WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST'S REACTION TO THE AMERICAN NEWSPAPER GUILD .

The article shows how the struggle between publisher William Randolph Hearst and the American Newspaper Guild, as it moved from the hearing rooms of the labor boards to the forum of public opinion, provided a testing ground for a number of crucial labor issues. At stake were the ability of the white-collar groups to organize along union lines, the ability of the government to enforce Section 7a of the Recovery Act, and the publisher's claim that freedom of the press was in jeopardy if the government could force a publisher to retain a particular editorial writer. Section 7a of the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, which guaranteed the right to organization for collective bargaining free from employer interference, provided a stimulus to unionization. Yet the Guild, formed under the encouragement of the new legislation, encountered severe difficulty in attempting to organize, in protecting its members from summary dismissal by employers, and in securing recognition as the bargaining agent for its members. Hearst chose to resist the Guild. Hearst forced the new Union's leaders to discover that the rights "guaranteed" under 7a had to be fought for, through the machinery of governmental boards.