The Week

• At a recent news conference, in response to a question, Mayor Lindsay of New York said: “I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic about at this point. I am a realist. I am not an expert in matters. There are involved human problems here.” Question: What was the question?

• The plight of the working man under present labor law is well illustrated by the aircraft mechanics of the scheduled airlines. For representation purposes they are grouped, under a ruling of the National Mediation Board (NMB), along with cleaners, baggage handlers, guards, janitors, seamstresses, etc. The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association was organized in 1962 to do something about this. In December 1964 this group appealed to the NMB for a change in “class” (i.e. to be recognized as a separate craft with right to representation through a separate union, something other than the Teamsters or the IAM), producing petition cards signed by a majority of the aircraft mechanics of United Airlines, Eastern, and Seaboard World Air Lines. The relevant section of the Railway Labor Act says: “Employees shall have the right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing. The majority of any craft or class of employees shall have the right to determine who shall be the representative of the craft or class for the purposes of this Act.” The NMB rejected the appeal on the grounds that a new craft classification would alter the status quo. In effect the NMB has, then, determined a craft representation, in apparent violation of the relevant law. Experts acknowledge that the supply of aircraft mechanics is dwindling. The NMB doesn’t encourage young men to enter this highly specialized field when it insists on lumping them together with unskilled workers such as janitors and baggage handlers.

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• At a recent news conference, in response to a question, Mayor Lindsay of New York said: “I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic about at this point. I am a realist. I am not an expert in matters. There are involved human problems here.” Question: What was the question?

• The plight of the working man under present labor law is well illustrated by the aircraft mechanics of the scheduled airlines. For representation purposes they are grouped, under a ruling of the National Mediation Board (NMB), along with cleaners, baggage handlers, guards, janitors, seamstresses, etc. The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association was organized in 1962 to do something about this. In December 1964 this group appealed to the NMB for a change in “class” (i.e. to be recognized as a separate craft with right to representation through a separate union, something other than the Teamsters or the IAM), producing petition cards signed by a majority of the aircraft mechanics of United Airlines, Eastern, and Seaboard World Air Lines. The relevant section of the Railway Labor Act says: “Employees shall have the right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing. The majority of any craft or class of employees shall have the right to determine who shall be the representative of the craft or class for the purposes of this Act.” The NMB rejected the appeal on the grounds that a new craft classification would alter the status quo. In effect the NMB has, then, determined a craft representation, in apparent violation of the relevant law. Experts acknowledge that the supply of aircraft mechanics is dwindling. The NMB doesn’t encourage young men to enter this highly specialized field when it insists on lumping them together with unskilled workers such as janitors and baggage handlers.