact a vision and pro-
duce a great age?

One way is to reduce the human
frustration with which we began in
the description of Citizen Sam. It is
the prirne responsibility of ?iny man
who believes in freedom to reduce the
causes of frustration. I list this un-
hesitatingly as a responsibility of
business management. And in this
we have fallen short in two ways.

First, we have failed to understand
the basic needs and aspirations of
people. We have been preoccupied
by the unrealistic belief that men
work for wages alone. The implica-
tion of the fact that men and women
almost automatically tend to rate
their company as a better place to
work, as engaged in finer research,
as making better products, as giving
the public more for its money — these
implications have not been understood
or capitalized on by management.

Second, management has failed to
tell its story, to identify its activities
with the good life, to show by word
and deed, not once a year but repeti-
tively, that its goals are linked v/ith
the best interests of its employees, its
customers, its owners, and the general
public.

Elton Mayo has shown in his two
great books, "The Human'' and "The
Social Problems of an Industrial Civi-
lization," how the orderly progres-
sion from apprenticeship to crafts-
manship stabilized society untU lat£„in
the nineteenth century

Where management has recog-
nized Citizen Sam, where genuine ef-
fort has been made to make him feel
that he is an appreciated and vital part
of an important operation, where
management has talked frankly in
terms that Citizen Sam understands,
there has been greater labor peace.

greater understanding, and ultimately
better production. These are the
fruits of an all-out planned attack on
human frustration, the enemy of free
man and free institutions.

Obviously, a company and the eco-
nomic system itself cannot survive if
the majority of the people decide that
they do not like the cut of its jib. If
they disapprove, conflict is inevitable
and cannot be legislated out of exist-
ence. In today's complicated and fast-
moving society, conflict can only be
resolved by a communication between
gioups, and this Elton Mayo calls "the
outstanding problem facing civiliza--
tion today."

In no sense does this comment cast
discredit on the technologies and the
managerial marketing and sales skills
that make mass production possible.
It is another way of saying, however,
that while, in the past perhaps 95 per
cent of management's brains and en-
ergies was devoted to the solution of
technical problems, and only five pei'
cent to human problems, in the future
the management of corporations that
survive will devote the major share
of their brains and energies and sym-
pathies to human problems. The
time will come when what the mass
mind thinks of the company behind
the product will be just as important
— in terms of corporate stability — as
what the company says about its
products.

If we are to live as free men, we
must live in what Charles Francis,
board chairman of General Foods,
calls a system of democratic capital-
ism. Ours is the most democratic
system ever invented, an economic
system where every day the consumer
casts his vote for the product and the
system of his choice. It is by public
demand or public rejection that great
industries rise or fall, not by edict.

I am convinced that the process of
identifying business with the great
goals of the human race is all that
can maintain today s free corporate
system. We have achieved mass pro-
duction in peace and war, and no-
where have we achieved mass serenity
of the peoples of this. land. Instead
we have only contributed to their
growing frustration, their decreasing
stability, their reduced happiness and
well-being.

Let us never for one moment give
up our magnificent technologies. But
let us use our every power to identify
the owners and managers of those
technologies with the simple goals —
better education for everybody's

children, better housing, better op-
portunities based on ability, more
security for the aged and infirm, more
respect for the opinion of any man
who has opinions.

These are the qualities that add to
human relations. And when I think
of management's responsibilities in
such j-elationships, I can summarize
my thought in three observations:

Liberty and freedom are always on
trial. Human frustration is the great-'
est asset of those who would destroy
free men and free institutions. No
human institution, whether it be state,
lodge, labor union or corporation, can
long survive the sustained mass dis-
approval of man.

It may be unorthodox to conclude
an article with a definition. Be that

as it may, the dictionary's first defi-
nition of "corporate" is: "Combines
into one body; united." The second
definition is: "Formed into a body by
legal enactment." We can evaluate
the success of our combined attack
on human frustration if oui fellow
workers in shops and plants choose,
of their own free will, to be "combined
into one body; united."

Reprinted from THE CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE
Aug, 28, 1952

CHRISTIANITY IN INDUSTRY

Sermon by REVEREND HAROLD L. BUTTON,
Rector of St. Paul's Church, Syracuse, N.Y.

I want to give both a report on an expedition, and a
sermon on the things I saw. I suppose we are all, in a
sense, three dimensional beings who see, feel, and evalu-
ate. Julius Caesar summarized that thought when he wrote
concerning the Gallic Wars -- I came, I saw, I conquered.
During this past week I had the privilege of visiting one of
the large industrial corporations of Syracuse. There are a
number of things that can get one down in Life, but if we
look the other way, there are an equal number of things
that reassure us of the value of living, and of the integrity
of mankind.

