Newspapers / The Charlotte Labor Journal … / June 7, 1951, edition 1 / Page 1
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VOL. XXI; NO. 5 ____CHARLOTTE. N. C- THURSDAY, JUNE 7. 1»51 Srttriptioa Price $2.00 Per Teer •CAPITAL REPORTER jjj^ * RALEIGH. — There wu some, fancy-maneuvering at Asheville last week-end when North Caro lina Legionnaires picked a state commander. And it wasn’t just American Legion politics involved, some of the State’s most ardent profes sional politicians got into action. When the session started, John Larkins, Jr., was a hot candidate for the top job. The Senator from Jones, Larkins also is a' member of the Advisory Budget , Commission, and it was rumored that a deal had been worked out whereby he could, if elected, keep his political job—despite a Legion constiution prohibiting officers from holding political office. John has been mentioned, too,! as a candidate for the next lieu tenant-governor. He had written delegates a letter saying he would not run for political office while commander, but said noth ing about quitting the job he had. When he was told he would have to resign as senator—Budget Commission member. Larxins got out of the race quicker than a horse with a broken leg. His backers — many of them would-be kingmakers in Demo cratic party circles — had found out, too, that opponents of Lark ins were going to demand that each candidate give a resume of j his record in the service. And a talking point against Larkins, 1 had been the brevity of his Army | career. The Legion commaadership would have been a fine stepping stone for future political ambi tions of conservative-minded John | Larkins. He would have been able to travel over the Jtote fac a year “on the House” and make many valuable contacts and friends. Now young Mr. Larkins is available for a “draft” as a can didate for the lieutenant-gover norship. But his pronounced Le gion candidacy and subsequent withdrawal may hurt, as it leaves him wide open for opposition from veterans. Veterans gener ally look with a jaundiced eye on politicians with brief time in the j services. Young Lochinvar Meantime, from out of the West comes word that politicos in that section have been sounded oat on the possibility of Fred Royster of Vance running for the State’s number two job. Feelers probably will be made in the east very shortly. Although beaten in the 1951 House speak ership race, Royster probably could make quite a race of it— particularly if Larkins is his op ponent. East-West Again The Legion convention showed that the east-west tradition still is alive. The Legion follows the Democratic Party idea of alter-! nating top offices between the two halves of the State. When Larkins pulled out of the race, very popular Westerner Ralph Fisher stepped in, but was whipped handily by Louis Parker of Elisabethtown. This despite the fact that Parker was defeated two years ago when he sought the job. His defeat, incidentaly, was the direct result of a vicious ; race-whispering campaign. New Job For Abe Clean-cut, able Bill Snider is leaving his job as public rela tions boss for the Highway De partment to rturn to his first love news papering. On July 1, Bill will join the Greensboro Daily News editorial staff, writing editorials and doing; investigative reporting. By the time you read this, C. A. (Abie) Upchurch, Jr., just re signed as the ABC’s beer csar. probably will be named as Bill’s successor. The grapevine has it that Abbie, in addition to hand ling highway department public ity, also will be made Highway Commission Chairman Henry Jor dan’s administrative assistant in charge of personal. Upchurch—|n his iflid-40’s—set up the Malt Beverage Division of the ABC system some two years ago and has done a fine job in eliminating “beer joints” through out the State. His efforts have given a new look of respectabili ty—if such is possible—to beer drinking and taverns. A former newspaperman with the News and Observer and Associated Press, among others), Abie was publicity director for Ralph Mac Donald in his two unsuccessful attempts to become governor. More recently, Abie directed pub licity for Frank Graham’s Senate campaign. Snider started his newspaper career with the Salisbury Post in 1941, the same year he graduated from the University of North Carolina. He was in the service three and a-half years, serving in the China-Burma-lnaia theater. In 1948 he came to Raleigh as Gregg Cherry’s private secretary, then went to the Highway De partment' when Jordan was named Highway Commission chairman. Probably the highlight of Snid er’s state government career came in the last General Assembly, when he swapped words with an antagonistic House Appropria tions Committee and did the best job of any highway department official in arguing against the Powell street-aid bill. Bill is the type of man state government can ill afford to lose. But he says he always had in tended to make newspapering my life work. “I’ve learned a lot during the past three years,” he said, “but after a while you learn about all you can in government work and the jest becomes a sort of merry go-round. That’s putting it mildly, Bill. Boom Town Kinston shouldn’t have any trouble becoming North Caro lina’s fastest growing city. The multi-million-dollar DuPont plant is going up nearby, and last week the Kinston Air Base was picked for one of nine civilian-operated Air Forces cadet training centers. Truman Miller of Raleigh got the contract to operate the Kin ston Air Base and training school. Would be pilots will be sent to Kinston, trained as pilots by civilians, commissioned and sent on to advanced training schools. The Air Force is doing away with its own operation of basic training and leasing this part of its program to civilians. It's being done, believe H or not, be cause the Air Force has found that civilians can do it cheaper and provide more experienced flight instructors for the fledging airmen. That’s a nice note from a government that—according to Republicans and some alleged Democrats—is supposed