LABOR: Public Be Damned

By common agreement, the most senseless strike of the year was the stoppage of the Pennsylvania, the nation's largest railroad, by power-hungry Labor Boss Mike Quill, his 15,000 nonoperating Transport Workers.

Even pro-labor editorialists beat on Quill for his public-be-damned arrogance, responsible labor leaders conspicuously shunned his cause, and the 52,000 idled Pennsy workers from other unions chafed to get back to work. Last week Secretary of Labor James P. Mitchell abandoned his seven-year stand of strict impartiality in labor disputes to rap Mike Quill: "Reasonable people sitting down at the bargaining table can settle this dispute very quickly," said he. "If Mike wants to be reasonable—and the company, I think, is reasonable in this area—he can settle it."

Quill, who rose to power by periodically paralyzing New York City's subways with strikes and threats of strikes, was as truculent as ever. He rejected an offer by the Pennsy to submit the issues to binding arbitration, held out for his "rockbottom" terms—including a demand that the Pennsy settle a union jurisdictional dispute in favor of his union. Quill still demanded power to prevent the Pennsy from assigning his workers to different jobs on the line, from closing antiquated plants and selling obsolete equipment, from contracting out maintenance and construction work. He even wanted his unionists to service the autos driven by Pennsy salesmen. Management negotiators turned him down.

As leaders of other rail unions met with Mitchell in Chicago to thresh out the problem of featherbedding on all railroads, Mike Quill turned his thick Irish brogue on Mitchell, whom he called a liar. The only heartening thing about Mike Quill's strike was the growing evidence that the U.S. has had its fill of Quill.