Executive Order 10490

by President of the United States

Creating a Board of Inquiry To Report on Certain Labor Disputes Affecting the Maritime Industry of the United States

WHEREAS there exist certain 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; and

WHEREAS in my opinion such disputes have resulted in a strike affecting a substantial part of the maritime industry, and industry 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:

NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 206 of the Labor-Management Relations Act, 1947 (Public Law 101, 80th Congress), I hereby create a Board of Inquiry, consisting of such members as I shall appoint, to inquire into the issues involved in such disputes.

The Board shall have powers and duties as set forth in Title II of the said Act. The Board shall report to the President in accordance with the provisions of section 206 of the said Act on or before October 5, 1953.

Upon the submission of its report, the Board shall continue in existence to perform such other functions as may be required under the said Act, until the Board is terminated by the President.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

The White House

October 1, 1953