to be de termined to socialise and bank rupt the country. The base will get into full ope ration in Mid-November, follow ing a $250,000 building program. One hundred and thirty - four trained pilots will be turned out every 40 days when the program gets in full swing. Each pilot will get 60 daya of pre-flight and flight training. The program will mean another $8,000,000 annual payroll — Some three-fourths of itgoing to civil ians—being dumped in Kinston’s lap. Barn Guess Motor Vehicles Commissioner London Rosser’s guess that patrol car bids would be high turned sour last week. Bids were lower than they were six months ago, with the lowest being $1,087 and the highest $1,445 (this for Pon tiacs). Low bid last December was $1,348. Rosser had asked the Council of State to up the $1,500 legal limit for car purchases to $1,650, leav ing the impression that cars could not be bought for $1,500 or less anymore. Real truth was that Rosser wanted to give bigger cars to (Coatiaaed On Pag* I) OH SAY. CAN YOV SEE? . * " AM »NPU<Tl*y»y rArACiry C»VltlAN AwP A^lLltAPY M0HlU2AT/O#y Collective Bargainimg What War Allis About Paul L. Styles, newest mem ber of the National Labor Re latione Board, spoke last week at the Hosiery Workers con vention in Philadelphia. What ho bad to say was so important that we are passing along this summary for the information of every union member. Is these days, when we are en ga$r<^ in a world contest that sometimes seems to dwarf the great holocaust of World War II, we hear quite a bit of talk that seems to suggest that collective bargaining should be temporarily side-tracked, that it is a luxury we cannot afford in such times of crisis. This talk, even when it comes from the uninformed or the misinformed, is cause for alarm. Essentially, there are only four ways in which terms and conditions of employment can be determined: (1) They can be fixed by the employer; (2) They can be imposed by the union. (3) They can be ordered by government decree; and (4) They can be de termined by collective bargaining. Our history has made it clear that the first two methods—in volving absolute unilateral action by the employer or the union— are incompatible with our system of free enterprise. The third course—in which the government dictates every single detail of the conditions under which enterprises shall operate and free men shall work — la what the fighting is all about. Shall we, at home, adopt the very measures which we abhor, and thereby give impetus to those forces of centralised government control that we are pitted against all over the world? The fourth course — collective bargaining between the chosen representatives of management and labor—may not be the per fect system, but it is the best ever devised by men jealous of their liberties. It is just 25 years ago this month that Congress first adopted as a national policy the require ment that employers meet and bargain in good faith .with the representatives of their employees as a group. At first. Congress adopted this policy only for the railway industry. Nine years later, Congress applied it to all industry affecting interstate com merce, except agriculture. That does not mean that col lective bargaining was born just 26 years ago. Not by any means. Historians trace the first collec tive bargaining in America back to 1636. The men involved in this incident were a group of so called “bound” workmen and fish ermen. They met with an agent of their employer and tried to ; persuade him to pay them a j year’s wages which he was with ■ holding. The men Anally resort t ed to mass desertions, which the employer’s agent described as "a mutiny.” Five years later the same employer’s agent was com plaining that his workmen had engaged in a work stoppage one afternoon to protest inadequate food. Those probably were the ; first attempts by employees at collective bargaining in America. It was not until 150 years later that the first trade union actually resembling the unions of today appeared. The appearance of organiza tions of employees devoted to bar- j gaining on a collective basis at. a time almost exactly coincident with the rise of the democracy is not just one of those accidents of history. Collective bargaining is merely another manifestation of the democratic idea. Properly conceived, it is just a matter of bringing democracy into the, fac tory or shop. The importance of collective bargaining in a democratic so ciety was well summarized by Congress in the National Labor Relations Act of 1936, better known as the Wagner Act. The Act said; “The inequality of bargaining association or actual liberty of contract, and employers who are organised In the corporate or other forms of ownership ! association substantially bur dens and affects the flow of commerce, and tends to aggra vate recurrent business depres sions, by depressing wsge rates and the purchasing power of wage earners in industry and by preventing the stabilization •f competitive wage rates and working conditions within and between industries. “Experience has proved that protection by law of the right of employees to organise and bargain collectively safeguards commerce from injury, impair ment. or interruption, and pro motes the flow of commerce by removing certain recognized ; sources of industrial strife and unrest, by encouraging practices fundamental to the friendly ad justmeat of industrial disputes arising out of differences as to wages, hours, or other working conditions, and by restoring equality W bargaining power between employers and em ployees.” That is still the national pol icy. In 1947, when Congress was revising the labor-management re lations statute, the lawmakers (Continued On Page 2) Green Warns Against Letting Controls Lapse Senate C roup Studies A New Security Plan Bill* to give relief to the thou sands of retired railroad workers are being studied by a Senate committee. One bill is sponsored by the unions which are members of the Railway Labor Executives’ Association (RLEA). The other is sponsored by