Abe Fortas

“ Throughout its opinion the Court stresses that there is now but one 'job' and that only one union's member can have 'the right to the job.' Obviously only one person can actually do the job; but the Board held only that a telegrapher was entitled to be paid for the job. In fact, the Court is-without articulation its premise-assuming that featherbedding is forbidden by natural law or some other type of mandate that overrides contract, and that it is the Board's duty to enforce the prohibition. ”

“ For instance, since each division of the Board is composed of an equal number of railroad union and carrier representatives, and makes awards by majority vote, if the union representatives on the division were split-if, for example, either union had a representative on the division who disagreed with the other union representatives on the merits of the dispute-the carrier representatives would then have controlling voting power and could in effect allocate the work to whichever union they chose.↑ The two Boards are utterly different. ”

“ It said, flatly, that 'The Board has jurisdiction over the only necessary parties to the proceeding (i.e., the telegraphers' union) and over the subject matter.' Id., 349 U.S. at 373, 75 S.Ct. at 850. In substance, the Court in the present case repudiates Whitehouse for reasons, not of law, but of assumed practical administrative symmetry and its own conceptions as to what is fair in a complex industrial situation. Labor relations are not susceptible of reduction to such simplicities; and with all deference this Court should fear to tread this path. ”