Foreman Troubles

Thirty-four years ago, shop-apprentice George T. Christopher's biggest worry in business life was how to get along with his foreman at Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. This week George Christopher again worried about his relations with foremen--but this time it was 1,200 of them. Packard Motor Car Co.'s President George Christopher had been informed that 666 of his 1,200 foremen had voted to be represented by the fast-growing and belligerent Foremen's Association of America.

Without waste of time, President Christopher struck back. He denounced the unionization as impracticable, a step he felt safe in taking since he believes that foremen, being supervisory workers, are not specifically covered by the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act. He also felt safe in announcing that men who joined the F.A.A. would be dropped from foremen's work.

The union's president, mild-mannered little Robert H. Keys, who had been a foreman himself (Ford), was quick to crack back. Bob Keys talked of "strikes along legal channels" to whip Packard into contract-signing.

The entire motor industry was girding itself for battle. Powerful, sprawling General Motors, which operates plants in many of the 22 states where F.A.A. locals are chartered, paid for advertisements to woo foremen away from the union. Meanwhile the industry buzzed with rumors that if F.A.A. persisted, its members would become straw bosses and a new category of '"super-foremen" would take over their work.

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