Oral history interview with Byron R. Abernethy, 1981 January 6 [part 1] | WorldCat.org (original) (raw)

Summary:Interview with Byron R. Abernethy concerning his experiences as a labor arbitrator in Lubbock, Texas and director of the regional War Labor Board in Dallas, Texas. This part (part 1) contains the bulk of the Abernethy interview; part two, which was closed from January 6, 1981 to August 6, 1996, deals specifically with Abernethy's political activities and the circumstances surrounding the termination of his employment at Texas Tech University. It is bound separately as OHB 55. Part 1 of Abernethy's interview contains his family background, a description of farming near Beach, North Dakota, his activities as a principal in Dodge, North Dakota, his employment in the political science department at the University of North Dakota in 1937, and his experiences during the Depression. Abernethy also discusses his research on crop insurance and liberty concepts in labor relations, his activities as director of the regional War Labor Board office in Dallas and as vice chairman of the Board from 1943-45, the contributions of the War Labor Board to the bargaining process, his employment in the political science department at Texas Tech in 1947, the difference between "ad hoc" and "permanent" arbitrators, the arbitration process and the selection of cases to arbitrate, and the operating requirements of a professional arbitrator. He also compares 1940s and 1980s arbitration processes, and shares his views on the injection of legalism in the arbitration process, expedited procedures, the differences in arbitrating in the Northeast and the Southwest, "ego security" as a factor in arbitration cases, the origin of full-time professional arbitrators, and the pruposes of and involvement with the National Academy of Arbitrators. At the end of the volume is Abernethy's resume