I would first like to relate what I saw. there were
twelve members in the party, six clergymen, and six mem-
bers of the plant -- the plant members being divided e-
qually between Management and Labor. On the side of
Management was a Personnel Director, Employment Man-
ager and a member of the Sales Department. Labor was
represented by the President of the plant's American Fed-
eration of Labor Union, and two other union representa-
tives. We were taken to the dining hall , into an atmos-
phere that spoke of health and happiness. Eating conditions
were as palatable as the best kind of dining room at home.
The food was top quality and the prices reasonable. After
having lunch in an atmosphere that suggested a large fam-
ily, we adjourned to a meeting room where we asked and
answered questions for better than two hours. What I saw
during that time was Big Business belying the oft repeated
statement that relationships in American industry can be
best summarized in the Old Testament saying, "An eye
for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. "

The second reaction from the expedition was found in
the things I felt. I came away certain for the first time
that Capital and Labor were not at opposite poles, but were
part of an industrial system that were meant to comple-
ment each other. I felt that Labor looks to its Union lead-
ers for guidance and advice in the same way that Manage-
ment looks to its Board of Directors.

I asked myself this question - - Is it wrong to have a
spokesman to whom you can bring your troubles, and through
whom you can reach out for an answer? Isn't that exactly
what the Church has done through the years? We speak of
our guardian angel, or our pauon Saint, or of Mary, the
Mother of God, interceding for us before the thone of the
Divine Majesty. I felt that the representatives of both
Management and Labor no longer saw themselves as iso-
lated cogs in a big wheel whose circumference they had
never travelled. Now they saw the whole picture, and
their necessary part in relationship to it.

So often we hear it said that a man nowadays has little
concern for the quaUty of his work because he never sees
the finished product, in relationship to his part in it. When
a cobbler made a pair of shoes it was his work; the product
was his product and he was proud of it. Nowadays we are
told that the assembly Une plan of production isolates the
individual in such a way that he has lost personal initia-
tive, the desire to do his best, and any faith that there is a
future to what he is doing. Now he works for the day's pay,
because that is the only tangible evidence of reward for
effort.

Perhaps that was once true, and may still be true in
certain quarters, but I am sure that it does not have to be
that way any longer. Each individual in this plant I visited
has the opportunity, through its various departments, of
seeing all there is to see, and knowing all there is to know,
up to the individual's capacity to see and understand. He
not only is given the opportunity to see the product in
every stage of production, but is told what management
is thinking, even to the limit of reading the financial
figures.

I came away with the feeling that man has seen t.e it
that in this Machine Age the individual has not lost his
sense of worth , that he does carry himself with dignity , and
that he is ready to work diligently just so long as he is pro-
vided with security, a livable return, and a feeUng that he
is being appreciated.

Rather than be;ing something to be endured, I honestly
felt that Management was glad that it had<a Union that was
represented by men who cared, and that they would not
want it any other way. I also felt that the Union members
looked upon Management in much the same way that chil-
dren look upon their older brothers. They were ready to
bestow fraternal love and devotion measure for measure as
they received it in turn. What queer notions we can get
when we divorce ourselves too much from men as they
manage their daily Uves, . . .

We discussed at some length the Taft-Hartley Act. I
found that ther-e were many things in this Act that Labor
did not like, but I also discovered that there were an equal
number of things in the Wagner Act that Management did
not like.

I felt that both sides agreed that both acts were neces-
sary in the evolutionary growth of our Industrial life, and
that both will become the means of producing something
equitable and worthwhile in the years to come. Labor's
biggest complaint to the Taft-Hartley Act, at least this
Union's complaint, was the matter of a signature. Appar-
ently, the Act required anyone joining a Union to sign an
affidavit signifying that he is Anti-Communist. The Union
members, they said, as proud Americans were glad to sign
this statement, but the Act did not require Management to
do the same. "We'll sign," they said, "but we want the
other half of our industrial life to do the same."

I could not argue against that complaint; in fact the
greater the responsibility in Industry the more assurance we
should have of fidelity to the American way of life. I felt
that whatever tensions they had in Industry , and I'm sure
they have them, did not necessarily mean that they would
turn into troubles that would take an act of Congress to re-
solve. Here at least in this plant, Labor and Management
were ready to tackle any tension and turn it, not into trou-
ble, but into triumph for the good of all.

After leaving the meeting and thinking about it for a
day or two, certain things were revealed as unquestionably
true. The first was this -- the spirit of Brotherhood that
prevailed led me to believe that they had something in
common that transcended their relationships in Manage-
ment and Labor, Perhaps if asked-, they could not make it
articulate, but here again is proof that action speaks loud-
er than words. Do you think that Management shared
equally with Labor because it was the profitable thing to
do? Do you think that Labor sought equality with Manage-
ment because it was the proud thing to do J I think that

harmony and fraternity existed because each, in his own
way, brought a little bit of heaven into play, through the
faith he possessed.

