committee should also consider other programs such as transfer rights to plants covered by the master agreements where job opportunities remain or are increasing, and should consider any other methods that might be employed to promote continued employment opportunities for those affected. It is agreed, however, that the fund shall not be used to increase present severance pay benefits.

The findings and recommendations of the committee shall not be binding by the parties, but shall be made to the company and to the unions for their further consideration. The final report and recommendations by the committee are to be made no later than 6 months prior to the termination of the contract.

The fund to be utilized for the purposes set forth above shall be created by company contri

butions made in accordance with the following formula: The contributions shall be in an amount equal to 1 cent for each hundredweight of total tonnage shipped from slaughtering and meatpacking plants covered by the master agreements. Such tonnage figures shall be based upon the periodical Food Division financial statements, and a monthly list of such tonnage for the covered plants shall be presented to the joint committee. The company's tonnage figures shall be final and binding upon the parties. Contributions shall terminate upon the total of the company's contributions reaching $500,000. (Procedure must be established for the disposition of the balance of money remaining in the fund.)

A letter shall be exchanged between the parties setting forth the method and the time for the making of the aforementioned contributions.

Summary of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act

EDITOR'S NOTE.-The following article summarizes in broad outline the general intent and scope of the recently enacted labor reform measure, Public Law 86-257, signed into law by the President on September 14, 1959.

General Purposes

The purposes of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 are to provide for the reporting and disclosure of certain financial transactions and administrative practices of labor organizations, employers, and labor relations consultants, to prevent abuses in the administration of trusteeships by labor organizations, to provide standards and procedures with respect to the election and removal of officers of labor organizations, to permit the States to regulate labor relations in the so-called "no-man's land," to close certain existing loopholes in the protections against secondary boycotts, to regulate organiza

tional and recognition picketing, and to make certain other amendments to the National Labor Relations Act.

The terms used in the act are, generally speaking, defined broadly so as to provide maximum coverage, although unions of public employees are not within the scope of the definition.

Title I-Bill of Rights of Labor Union Members

This title contains provisions designed to secure among members of labor organizations equal rights to vote in union elections and to attend and participate in meetings, freedom of speech and assembly, and the right to sue the organization, as well as protections from arbitrary discipline and arbitary financial exactions. It provides that members shall have the right to vote on increases in dues and on assessments. Union members may enforce these rights by civil suit in Federal court. title also requires unions to forward a copy of any collective bargaining agreement at the request of any member whose rights are affected thereby, and provides for enforcement by the Secretary of Labor in the same manner as reporting requirements under title II.

The

Title II-Reporting and Disclosure

Each

This title requires every labor organization covered by the act to adopt a constitution and bylaws and to file a copy with the Secretary of Labor, along with specific details of their procedures for the conduct of internal affairs. such labor organization is also required to file annual financial reports containing specified information "in such detail as may be necessary accurately to disclose its financial condition and operations."

It also requires union officers, principal employees, certain employers, and persons providing labor relations consultant services to file reports with respect to certain financial transactions involving (1) "conflict of interest" dealings of union officers and (2) expenditures of employers for the purpose of influencing employees in the exercise of their protected rights with respect to representation.

Provision is made for enforcement of these reporting requirements by court action by the Secretary of Labor to compel compliance.

All reports are public, and all unions must make the reported information "available" to all of their members. Members have the right to examine for just cause all records necessary to verify the reports, and union members can sue in Federal district courts to enforce this right.

The act also repeals the filing requirements of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, since the information required of labor unions by this new act is substantially the same as that required by the NLRA.

Title III-Trusteeships

This title requires every labor organization which assumes supervisory control over a subordinate body to file a report with the Secretary of Labor within 30 days after assuming such control, and semiannually thereafter. Such report must include, among other things, the reasons for the trusteeship and a complete account of the financial conditions of the subordinate union. The provisions for disclosure, regulations, and compliance of title II are applicable to the reporting provisions of title III.

