All 67 Stat. 554.

peace or safety. Such hearing shall be held in such manner and upon such notice as may be prescribed by the rules of the commission, but such notice shall be of not less than ten days and shall state the nature of the complaint.

4. Pending the determination of such hearing pursuant to section 3 the commission may temporarily suspend a license or registration if in the opinion of the commission the continuance of the license or registration for such period is inimicable to the public peace or safety. 5. The commission, or such member, officer, employee or agent of the commission as may be designated by the commission for such purpose, shall have the power to issue subpoenas throughout both States to compel the attendance of witnesses and the giving of testimony or production of other evidence and to administer oaths in connection with any such hearing. It shall be the duty of the commission or of any such member, officer, employee or agent of the commission designated by the commission for such purpose to issue subpoenas at the request of and upon behalf of the licensee, registrant or applicant. The commission or such person conducting the hearing shall not be bound by common law or statutory rules of evidence or by technical or formal rules of procedure in the conduct of such hearing. 5. Upon the conclusion of the hearing, the commission shall take such action upon such findings and determination as it deems proper and shall execute an order carrying such findings into effect. The action in the case of an application for a license or registration shall be the granting or denial thereof. The action in the case of a licensee shall be revocation of the license or suspension thereof for a fixed period or reprimand or a dismissal of the charges. The action in the case of a registered longshoreman shall be dismissal of the charges, reprimand or removal from the longshoremen's register for a fixed period or permanently.

7. The action of the commission in denying any application for a license or in refusing to include any person in the longshoremen's register under this compact or in suspending or revoking such license or removing any person from the longshoremen's register or in reprimanding a licensee or registrant shall be subject to judicial review by a proceeding instituted in either State at the instance of the applicant, licensee or registrant in the manner provided by the law of such State for review of the final decision or action of administrative agencies of such State; provided, however, that notwithstanding any other provision of law the court shall have power to stay for not more than thirty days an order of the commission suspending or revoking a license or removing a longshoreman from the longshoremen's register.

ARTICLE XII

EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION CENTERS

1. The States of New Jersey and New York hereby find and declare that the method of employment of longshoremen and port watchmen in the Port of New York district, commonly known as the "shape-up," has resulted in vicious and notorious abuses, of which such employees have been the principal victims. There is compelling evidence that the "shape-up" has permitted and encouraged extortion from employees as the price of securing or retaining employment and has subjected such employees to threats of violence, unwilling joinder in unauthorized labor disturbances and criminal activities on the waterfront. The "shape-up" has thus resulted in a loss of fundamental rights and liberties of labor, has impaired the economic stability of the Port of New York district and weakened law enforcement therein. It is the sense of the Legislatures of the States of New Jersey and New

All 67 Stat. 555.

York that these practices and conditions must be eliminated to prevent grave injury to the welfare of waterfront laborers and to the people at large and that the elimination of the "shape-up" and the establishment of a system of employment information centers are necessary to a solution of these public problems.

2. The commission shall establish and maintain one or more employment information centers in each State within the Port of New York district at such locations as it may determine. No person shall, directly or indirectly, hire any person for work as a longshoreman or port watchman within the Port of New York district, except through such particular employment information center or centers as may be prescribed by the commission. No person shall accept any employment as a longshoreman or port watchman within the Port of New York district, except through such an employment information center. At each such employment information center the commission shall keep and exhibit the longshoremen's register and any other records it shall determine to the end that longshoremen and port watchmen shall have the maximum information as to available employment as such at any time within the Port of New York district and to the end that employers shall have an adequate opportunity to fill their requirements of registered longshoremen and port watchmen at all times.

3. Every employer of longshoremen or port watchmen within the Port of New York district shall furnish such information as may be required by the rules and regulations prescribed by the commission with regard to the name of each person hired as a longshoreman or port watchman, the time and place of hiring, the time, place and hours of work, and the compensation therefor.

4. All wage payments to longshoremen or port watchmen for work as such shall be made by check or cash evidenced by a written voucher receipted by the person to whom such cash is paid. The commission may arrange for the provision of facilities for cashing such checks.

ARTICLE XIII

EXPENSES OF ADMINISTRATION

1. By concurrent legislation enacted by their respective Legislatures, the two States may provide from time to time for meeting the commission's expenses. Until other provision shall be made, such expense shall be met as authorized in this article.

2. The commission shall annually adopt a budget of its expenses for each year. Each budget shall be submitted to the Governors of the two States and shall take effect as submitted; provided, that either Governor may within thirty days disapprove or reduce any item or items, and the budget shall be adjusted accordingly.

3. After taking into account such funds as may be available to it from reserves, Federal grants or otherwise, the balance of the commission's budgeted expenses shall be assessed upon employers of persons registered or licensed under this compact. Each such employer shall pay to the commission an assessment computed upon the gross payroll payments made by such employer to longshoremen, pier superintendents, hiring agents and port watchmen for work or labor performed within the port of New York district, at a rate, not in excess of two per cent, computed by the commission in the following manner: the commission shall annually estimate the gross payroll payments to be made by employers subject to assessment and shall compute a rate thereon which will yield revenues sufficient to finance the commission's budget for each year. Such budget may include a reasonable amount for a reserve but such amount shall not exceed ten per cent of the total of all other items of expenditure contained

All 67 Stat. 556.

therein. Such reserve shall be used for the stabilization of annual assessments, the payment of operating deficits and for the repayment of advances made by the two States.