When we beUeve that we exist for something greater
than the work we do, when we believe that the way we do
our work in some way qualifies us for that something greater
than ourselves, and when we believe that we cannot achieve
that goal at the expense of someone else, then our daily
work automatically reveals a system operating under the
Golden Rule, I have no other explanation for what I saw
and felt. We cannot avoid selfishness unless we instinc-
tively know sacrifice. We cannot automatically share un-
less we know a life that gave and gave without a thought
of gain. Yes, we cannot live by Capitalism, unless we
know how to live by Christianity. Without the Church we
have chaos; with it we have Christian social relationships
that speak of faith, hope and charity.

The second thing that was revealed to me was this --
The Church is as much the guardian of our rights on earth,
as it is a guarantee of our rewards in heaven. If that is so,
it behooves us to take our religion away from the Church
with us and live it seven days in the week. If the person
next to you in your work wants to harm, show him how to
heal. If he complains, show him the value of a compli-
ment. If he wastes time, show him that all time is God's
time. If he curses and hates, show him the Cross as the
price of Hate. If he constantly seeks praise and power,
teach him how to pray.

Finally, the third thing that was revealed to me was
ourselves. Instead of my going into a plant for the first
time , suppose a member of the plant came into this Church
for the first time. He would be impressed by what he saw.
Is there anything here that we would want to hide from him?
I will let each individual answer that question himself. If
there is anything, then let us know, so thatwe, tod,can hide
it from our sight. What is seen is important, because it
will determine what is felt. I would hope that our visitor
felt that he was truly in God's house, that if cleanliness is
next to holiness, he didn't get into the wrong place. I
would hope that our visitor found something here he could
take with him throughout the week, I would want our vis-
itor to see these things, and feel these things, not for any
praise on our part, but on his part, that there might be re-
vealed to him this Universal truth:

This is God's world

We are His children, and all, brothers of a

heavenly Father.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

UNDER THE ASPECT OF THE ETERNAL

Sermon by the REVEREND JOHN YUNGBLUT of St. John's Parish,
Waterbury, Connecticut. The occasion was a severe strike in that city.

We come together to worship God in his house this
morning. But we bring with us the cares and concerns of
the world. If our religion is not to be a mere escape from
reality, then we have to look at some of our problems from
time to time right here, in the midst of our worship - that
we may see them under "the aspect of eternity. " Then
will there be a continuity between what we do here now and
our work tomorrow. Religion cannot be made a compart-
ment of life and remain religion. Religion is all of life or
nothing at all.

Now there are a great many people in this congrega-
tion this morning whose lives are deeply affected by the
strikes which exist in this city. Indeed such is our mutu-
aUtyin modern civilization, so dependent are we upon one
another - that it is impossible for one member to suffer
without the whole body feeling the pain. And if the set-
tlement of these strikes is not for you a vital concern at the
rfioment , then I trust that you will have the Christian char-
ity to accept vicariously your brother's concern this morn-
ing as your own and join us in bringing this concern right
into the heart of our worship.

Our city is suffering grievously. Contracts from which
both management and la,bor stand to gain are being lost.
Merchants are feeling the want of business. The great hu-
manitarian enterprises of the city represented in the Feder-
ated Funds are seriously threatened by retrenchment. Much
that might be projected in civic betterment and business
enterprise must be held in abeyance or indefinitely post-
poned. But the greatest suffering takes place in the home
- where it is most effectively concealed from others. Sav-
ings laboriously accumulated are being rapidly depleted.
Much-needed medical attention is being postponed . But
more important still is the toll in hopes deferred, in anx-
iety which expresses itself in ill-temper, impatience, even
the unsettling of one's religious faith. Shall something
which so deeply disturbs our people be taboo in our wor-
ship? On the contrary, the free pulpit of this church is
here to permit the Word of God to impinge on anything
which afflicts the children of men, whatever it may be. I
offer no apology for inviting you to think with me here in
the presence of God about this immediate and pressing
concern.

Now wisdom is not given me to pronounce judgment
on the specific issues in question in the negotiations. I do
not know enough of the highly technical matters involved.
Indeed, even among those who do understand these techni-
cal matters there may conceivably be justifiable differ-
ences of opinion among equally sincere Christian gentle-
men. There are, however, some general principles inher-
ent in our Christian Faith which are in danger of being

overlooked or forgotten in the tensions present in the cur-
rent dispute. It is appropriate that the church enunciate
these principles when they are neglected. It is the only
"Thus saith the Lord" she is in a position to pronounce.
She cannot do more. She dare not do less.