The act provides that a union may assume trusteeship over a subordinate body only when the purpose is to correct corruption, financial malpractice, assure performance of a collective bargaining agreement, restore democratic procedures, or otherwise carry out the legitimate objectives of the union. It prohibits a union assuming trusteeship from transferring funds of a trusteed organization to itself except for normal per capital tax and assessments which are payable by organizations not in trusteeship. The act prohibits the counting of votes of delegates of trusteed locals in union elections, unless the delegates are elected by secret ballot of the members of the trusteed local. Any member of a subordinate body, or the Secretary of Labor upon complaint of any member, may sue in Federal court to secure compliance with these provisions.

Title IV-Elections and Removal of Officers

The act requires union officers to be elected directly by secret ballot or, in national or international unions, by delegates elected by secret vote. Officers of intermediate bodies may be elected by representative union officers who have been elected by secret vote. In any such election, reasonable opportunity must be given for the nomination of candidates, each member must have the right of freedom of choice in voting, and the following also is required: Due notice of elections, publication of the results of votes cast by local members, conduct of elections in accordance with the constitution of the union, and preservation of election. records. Expenditures of dues money of labor organizations or employer contributions to promote the candidacy of any individual are prohibited.

An election may be challenged by a member who has exhausted internal remedies, or invoked them and received no decision in 3 months, upon complaint to the Secretary of Labor. If, after investigation, the Secretary finds probable cause to believe a violation occurred, he may bring action in Federal court to set aside the election and to direct the conduct of an election or hearing and vote upon the removal of an officer under the supervision of the Secretary. The act provides procedure for the removal of union officers guilty

524273-59

of serious misconduct, if a union's constitution and bylaws fail to provide adequate procedures.

Existing rights and remedies to enforce a union's bylaws and constitution with respect to elections are preserved prior to the conduct of the election, but the act's procedures become exclusive after an election has been held.

Title V-Safeguards for Labor Organizations

Fiduciary Duty. A fiduciary responsibility is imposed on officers of a labor organization, requiring them to hold and use the moneys and properties solely for the benefit of the members and in accordance with the constitution and bylaws of the organization. General exculpatory provisions are declared void as against public policy. Whenever any officer has violated the duties imposed and the union upon request of any member fails to sue, such member may sue for an accounting or other appropriate relief, including the recovery of profits which might have been secured through activities in violation of fiduciary duties. The act also makes it a Federal crime for an officer or an employee of a union to embezzle or steal union funds.

Bonding. The act requires every officer or other official of any labor organization whose property and annual receipts exceed $5,000 to be bonded for faithful performance of duty. It prescribes standards for acceptable security companies and prohibits bonding through an agent or with a company in which the union has an interest. Criminal sanctions are imposed for violations. Labor organizations are also prohibited from making loans to their officers or employees in excess of $2,000.

Felons in Union Office. The act prohibits Communists and felons convicted of enumerated crimes from serving as union officers, labor consultants, or officers of employer associations dealing with unions, for 5 years after (a) termination of membership in the Communist Party, (b) conviction, or (c) imprisonment, unless citizenship rights which have been lost are restored. The Federal Parole Board may determine suitability of exconvicts to serve. Persons convicted of violating reporting provisions of the act are banned also.

Unlawful Employer Payments. The act amends section 302 of the Taft-Hartley Act, making criminal any payments to unions, union officials, or to employees of an employer for the purpose of influencing other employees in the exercise of their protected rights. It also outlaws any demand of money by a union for an unloading fee from operators of trucks. It corrects the existing ambiguity in the Taft-Hartley Act by making it clear that payments to apprenticeship trust funds, as well as payments to funds established for such purposes as vacations, holidays, and severance pay, are legal.

Title VI-Miscellaneous

Investigatory Power of Secretary. The act provides the Secretary of Labor with sufficient authority to investigate violations of any provision of the act, except title I or amendments made to other statutes, whenever he deems it necessary in order to determine whether any person has violated or is about to violate any such provision.

