Posted: Jun 7, 08 6:57pm

While we're waiting for the party to begin I thought I'd toss this story out.

You may critique if you choose, although I have no plans to do a second draft. Mostly, I'm posting this story to ask what value you see, if any, in this type of story and to hear general comments.

The Prophecy

President Harry Truman sat behind his desk in the Oval Office. His eyes went to the clock and noted his 9 a.m. meeting was about to begin. One hand clutched a thick document, its face page Federal Blue.

Truman watched, stone-faced, eyes flat behind his glasses, as the Republican Senate Majority Leader, Wallace H. White jr. came into the room. He was followed by the Secretary of War, Robert Patterson, Attorney General, Tom Campbell Clark, and the Secretary of Labor, Lewis Schwellenbach, House Majority Leader and Speaker of The House, Joseph Martin, and House Minority Leader Sam Rayburn. As those he had summoned lined up before Truman, future Vice President and present Senate Minority leader Alben Barkley appeared at the Oval Office door, completing the group Truman had summoned.

Truman motioned to Barkley. "Come in, Alben. I want you to hear this."

"Yes, Mr. President." Barkley stepped to take his place beside the other men.

"No, Alben. I want you over here beside me." Truman said as the doors closed behind Barkley.

Truman shook the paper at the congressmen before him. "We've got fifteen minutes, so I'll make this short and sweet. You people are crazy if you think I'm going to write off on this bullshit. Hell, why don't you just vote slavery back into law?"

"Mr. President, if you will hear us out, the Secretary of War begin, "I think you will view this bill in a different-."

"Mister, you better have something to say besides what's in that paper I just dropped into the shit can. What's wrong with the Wagner Act? It's worked for years."

"Sir, the Wagner Act doesn't give Congress any control over union actions they might see as unfair. Also, there is nothing in the Wagner Act that allows Congress the power to delay or block a strike that threatens the nation's security."

Truman turned to Barkley. "Have you read this Taft-Hartley stuff, Alben?"

"Yes sir, I have."

"What is your opinion of it?"

Barkley cleared his throat. "In my opinion, the bill needs to become law. If it does become law, the law will eventually doom the rising middle class. Workers will be forced to work against their will, or without contracts, or without say as to working conditions and wages. If the bill passes then the employers will, by law, have a license to dictate conditions backed by government approval. That could lead to the workers being little more than worker bees in a bee colony, them gaining little more than food and shelter from their labors."

Truman's hand covered a smile he felt coming because of Barkley's "bee" statment.

"But Mr. President..," Attorney General Clark begin. Truman held up his hand. "You'll get your turn, Clark. Go ahead, Alben."

Barkley nodded in the direction of the men. "I'll agree a "closed shop" and a "union shop" is a hand at the throat of employers in some cases. Not only does it stiffle strong growth within the companies, but it also touches on defying The Constitution in that it restricts who has the right to work, to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Beyond that, the "closed shop" sits up the situation where the employees run the companies to some degree, robbing the employer of some of the rights the employees demand."

The Secretary of the Labor nodded agreement.

"I also believe," Barkley continued, "that the unions will find a way to circumvent the "closed shop" rule if this bill become law, as written. It will take strong and forceful wording, much stronger than what is written in this bill, to allow employers a free hand in choosing how and who they hire."

Truman paused, letting Barkley's words sink in. "Kill the working man, you say?"

"I believe it will, Sir, as time passes. As Hawthorne said, families are always rising and falling in America, but here we are talking about an entire class of people, not just a family falling."

"Mr. President," the Secretary of Labor begin, "In one sense this law does favor the rich by taking away some of the worker's rights. This bill has much to do with the times we live in. The unions are becoming too strong, beginning to be too much in control with "wildcat strikes, contract strikes, and "closed shops."

"Too many radicals out there too. Some labor leaders are known to be Communist, or lean that way," the Attorney General added.

"What the hell is a "closed shop?" Truman asked. "I've been hearing that for ten damn minutes."

"If I may?" Barkley spoke up. "A worker has to join the respective union where they are working in order to continue working past their "trial period" of thirty to ninety days."

"That's right," the Secretary of Labor spoke up."

Truman leaned back in his chair. "The way I see it, the more people make, the more they spend. Demand rises, business expands, more taxes come in, and the country grows richer and stronger. Right?"

"Providing we remain free as a country, Mr. President," the Secretary of War said. "Too much union strength will make us weak, uh...as a country."

"Just how does that work?"

"We have entered into a "cold war" with the Soviet Union. Labor unions can shut this country down overnight. They can stop railroads, truck lines, coal mines, and make ships sit unloaded. That's not to mention they're also able to drastically reduce the flow of oil and gas." The Secretary took a step forward. "Unions can stop this country dead still. If this bill does not become law we just might see this country under a Soviet flag."

Truman's fist hit the desk before he stood and leaned across it. "Let's not get carried away for God's sake, man, this is America we're talking about. We just whipped half the world. We could've taken the Russians out if I'd let MacArthur and Patton have their way. Now you're telling me we can't handle a few coal miners and longshoreman?"

"That was then. The country was united. This is now. Labor is dividing the country and the Russians have the bomb too. We can't afford to let this country get in a vernable state, not for one class of people. We must all agree that the whole is greater than the part."

Truman looked at the group of men before him, shaking his head.

"Mr. President," the Majority Leader of the Senate begin, "we will pass this bill into law. You have our word on that. We have the votes to overide a veto if you choose to use it."

The Majority Leader of the House nodded agreement. "You can veto it to stay in favor with the working class, and we can understand that action, if you choose to take it. But this bill will become law. It must."

"Thank you, gentlemen," Truman said waving his hand as if to dismiss them.

"Do you need me to stay, Mr. President," Alben Barkley asked.

"No, Alben. I think I know what I have to do."

Epilogue

Without fear, President Truman vetoed the Taft-Hartley Act, knowing Congress would pass it into law for national security purposes, and knowing his veto would look good with labor when election time came. The Taft-Hartley Act became law on June 23, 1947, with Democrats siding with the Republican controlled Congress to override Truman's veto and get the bill passed into law.

Truman was reelected in 1948. He used the Taft-Hartley law twelve times during the remaining years of his presidency, knowing he was killing any chance he might have at reelection due to his losing the backing of union workers. In his short and feeble run at reelection Truman withdrew his bid after losing the New Hampshire primary. In part, he became another casualty to the Taft-Hartley Law.

Although the labor unions fought back in every way possible, America stayed strong and free, but at a cost. The unions grew weaker due to the often-used Taft-Hartley Law. But, there were other reasons, among them, corruption and state "right to work" laws, which opened a wide door for illegal immigrants.

Future Vice President Barkley's prophecy concerning the middle class begin to be fullfilled in the coming decades. It continues today as labor unions continue to weaken and the gap between rich and poor widens and ever faster melts the middle class.

Also, true to Barkley's prophecy concerning circumventing the "closed shop rule," the entertainment industry as well as some other unions found ways to get around the "closed shop rule."

From Wikepidia:

The term Taft-Hartley has a special meaning in the entertainment industry. Specifically, for film and television actors, an actor not in the union who becomes a "principal performer" (says a line) is immediately eligible to join the Screen Actors Guild and is covered under the SAG contract with the production company for 30 days, at which point he or she must either join SAG or cease working on any union productions. Once joining the union, the actor may not work on any non-union production, per the terms of the bylaws. This allows SAG to get around the rules forbidding closed shops by providing a mechanism for new members to join the union.