Spirit of Conciliation

The spirit of conciliation must not be abandoned at
any stage. Neither group may legitimately withdraw from
negotiation. This is the continuing obligation one group
bears toward the other. There is in the first chapter of the
Book of Isaiah a verse which fairly leaps from the page to
speak of our need. The Lord says to the children of Israel,
"Come now and let us reason together."

There had been a breakdown in the contractual rela-
tionship between man and God. As far as the balance of
power was concerned, it rested entirely with God. He was
in a perfect position to exercise authority and to make terms
in an autocratic way. Indeed, he had just said out of anger
in answer to their overtures and preferred negotiations;
"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto
me? I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat
of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or
of he-goats, your new moons and your appointed feasts my
soul hateth; They are a trouble unto me; I am weary to
bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will
hide mine eyes from you; Yea, when ye make many pray-
ers, I will not hear; Your hands are full of blood. " It is
questionable whether either labor or management could
possibly get away in the end with such high-handedness.
But there was no one to restrain God. And yet it is a reve-
lation of the character of our God that in the midst of such
great provocation, he checked his own temptation to co-
erce. He deliberately chose to keep open the channels of
negotiation. His anger gave way to a word of conciliation:
"Come now and let us reason together." The readiness to
to reason together as intelligent and decent men must not
be abandoned by either side.

Now, of course, in the process of negotiations, it may
well be that one party will arrive at a point beyond which
it feels it cannot go either in conscience or in actual ca-
pacity. At this point it must make its stand. Its judgment
regarding its capacity may be mistaken, and it may be
questioned whether a principle is involved. But if it is
sincere, it must act on its convictions. When such a point is
reached it is the obligation of the group to continue by ev-
ery means possible to interpret its position to the other and
to win acceptance by the power of persuasion. An attitude
of arbitrary demand through curt ultimatums has no place.

Moreover, though means may be available to both for
the use of coercion, this course must not be taken. It does
not produce a just solution. It destroys morale even if the
other group is forced into a reluctant agreement. Further,
despite the desire for loyalty and solidarity, allowance
must be made for minority opinion and its free expression.
If any on^ in management or labor is in conscientious dis-
agreement with the representatives of his group, let him
make his convictions known without fear of consequences.
This practice is basic in every sphere of our democracv.

The Partnership

In the second place, management, investment and
labor are all partners in one enterprise - production for hu-
man consumption. The profit motive, though legitimate
as a motive, must be kept subservient to other motives,
principally the welfare of the community itself. Capital
may not press for higher profits at the expense of its part-
ner, nor may labor press for higher wages at the expense of
investors. Common ground must be found.

Labor is at least as much a partner of management as
capital. Each is dependent upon the other. Ways must be
found for the exercise of this partnership before breakdown
comes that the devastation of strikes may be avoided.

Vocation

In the third place, larger objectives are being lost
sight of now in the fight for specific concessions. In our
current economic scene, a man's work is too often thought
of as a mere way of earning a livelihood, a means to a
good life. But God intends a man's work to be part of the
good life itself. This is what is meant by Christian voca-
tion. In the current disputes over wages and various forms

of compensation and security, this is almost forgotten. In
our industrial culture we simply have not yet shown how
certain types of work in the production line can, by the
farthest stretch of the imagination be considered part of
the good life. Legitimate pride of work in the ability to
identify one's own work in the finished product is impossi-
ble under present circumstances.

This existing industrial order, as the Malvern Confer-
ence in the Church of England a few years ago pointed out,
is largely responsible for the problem of the "mass man,
who is conscious of no status, spiritual or social, who is a
mere item in the machinery of production and who easily
develops the herd psychology, which is automatically re-
sponsive to skillfur propaganda. "

Finally, for the sake both of management and labor a
way must be found to provide greater security of work. A
great industrialist, William Cooper Proctor, once said:
"Of all personal tragedies, two seem to me the greatest:
the man who is sick and cannot work; and the man who
wants to work and cannot find a job."

Malvern recognized this tragedy and expressed its con-
viction. "Human status ought not to depend upon the
changing demands of the economic process; no one should
be deprived of the support necessary for the good life by
the fact that there is at some time no demand for his
labour." Let us not lose sight of these long-term objec-
tives in our preoccupation with the immediate aspects of
this particular conflict.

We have said three things: the channels of concilia-
tion must be kept open; the essential partnership of man-
agement, capital, and labor must be realized and imple-
mented; and we must move in the direction of enabling a
man to feel a true vocation in his work as well as a larger
measure of continuity and security that it may be for him
a part of the good Ufe. For the immediate settlement of
the preggftt differences, God's word is clear: "Come now
and let us reason together."

