LABOR LAW-COMPULSORY ARBITRATION OF LABOR DISPUTES

In 1947, seven states adopted legislation for compulsory arbitration of labor disputes in public utilities. Four more provide for seizure of such industries in cases of strikes or lockouts, and one prohibits picketing or interference with the service of a public utility. In addition, procedures for conciliation, mediation, or voluntary arbitration with suspension of the right to strike or lockout during such procedures, are provided by still others. Such legislative activity reflects the growing public concern regarding labor disputes and indicates that many state legislators are convinced that to secure industrial peace more is required than the mere imposition of a duty to bargain collectively. While the wave of postwar strikes did not demonstrate that the National Labor Relations Act failed in all its objectives, or that it was poor policy, such strikes did show that it failed to achieve one of its primary objectives, namely, industrial peace. This comment will consider some of the legal problems raised by those statutes providing for compulsory arbitration