4. The amount required to balance the commission's budget, in excess of the estimated yield of the maximum assessment, shall be certified by the commission, with the approval of the respective Governors, to the Legislatures of the two States, in proportion to the gross annual wage payments made to longshoremen for work in each State within the port of New York district. The Legislatures shall annually appropriate to the commission the amount so certified. 5. The commission may provide by regulation for the collection and auditing of assessments. Such assessments hereunder shall be payable pursuant to such provisions for administration, collection and enforcement as the States may provide by concurrent legislation. In addition to any other sanction provided by law, the commission may revoke or suspend any license held by any person under this compact, or his privilege of employing persons registered or licensed hereunder, for non-payment of any assessment when due.

6. The assessment hereunder shall be in lieu of any other charge for the issuance of licenses to stevedores, pier superintendents, hiring agents and port watchmen or for the registration of longshoremen or use of an employment information center. The commission shall establish reasonable procedures for the consideration of protests by affected employees concerning the estimates and computation of the rate of assessment.

ARTICLE XIV

GENERAL VIOLATIONS; PROSECUTIONS; PENALTIES

1 The failure of any witness, when duly subpoenaed to attend, give testimony or produce other evidence, whether or not at a hearing, shall be punishable by the Superior Court in New Jersey and the Supreme Court in New York in the same manner as said failure is punishable by such court in a case therein pending.

2. Any person who, having been sworn or affirmed as a witness in any such hearing, shall wilfully give false testimony or who shall wilfully make or file any false or fraudulent report or statement required by this compact to be made or filed under oath, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment for not more than one year or both.

3. Any person who violates or attempts or conspires to violate any other provision of this compact shall be punishable as may be provided by the two States by action of the Legislature of either State concurred in by the Legislature of the other.

4. Any person who interferes with or impedes the orderly registration of longshoremen pursuant to this compact or who conspires to or attempts to interfere with or impede such registration shall be punishable as may be provided by the two States by action of the Legislature of either State concurred in by the Legislature of the other.

5. Any person who directly or indirectly inflicts or threatens to inflict any injury, damage, harm or loss or in any other manner practices intimidation upon or against any person in order to induce or compel such person or any other person to refrain from registering pursuant to this compact shall be punishable as may be provided by the two States by action of the Legislature of either State concurred in by the Legislature of the other.

6. In any prosecution under this compact, it shall be sufficient to prove only a single act (or a single holding out or attempt) prohibited by law, without having to prove a general course of conduct, in order to prove a violation.

ARTICLE XV

All 67 Stat. 557.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING SAFEGUARDED

1. This compact is not designed and shall not be construed to limit in any way any rights granted or derived from any other statute or any rule of law for employees to organize in labor organizations, to bargain collectively and to act in any other way individually, collectively, and through labor organizations or other representatives of their own choosing. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, nothing contained in this compact shall be construed to limit in any way the right of employees to strike.

2. This compact is not designed and shall not be construed to limit in any way any rights of longshoremen, hiring agents, pier superintendents or port watchmen or their employers to bargain collectively and agree upon any method for the selection of such employees by way of seniority, experience, regular gangs or otherwise; provided, that such employees shall be licensed or registered hereunder and such longshoremen and port watchmen shall be hired only through the employment information centers established hereunder and that all other provisions of this compact be observed.

ARTICLE XVI

AMENDMENTS; CONSTRUCTION; SHORT TITLE

1. Amendments and supplements to this compact to implement the purposes thereof may be adopted by the action of the Legislature of either State concurred in by the Legislature of the other.

2. If any part or provision of this compact or the application thereof to any person or circumstances be adjudged invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall be confined in its operation to the part, provision or application directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered and shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this compact or the application thereof to other persons or circumstances and the two States hereby declare that they would have entered into this compact or the remainder thereof had the invalidity of such provision or application thereof been apparent.

3. In accordance with the ordinary rules for construction of interstate compacts this compact shall be liberally construed to eliminate the evils described therein and to effectuate the purposes thereof.

4. This compact shall be known and may be cited as the "Waterfront Short title. Commission Compact."

SEC. 2. The right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act. is hereby expressly reserved.

Approved August 12, 1953.

Chapter 304 2d Session

To amend section 1923 (a) of title 28, United States Code, relating to docket fees.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the first item Docket fees. listed in section 1923 (a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended 62 Stat. 956. to read as follows:

"$20 on trial or final hearing (including a default judgment whether entered by the court or by the clerk) in civil, criminal, or admiralty cases, except that in cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction where the libellant recovers less than $50 the proctor's docket fee shall be $10;".

Approved June 18, 1954.

To provide transportation on Canadian vessels between Skagway, Alaska, and other points in Alaska, between Haines, Alaska, and other points in Alaska, and between Hyder, Alaska, and other points in Alaska or the continental United States, either directly or via a foreign port, or for any part of the transportation.

vessels.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, until June 30, Alaska. 1955, notwithstanding the provisions of law of the United States Transportation restricting to vessels of the United States the transportation of on Canadian passengers and merchandise directly or indirectly from any port in the United States to another port of the United States, passengers may be transported on Canadian vessels between Skagway, Alaska, and other points in Alaska, between Haines, Alaska, and other points in Alaska, and between Hyder, Alaska, and other points in Alaska or the continental United States, either directly or via a foreign port, or for any part of the transportation: Provided, That such Canadian vessels may transport merchandise between Hyder, Alaska, and other ports and points herein enumerated.

Approved June 29, 1954.