LABOR RELATIONS AND THE WAR

By Herman Feldman (Editor). The Annals ofthe American Academy of Political and Social Science. Vol. 224, Nov. 1942. $2.00 in paper; $2.50 in cloth.

OF THE MANY domestic economic problems raised by the war, few are more urgent and more complex than those associated with the maximum utilization of our labor supply. And while the recently vitalized Manpower Commission has served to call forth a great quantity of printed material dealing with the many facets of this broad problem, there have been few, if any, plaices where one could find a compact presentation of the diverse view- points on many of these topics. It is for this reason, as well as for others, that this recent issue of The Annals, so ably compiled and edited by Professor Herman Feldman, is a most timely and welcome contribution.

Professor Feldman introduces the volume by pointing out that the discussions are directed toward one area of the labor relations field, namely, "the promotion of those industrial relations policies and practices which produce the fullest measure of industrial cooperation." One will find, however, that many problems not likely to be included under the heading of "industrial relations policies and practices" narrowly defined are discussed. In addition to chapters on current problems of wage adjustment, hours of work, the union "security" issue, collective bargaining, and allied topics, there is interesting and informative material on the broader war-time policies of organized labor and management, on the role of government in shaping war-time labor policy, and on the important problems of labor relations and employment in the postwar period.

Professor Feldman has enlisted the services of men qualified without question either to present a particular point of view or to discuss a particular issue. Their contributions have been woven into a logically related volume that should be on the "must list" of everyone interested in economic trends in the present period