By David Dayton McKean
As Commissioner Casey testified in the C.I.O. case, the
police decided when there was a strike and when there was
not. If they decided there was no strike they forbade picketing,
and employers obtained injunctions from the New Jersey
courts forbidding all sorts of union activities. The committee
quoted above also commented upon these injunctions:
For a number of years the State Federation of Labor, no
longer under the influence of Brandle, attempted to get the
legislature to pass a state anti-injunction bill such as the
federal Morris-La Guardia Act. The bill annually passed the
lower house, only to die in the state senate. In 1936 Mayor
Hague came out openly against the bill in a public letter to
Senator Edward P. Stout of Hudson County which shows
the Mayor's motive in his anti-union activity. `The analysis
[of the bill] which I have caused to be made,' he wrote, `convinces
me that its passage would not be in the best interests
of this state.... Its enactment would not alone discourage
new industries from coming here, but will surely drive out
hundreds of others now located in New Jersey....' The bill
did not pass.
The New Jersey Disorderly Persons Act of 1936 gave the
police wide leeway in arresting strikers. This act permitted
the arrest of any person `on foot or in any automobile, vehicle,
or public conveyance who cannot give a good account
of himself.' Inability to give a good account of himself `shall
be prima facie evidence that he is present in this State for an
unlawful purpose.' Under this act pickets were arrested and
kept in jail for ninety days, and others were arrested and kept
in jail for want of bail of $2500 each until a strike was
broken. (Report of the Committee on Civil Rights of the Junior Bar Conference of the
American Bar Association (1938), pp. 16-17.)
This Web version, edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2003
The chancery court worked rapidly to turn out injunctions.
At a strike of the Caldes Restaurant in 1937, for example,
the men walked out at 11.50 A.M. and at 11.57 they
were served with an injunction against the strike. The restraints
ran from A to Q. Apparently the court had examined
affidavits and drawn up the long injunction in seven
minutes. (Ibid., p. 17.) Other injunctions were issued against picketing,
against holding union meetings, and against handing out
circulars.
Fantastically sweeping injunctions have been obtained
against strikers. Most of these injunctions prevent the exercise
by strikers of constitutionally guaranteed rights, and lawful
conduct is enjoined as well as unlawful. In many cases these
injunctions are granted without notice, and upon affidavits
which do not substantiate the allegations in the complaint and
which do not warrant the drastic relief given. (Report (1937), p. 5.)
| Next |
| Main Menu |
|
|
|
|
Journal Square Package Shipping and Mailbox rentals
Global Mail accepts drop offs for all carriers. If the package is completely ready there is no charge. Passport photos and copies, too!
 |
| Featured Link |
Text Link Online Advertising Program
A text Link is your business name and a Link to Your Site in bold red text on one Line and a description of your services on the next. The GET NJ network serves thousands of visitors each day!
GRAVE ROBBER Jersey City Computer Repair
297 Griffith Street, Jersey City, NJ - In the Heights just off of Kennedy Blvd. - Very close to Journal Square and Union City, just five minutes away from Hoboken, Downtown Jersey City, Newport, and the Waterfront -
 |
|
|
|
|
|