Labor Peace Is Their Goal

by HAROLD C. LETTS, Secretary for social action.
Board of Social Missions, United Lutheran Church of
America

The strike had dragged on for a
month — a strike that had closed up tight
the large manufacturing plant employing
a majority of the industrial workers of
Berwick, Pennsylvania. Effects of the
strike had been felt throughout the com-
munity. Relief rolls increased. Church
contributions fell off.

Finally a settlement was reached. The
factory workers returned to their jobs.
Lines of automobiles moved along slowly
in the morning and evening rush hours.

Understanding between labor and management is fostered
by cliurcli-sponsored schools teaching industrial relations

No longer did groups of idlers gather at
the street corners.

Leading citizens of the community
did not forget the hardship and loss due
to the work stoppage. They met one
evening in a church parlor under the
leadership of Pastor Arthur W. Lawver,
Jr., of Berwick's Holy Trinity Lutheran
Church — largest of the six Lutheran con-
gregations in and around the community.

Members of the committee were the

president of the steel workers' local who
had led the strike, one of the foremen in
the steel plant, the secretary of the United
Mine Workers' local, the president of a
wholesale grocery company, other lay-
men from various fields of occupation
and several pastors. All were active
churchmen considering together what
they might do to improve labor-manage-
ment relations in that town in order to
avoid future strikes.

After careful consideration of various
possibilities, the committee decided to
adopt a plan prepared by the ULCA
Board of Social Missions for a school of
industrial relations. Courses on such sub-
jects as "The Christian and His Daily
Work," and "Public Speech and Parlia-
mentary Procedure" would be offered
one night a week for six weeks. In addi-
tion, a series of six forum programs on
the theme "The Basis of Successful
Labor-Management Relations" would be
held on the same nights, with speakers
who could represent labor, management,
government and the church. Open
forums would be encouraged.

When the program was held, work-
ers and bosses sat side-by-side in the
meeting rooms. Over 110 men and
women from all walks of economic and
industrial life participated in the sessions
of the school, some coming for 30 miles
or more each week. Attendances aver-
aged 85 at each session. Included were
49 foremen and supervisors, 22 office
clerks, 29 laborers, carpenters, machin-
ists, etc., and 1 1 pastors.

Interest remained at such a high level
that at the end of the scheduled program
a widespread uemand for continuing the
school another year was voiced. Some

Pastors and Labor Leaders Meet
Detroit Ministerial Union discusses problems with officers of UAW-CIO

participants suggested that it be extended
beyond the scheduled six-week period.

Reactions to two similar schools held
in other cities were the same. Working
people and men in management are
anxious to find some way to solve their
problems. They believe the church has a
contribution to make. When they are
offered an opportunity, the lay men and
women will give their time to discuss and
counsel on these problems with each
other under the auspices and guidance of
the church. Over 150 registered for the
fourth annual school in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, sponsored by *he Board of
Inner Missions of the Ministerium.

Across the United Lutheran Church
the membership of its congregations is
involved in problems such as faced Ber-
wick. According to a study made in 1952
by the Board of Social Missions, 42 per
cent of the ULCA membership is in
urban industrial and manual work.
Twenty-one per cent are in white-collar
jobs. Fourteen per cent are owners, man-
agers, and professional people. Twenty
per cent are farmers. These figures
based on reports from 382 congregations
parallel those of a study in 1945-46 made
by an independent agency.

The problems of labor-management
relations directly involve a majority of
the membership of this church. Experi-
ences in work deeply affect all who share
them. The church must help its people
interpret God's Word in relation to these
problems, if that Word is to bear its full
fruit. It ought also to bring them to-
gether for the consideration of their re-
sponsibilities in relation to the problems
that arise in industrial relations.

Undoubtedly this is why the Faith
and Life Committee recommended to the
1950 convention of the ULCA "that in-
stitutes on labor-management be spon-
sored in metropolitan areas to encourage
a fuller understanding of the Christian
approach to the problems of industrial
workers and business executives." The
Board of Social Missions, keenly aware
of the tremendous impact of indus-
trialization upon the lives of people, and
already conducting institutes of the type
recommended, has decided to expand this
feature of its work ....

Reprinted from THE LUTHERAN.

March 25, 1953

LABOR MANAGEMENT SCHOOL TO OPEN ON STATEN ISLAND

The first session of the Labor Man-
•agement Sqhool sponsored by the
Staten Island Division of the Protes-
tant Council will be opened Monday
€vening, January 14, 7:30 to 9:50, at
the McKee High School. Each regis-
tered member, having regularly at-
tended and completed a course, will
be awarded a certificate by the New
York State School of Industrial and
Labor Relations of Cornell, which
offers these two 10-week courses.