Extortionate Picketing. The act prohibits "extortionate picketing" for the purposes of extracting money from an employer against his will for the personal enrichment of an individual and makes such conduct a felony under Federal law.

Preservation of Existing Laws. The act makes clear that, except as explicitly provided to the contrary, nothing in the act shall be construed to reduce or limit rights and remedies or duties and responsibilities under other Federal or State law.

Cooperation With Other Agencies. The act makes it clear that the Secretary may make arrangements for cooperation and mutual assistance with other agencies, Federal or State. The Attorney General is directed to receive from the Secretary evidence which may warrant criminal prosecution under this, or other Federal law.

Discipline of Union Members. The act gives to members a civil right of action against labor organizations for disciplining any such member for exercising rights to which he is entitled and makes it a Federal crime to use force or violence, or the threat thereof, to interfere with the exercise of such rights by union members.

Title VII-Taft-Hartley Amendments

No-man's Land. The States are permitted to assume jurisdiction over cases involving a labor dispute in which the National Labor Relations Board declines to assert jurisdiction. The Board is prohibited from further narrowing its present jurisdictional standards. Provision is made for delegation of representation matters by the Board to its regional directors.

Voting by Economic Strikers. The existing prohibition on voting by economic strikers in representation elections is eliminated. Economic strikers are eligible to vote under NLRB regulations in any election conducted within a year after the start of the strike.

Acting General Counsel. The President may designate an officer or employee to act as General Counsel of the Board in case of a vacancy in that office.

Secondary Boycotts; Hot Cargo. The secondary boycott provisions of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, are extended to cover direct coercion of employers to cease or agree to cease doing business with another, inducement of individual employees not to work, and the secondary boycott protection of employers is broadened to include railroads, municipalities, and farmers. The amendments permit publicity, other than picketing, for the purpose of advising consumers of disputes, so long as other employees are not induced to refuse services by such conduct.

Hot-cargo agreements are prohibited by the act. However, subcontracting agreements between unions and construction employers are excepted from the prohibition, and the prohibitions on certain secondary boycotts and the hot-cargo clause do not apply where jobbers and subcontractors in the apparel and clothing industry are involved.

Organizational and Recognition Picketing. Organizational and recognition picketing are made an unfair labor practice under certain circumstances, i.e., picketing where another union is lawfully recognized, where an election has been held within the preceding 12 months, or where conducted

without a representation petition being filed within 30 days of the start of picketing. Whenever a petition is filed, the Board is directed to conduct an election forthwith without regard to other election provisions of the National Labor Relations Act. Publicity picketing which does not induce refusals to perform services by other employees is preserved. The provisions for injunctive relief in the existing law are extended to violations of the picketing provisions, but employer unfair labor practices of domination or interference with the formation of a union are made defenses against the issuance of injunctions in such picketing cases.

Building and Construction Industry. The act permits unions and employers in the building and construction industry to conclude prehire agreements with 7-day union shop provisions. It further permits contractual requirements that employers notify unions of vacancies, that unions may refer applicants, and that priority in employment may be given on basis of length of service with employer or in the industry or area.

Discrimination. Provisions are made in the act for priority of case handling where unfair labor practices involving discrimination in employment because of membership or nonmembership in a union are involved whether by the employer or union.

Effective Dates

The initial reports of labor organizations on constitutions and bylaws are required to be filed within 90 days after the effective date of the act. Persons required to file financial reports must file within 90 days after the end of the fiscal year; the initial report may cover a portion of the year after becoming subject to the act.

The election provisions become effective 90 days after enactment if the union constitution can lawfully be amended by its officers, if not, no later than the next convention or 1 year, whichever is sooner. If no convention is held within 1 year, the governing board of the union is empowered to make the necessary amendments.

The amendments made by the act to other statutes take effect 60 days after enactment.

