Letter to the Attorney General Directing Him To Petition for an Injunction in the Maritime Strike.

Dear Mr. Attorney General:

On October 1, 1953, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 206 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947 (Public Law 101, 80th Congress), I issued Executive Order 10490, creating a Board of Inquiry to inquire into the issues involved in labor disputes between employers (or associations by which such employers are represented in collective bargaining conferences) who are (1) steamship companies or who are engaged as operators or agents for ships engaged in service from or to North Atlantic ports from Hampton Roads, Virginia, to Portland, Maine, or from or to other ports of the United States or its Territories or possessions, (2) contracting stevedores, (3) contracting marine carpenters, or (4) other employers engaged in related or associated pier activities, and certain of their employees represented by the International Longshoremen's Association.

On October 5, 1953, I received the Board's written report in the matter. A copy of that report is attached hereto.

In my opinion these unresolved labor disputes have resulted in a strike affecting an entire industry or a substantial part thereof engaged in trade, commerce, transportation, transmission or communication among the several States and with foreign nations, which strike, if permitted to continue, will imperil the national health and safety.

I therefore direct you, pursuant to the provisions of Section 208 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, to petition in the name of the United States any District Court of the United States having jurisdiction of the parties to enjoin the continuance of such strike where such action is necessary to secure a resumption of trade, commerce, transportation, transmission or communication among the several States and the foreign nations, and for such other relief as may in your judgment be necessary or appropriate.

Very sincerely yours,

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER