LABOR: Low Blow

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The frenzied exchange of verbal brickbats customary when rival unions compete for control of an unorganized factory rarely disturbs the philosophical members of the National Labor Relations Board. The Board's traditional attitude has been that "exaggerations, inaccuracies, partial truths, name-calling and falsehoods, while not condoned, may be excused as legitimate propaganda . . . ."

Recently, however, the NLRB was called upon to consider one of the low blows struck at United Aircraft Corp.'s North Haven, Conn. plant, where the workers decided by a vote of 935 to 873 last October that they would rather join the C.I.O.'s United Auto Workers than the A.F.L.'s International Association of Machinists. During the campaign I.A.M. representatives charged that the U.A.W. was "communistic." In reply, U.A.W. men two days before election, began to distribute copies of a purported telegram in which I.A.M. President Al Hayes, praised C.I O. President Walter Reuther for speareading "the move to drive the Communists from labor organizations" and expressed his regret that "certain of our [I.A.M.] representatives ... are guilty of smearing your great union U.A.W.-C.I.O." The telegram, the NLRB found, was a fraud.

Last week, concluding that the U.A W was guilty of "deliberate deception" and that even the most elastic definition of "legitimate propaganda" would not stretch enough to cover fake telegrams, the NLRB ordered a new election at North Haven.