Earnings in Leather Tanning and Finishing, May 1959

EARNINGS of production workers in the leather tanning and finishing industry in May 1959 averaged $1.98 an hour, exclusive of premium pay for overtime and for work on holidays, weekends, and late shifts, according to a survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.1 The straight-time hourly earnings of the 30,000 production workers in the industry ranged from $1 an hour to over $3 an hour. About 80 percent earned between $1.50 and $2.60 an hour.

Men accounted for nine-tenths of the industry's production-worker employment and averaged $2.01 an hour, compared with $1.71 for women. Earnings levels for men and women combined ranged from $1.50 an hour in the Southeast region to $2.12 in the Pacific region. Earnings in the New England and Middle Atlantic regions, which together accounted for three-fifths of the employment, averaged $2 and $1.99, respectively.

Among major types of leather, nationwide average hourly earnings ranged from $1.67 in establishments primarily engaged in processing sole leather to $2.15 in establishments primarily producing calf uppers. Side leather establishments, accounting for 43 percent of production-worker employment in the industry, provided average hourly earnings of $2.08.

Among the selected occupations studied, average hourly earnings for men ranged from $1.57 for janitors to $2.40 for shaving machine operators. Hourly earnings of the higher paid workers in the same job and market frequently exceeded those of the lower paid workers by $1 an hour or more. This wide dispersion of earnings noted within jobs and labor markets was largely attributable to incentive methods of wage payment which were widely employed in the industry.

The study also provides information on certain establishment practices, including hours of work, paid vacations, paid holidays, and health, insurance, and pension plans.

Industry Characteristics

The leather tanning and finishing industry is located predominantly in the New England and Middle Atlantic regions, where three-fifths of total

employment was found in May 1959; the Great Lakes region accounted for one-fourth of the total. These proportions are approximately the same as those reported in May 1954, when the Bureau also made a detailed study of wages in the industry. Sixty percent of the industry's 30,000 production and related workers were employed in metropolitan areas in May 1959.

The industry holds an intermediate position between the meatpacking industry, the major source of its raw materials, and the shoe manufacturing industry, the largest buyer of its finished products. In 1957, approximately a quarter of a million cattle were commercially slaughtered; most of the hides and skins of these cattle were supplied to the leather tanning industry.

The

bulk of the industry's finished product is used in the manufacture of shoes, and the remainder in the manufacture of bags, belting, bookbinding, gloves, harnesses, upholstery, and a variety of other products. The use of leather substitutes for shoe soles and shoe uppers and in the manufacture of luggage, handbags, pocketbooks, and upholstery has obviously affected the market position of the industry.

Approximately 83 percent of the production workers were employed in establishments which purchased the major portion of their hides and skins. The remaining workers were employed in establishments largely engaged in processing hides and skins on a contract basis; some of these establishments specialize in finishing operations such as japanning, plating, and embossing.

The finished products of the industry consist of heavy leathers used for sole leather for shoes, luggage, industrial belting, and upholstery; and light leathers used in upper leather for shoes, gloves, garments, and fancy leather products. Heavy leather is produced from hides of large animals such as cattle, horses, buffalo, and oxen, whereas light leather is produced largely from skins of calves, sheep, lambs, goats, and kids.

1 The study, in which data were collected by BLS field representatives, covered establishments primarily engaged in tanning, currying, and finishing hides and skins into leather (except leather converters) and employing 20 or more workers at the time of reference of the universe data.

For the complete analysis of the earnings study, see forthcoming BLS Report 150, Wage Structure: Leather Tanning and Finishing, May 1959. * For definition of regions studied, see footnote 2, table 1.

See Wage Structure: Leather Tanning and Finishing, BLS Report 80 (1954), or Monthly Labor Review, February 1955, pp. 199-204.

See Leather Industry Statistics, Trade Survey Bureau, Tanners' Council of America, Inc., Membership Bulletin, 1958.