The subjects covered in the first
period, 7 :30 to 8 :50, will be Personality
Development in Industry and You aiid
Protective Labor Legislation. The first
will include fundamentals of good
leadership, problems, training for lead-
ers, and description of some of the
principles governing human relations
in industry. Mr. Jules Graubard,
personnel director of Bache & Com-
pany, will be the instructor. The
second subject. You and Protective
Labor Legislation, will offer a survey
of state and national legislation, pro-
tective labor legislation in the fields
of health, safety, minimum wage and
hour laws, discrimination in employ-
ment, social security, compensation
and disability. The instructor will be
Mr. Benjamin Wolf, of the New York
State Labor Board.

During the second period persons
in both groups will come together for
a forum hour. A different subject will
be discussed each session during the
10-week series. Outstanding speakers
will be heard and sessions will be
moderated by members of the planning
committee. On January 14, the Hon-
orable Edward C. Baker, Justice of
the Municipal Court, will be the
speaker, and Wesley W. Braisted the
moderator. Mr. Braisted, a lawyer,
is a member of the planning committee,
chaired by Dean Roy Tolfsen.

This project is unique in many ways :

It is held under the joint auspices of
Cornell University and the Staten
Island Division of the Council; it is
planned by officers from the Unions,
representatives of Management and
by committeemen from the Protestant
Council. Representatives from the
organized workers come from eight
unions which have had various affili-
ations in CIO, AFL, while others were
with independent groups.

From PROTESTANT CHURCH LIFE
(Publication of the Protestant Council
of the City of Wew York) Jan. 12, 1952.

NOTE: This School completed its fourth
successful year in March 1953 and its fifth
program is now in preparation.

CHURCH GROUP PLAN PANEL DISCUSSION

The United Churchwomen of Atlanta will meet at 10:30 a.m. Friday at
the Grade Methodist Church on Ponce de Leon Ave.

A panel discussion of "Private Enterprise and the Church" will be com-
posed of Dave Burgess, executive secretary, CIO Council of Georgia; J. O,
Moore, secretary, Atlanta Federation of Trades; Charles S. Dudley, president,
Industries of Georgia; T. T. Purdom, professor of labor relations, Atlanta Di-
vision, University of Georgia, and Rev. Robert Giffen, executive secretary,
Atlanta Christian Council. The moderator will be Rev. Ernest Arnold, execu-
tive secretary. Southeastern Office, National Council of Churches.

All churchwomen are invited.

Mrs. Spann Milner will preside. Mrs. L. L. Austin is program chairman.

From THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION
Sept. 1 1 , 1953

CHURCH PEOPLE CALLED UPON TO CONSIDER
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

(Excerpts from some recent statements of official church bodies)

Most people in America believe in the system of free
enterprise , but we know it is not a perfect answer to all
economic needs. We have yet far to go to reach our dream
of the City of God among men. . . .It is the mission of the
Church to interpret the Christian message in the difficult
situations arising from the tensions of a highly organized
industrial society. ... it seeks to judge irresponsible and
concentrated wealth on the one hand, and excessive gov-
ernmental controls on the other. The Church's duty is to
cultivate Christian attitudes and to ask, not who is right,
but what is right. It must proclaim thai, within any indus-
trial group, whether trade union or trade association, the
individual member shares moral responsibility for the acts
of the whole group.

— Episcopal Address, Methodist General
Conference, 1952

Our churches too often fail to minister across econom-
ic lines to all groups in their communities. We urge every
church to seek an effective ministry to laboring people, and
to bring together in Christian fellowship men and women
from all occupations and walks of life.

(1) We note with gratitude a trend in industry toward
improved working conditions, and better labor relations.

(2) We urge a greater emphasis upon free collective
bargaining in labor-management relations, with decisions
mutually and voluntarily arrived at, rather than reliance
on piiblic agencies for decisions. Moral values are often
more clearly discerned when labor and management re-
alize their common cause and responsibility.

(3) We suggest that Presbyterian laymen participate
more actively in management organizations and labor un-
ions as an expression of Christian vocation.

(4) We call attention to the fact that, while many
wage earners have reached a better economic status, mil-
lions of workers are still living below levels of economic
and social decency, and we express our concern for them.

(5) We urge that in areas wheie migrant workers are
employed, our churches reach out to them in Christian
concern. . .supporting legislation designed to further their
rights and to contribute to their well-being. . . .

