Glenn W. Miller

Book Review: Labor-Management Relations: Labor RelationsLabor Relations. By SloaneArthur A. and WitneyFred. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1977. xiv, 524 pp.

these value judgments in Wallens decisions under various case categories such as discipline and discharge, arbitrability, lay-off, and promotions.) But so far as I know, these are the value judgments of all leading arbitrators; and their extraction from the decisions of Wallen tells us nothing whatever of his uniqueness. The book, despite the efforts expended, does not give us the pith, spirit, or value of the man-and it can never be conveyed by the kind of analysis of his words attempted. One might as well endeavor to explain Mozart by a study of his harmonies and theories of composition! The fault is not Mr. Landiss incapacity but the inherent impossibility of the task. Wallen, like every one of the leading arbitrators of his time, was both a creative and a performing artist. There is much that can be learned about such artists, but, really, very little about the internal electrical circuitry that enabled them to arbitrate their disputes, write their symphonies and plays, paint their pictures, act their roles in the theater, or perform on the concert stage in a way to make us feel that we are in the presence of the extraordinary. So with Wallen! Despite the authors labors there are only two things one can say of Wallen as an outstanding arbitrator; and having said them, we should be content to rest mute: (1) he knew how to win and deserve the confidence of disputing parties in his integrity and his knowledge of industrial relations, and (2) he had a vast fund of a quality not emphasized in this book-sound common sense. This, I submit, is a value judgment indeed! Peter Seitz Arbitrator New York City