— General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church, U.S.A., 1952

WHEREAS, Labor-management dissension continues to
disrupt our economy; and

WHEREAS, The Church is concerned to further eco-
nomic justice and cooperative endeavor; and

WHEREAS, We recognize the need for a plan to assure
employment in industry and a complete and equitable dis-
tribution of income between capital and labor; therefore,
be it

Resolved , That we urge our people to study and discuss
in their churches the findings of the National Council of
Churches, and take action looking toward a Christian solu-
tion of problems related to management and labor. Fur-
thermore, be it

Resolved, That the Council on Christian Social Pro-
gress bring to the attention of our people specific proposals
to meet this felt need for some new and more helpful pro-
cedure in labor, management and capital relationships.
Furthermore, be it

Resolved, That God's love be given consideration in
the matter of the worth of the individual in labor-manage-
ment relationships.

— American Baptist Convention, 1952

Behind us are long years of bitter struggles for econom-
ic justice as opposed to sweatshops, the lockout, blacklists,
and the exploitation of women and child labor. Labor's
only alternative to organization was serfdom. It has strug-
gled for organization, for its rights and for human benefits
because it did not want that serfdom. In this process, labor
has developed with management a new technique called
collective bargaining. It is an indispensable technique in
the development of modern business and our industrial
strength. .. .Through collective bargaining. . .labor unions
are demonstrating more and more that they are responsible
organizations in carrying out their contracts. . . .Many peo-
ple in the general public have the feeling that labor is not
at all reliable or that labor is always on strike in violation
of its contracts. But this is not a true concept. . . .

In a number of recent studies. . .independent research
groups are pointing to the cooperative achievements of in-
dustrial peace between management and labor.... The re-

suits of these studies are making clear the following propo-
sitions;

(1) Company profit and good industrial relations are
essential to each other;

(2) Industrial organizations are social as well as eco-
nomic and technological structures. The welfare of a com-
pany and its employees are inseparable;

(3) A worker is an individual as well as a union-mem-
ber and employee. His dignity, recognition, and job-satis-
faction are vital to high productivity.

(4) These values of employer and employee must be
mutually communicated, understood, and observed. Indus-
trial relations programs incorporating these principles are
working. They have provided a basis for cooperation .. .
that has increased production, profit per unit produced, and
the material and spiritual well-beiiig of their employees.

...All of us, through a serious and unprejudiced study
of the problem, need to bring ourselves to a thorough under-
standing of all that is involved in the human relations of in-
dustry. The implications are of tremendous significance
for both Christianity and our democratic way of life.

— Social Service Commission of the
Southern Baptist Convention, 1952

In the area of industrial relations, as in any other im-
portant area of common life, the Church has a duty to dis-
cover and teach the principles which lead to the practice of
human justice, and to the development of peaceful adjust-
ments of difference.

We recognize that within the past twenty years enor-
mous modifications have taken place in our economic life .
Among them is the rapid growth of trade unionism...

We believe that responsible and democratic trade union-
ism is both necessary and wholesome. The individual worker
in an industrial establishment can seldom express effectively
his needs and desires respecting his employment. By joining
in a democratic organization with fellow workers, he can
present in an orderly way the demands which he feels must
be made if his dignity as a worker is to be upheld. Manage-
ment, for its part, is assured of a channel of communication,
and is able to recognize and to make adjustment for needs of
its employees.

A little understood fact about labor organizations is that
they tend to resist totalitarian encroachments not only in
places of work, but in the community as well. As such, they
are valuable and powerful supports to political as well as in-
dustrial democracy.

But the very existence of unions creates new rights and
new duties for both workers and management. New methods
are called into play. These must be assessed from the moral
standpoint, as well as from the standpoint of practical busi-
■ness operations.

— Council for Social Action
Congregational Christian Churches

We believe that Christianity provides sound and sure
principles as guides to action; it gives a sense of direction
and creates a will to work together . The American peo-
ple have common basic aims. As productive efficiency
increases, there are more goods and services to share and
costs of production are lowered. As workers' purchasing
power expands, management finds larger markets. And we
all, as consumers, benefit by this co-operation.

Furthermore, if equitable solutions to the common
problems of employers and their employees are mutually
sought in good faith they can be found. Thousands of labor
contracts are negotiated by union and management repre-
sentatives each year without bitterness or strikes, and with
regard for the public interest. Unfortunately these settle-
ments are rarely featured in the newspapers, while strikes
are headlined. Fair settlements arrived at through free and
honest bargaining by men of good will open the way to a
better economic and social life for all people. Leaders of
labor and management know that the progress of American
industry depends largely upon their ability to co-operate
for the common good. This is the road for free men of en-
lightened consciences to follow, Christianity may ask for
more, but can ask for no less. Since God is our Father, we
must ever strive to work together as brothers.

Since the first Labor Sunday Message was issued nearly
forty years ago, the economic status of workers has been
raised, productivity increased, hours shortened, real wages
increased, working conditions improved, the economic
well-being of the nation lifted, and the democratic way of
life strengthened. During this period the atmosphere of
public opinion has changed. Increasing numbers of workers
have exercised the freedom to decide for themselves whether
to organize and have dealt with employers through repre-
sentatives of their own choice. This freedom of workers
has been endorsed and the important social contribution of
the labor movement recognized by almost every branch of
the Christian Church. During the past years working men
and women have made unprecedented gains; the years a-
head offer new opportunities but also enlarged responsibility
for labor to join with management, farmers, consumers,
and other groups in working for the common good.

On this LaborBay it is fitting that the National Council
of Churches recognize the many Christian laymen who have
worked to achieve these benefits for themselves and their
fellow men. We join in mourning the loss of William Green
and Philip Murray, outstanding Christian laymen in organ-
ized labor. Leadership in the labor movement should be
increasingly appreciated by the people of our churches as
an important Christian vocation ....

In working for civil rights, increased production, job
opportunities, adequate wages, social responsibility, and a
free world community we are working for each other, /or
ourselves, and for God who seeks to realize His purpose of
justice and freedom in the affairs of men. . . .

— General Board of thelSfetional Council
of the Churches of Christ in the U.S. A
('953 Labor Sunday Message)

ADDITIONAL READING SUGGESTIONS

Books

Boulding, Kenneth. ORGANIZATIONAL REVOLUTION. Second in series on The Ethics and Economics of
Society (Produced by Dept. of Church and Economic Life, National Council of Churches), New York,
Harper & Bros. 1953.

Bowen. Howard R. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BUSINESSMAN. Third in above series. New York,
Harper & Bros. 1953.

Chase, Stuart and Taylor, Marian. ROADS TO AGREEMENT . Successful methods in human relations.
New York, Harper & Bros, 1951 .

Clark, John M. GUIDEPOSTS IN TIME OF CHANGE. New York, Harper & Bros. 1949.

Drucker, Peter F. THE NEW SOCIETY. The anatomy of the industrial order. New York. Harper & Bros.
1950.

Harbison, Frederick H. and Coleman, John R. GOALS AND STRATEGY IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.
New York, Harper & Bros. 1951 .

Muelder, Walter G. RELIGION AND ECONOMIC RESPONSIBILITY. New York, Scribners. 1953.

Myers, James, DO YOU KNOW LABOR? New York, John Day Co. 1945.

Oxnam, G, Bromley. LABOR IN TOMORROW'S WORLD. New York, Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1945,
Pope, Liston. LABOR'S RELATION TO CHURCH AND COMMUNITY. New York, Harper & Bros. 1947.
Twentieth Century Fund, PARTNERS IN PRODUCTION, New York, The Fund, 1950.
Whyte, Wm. F. PATTERN FOR INDUSTRIAL PEACE. New York, Harper & Bros. 1 95 1.

Pamphlets

THE CHURCH LOOKS AT INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS. Statement by Executive Committee, Federal Council
of Churches, Department of the Church and Economic Life, 297 Fourth Ave. , New York 10. 54.

CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE TOWARD LABOR, By James Myers, Department of the Church and Economic Life,
297 Fourth Ave, , New York 10, 5$,

REPORT OF THE NORTH AMERICAN LAY CONFERENCE ON THE CHRISTIAN AND HIS DAILY WORK,
Department of the Church and Economic Life, 297 Fourth Ave, , New York 10. 35$.

THE CHURCH AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS. Report of the Division of Social Education and Action,
Presbyterian Church, USA, Philadelphia, Witherspoon Bldg. 10$.

CHRISTIAN ACTION IN ECONOMIC LIFE. By Pastor Harold C, Letts, United Lutheran Church in America,
Philadelphia, Muhlenberg Press, 1953. 65$.

A CATHOLIC PLAN FOR A NEW SOCIAL ORDER, Issue of SOCIAL ACTION. New York, Congregational
Christian Church, 287 Fourth Ave, 1951, 15*,

CAUSES OF INDUSTRIAL PEACE UNDER COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, Series of 15 pamphlets on individual
companies with successful labor-management relations. National Planning Assn, , 1606 New Hampshire
Ave, , N,W, , Washington 9, D.C, 1948-1953, $12,50 for the series, $i.ooeach.

Published for
Department of Church and Economic Life
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
by Central Department of Publication and Distribution
120 East 23rd Sueet, New York 10, N. Y.

CO6-60 1976

December 1953 Price: 25* Printed in U . S . A .