the four “operat ing" Brotherhoods-^the Engineers, Conductors, Firemen and Engine men, and Trainmen. Though the bills differ in de tail, both would increase pensions, annuities and other retirement benefits. Both the RLEA and the “operating” Brotherhoods point out retired railroaders and their families, who live on fixed income, need prompt relief. The price of food, clothing, shelter and other necessities has increased while the income of the retired worker has remained the same. The legislation the Brother hoods sponsor would increase benefits by 23 per cent without charging the Railroad Retire ment Act in any way. The Bro therhood issued a statement saying: “Our examinations lead us to beileve that the present sound ba sis of the Railroad Retirement plan can be sustained and at the same time make additional money available to those who so badly need the assistance." The RLEA measure would in crease old-affe and disability re tirement annuities by 13.8 per cent, with a 15 per cent increase for pensiomers who were taken over from the railroads’ old pri vate pension rolls. It also would increase benefits for survivors. And it would set up a “wife’s an nuity’’ and a “husband’s annuity." RLEA Executive Secretary A. E. Lyon has prepared ta bles to show that nader the present law, aa employe who retires after SO yearn* railroad service, at average pay ef $150 a mouth, gets aa annuity of $96 a month, with nothing ex tra for his wife. Th* RLEA bill would raise Me aaauity to 1192 a month, aa increase of IS per ceat. If he has aa eligible wife, eke would get aa aanalty of $30 a month, making the ha ul far the family $152 a month, aa increase ef $9 per cent over the $90 he gets new. For an employe with SO years’ rail service, at averse* P*y of $300 a month, the annuity in crease would be from $144 to $165 a month, for the employe alone, a raise of 15 per cent. If he has an eligible upfe. she would get $50 a month, making the family total $215 a month, an in crease of 49 per cent. The widow of an employe who had 15 years’ rail service, at av erage pay of $150 a month, would have her survivor pension raised from 42 to $60 a month, an in crease of 86 per cent. If this widow has one child, she would get $120 a month, and $160 if she has two or more children. If her husband had received average pay of $390 a month during his 15 years’ rail se*vke, her survivor pension increase be from $41 to $75 a month, going up 83 per cent. In this esse the monthly pension would be $156 for s widow and one child, and $200 for n widow with two or more children. “Look doctor*" the aick man said, “the other doctors disagree withyou in their diagnosis of my case.” “I know,” replied the doctor, “but the postmortem will show that I’m right.” Washington.—AFL President William Green warned Con gress : “If price control were scuttled wage stabilization would have to go and there would be no limit to the amount of wage increases unions c>uld obtain from employers. “In the present tight labor market situations, let me as sure you that this would mean very substantial wage in creases. far above those allowed by the Wage Stabilization board.” General Harrison . Hails Expansion Of U. S. Industry — In a statement issued upon his resignation as Administrator of the Defense Production Adminis tration, Gen. William H. Harrison reviewed major accomplishments I during his eight months of par ticipation in the national produc tion effort. He urged that our expansion of industrial capacity not be looked upon only as an in surance against the emergency of total war. “If we are successful in fore stalling such a catastrophe,” Gen. Harrison said, “the expansion of our resources and our productive capacity will greatly accelerate our economic progress.” Gen. Harrison predicted that if our production effort is continued with the same determination as has marked it to date—and if yre {encounter no unforeseen obstacles 1 —we should see, in about 18 months, the beginning of an in crease in tha standard of living of this country at a Much faster | rate than we would have other ! wise enjoyed. Gen. Harrison said a major fac tor in the success of the defense program to date has been the ad vice and co-operation of the en tire American business commun ity. “Not only did the industrialists co-operate by coming to Wash ington to help us get organised,” he said, "but they served on com mittees to advise the National Production Authority on the need and extent of control.” The General said he believed that “we have made a most suc cessful start in putting the vari ous controls upon the economy to work,” and pointed out that the dire predictions of the effect of the controls on industry and em ployment have not come to pass. “Unemployment is virtually non-existant,” he said, “and tha bankruptcy rate is lower. Thera has been a minimum of true hard ship to industry and to civilians. In fact, the nation is in what I would call very good shape. Last fall the productive index was 220; now it stands at <34.” - UNITED LABOR NAMES KEENAN TO DPA POST Washington—The United Labor Policy Committee recommended Joseph D. Keenan, secretary-trees* urer AFL Building and Con struction Trades Department, to be assistant to the administrator of the Defense Production Admin stration. O .A. Knight, president CIO Oil Workers, was recommended for a similar position in National Pro ducton Administration. Railway Labor Executives As sociation will name the labor rep resentative to be assistant to Di rector Michael V. DiSalle of the Office of Price Stabilisation. The appointments round out those to be made by United Labor at the top level of the nation’s defense mobilisation and stabili zation program. Most of the nominees still have to be formally appointed and sworn into office before labor is actively participating in the day by-day policy making and admin istration of mobilization. Declare your Independence by buying Independence Bonds. | He delivered the admonition to j the House Banking: and Currency committee at the conclusion of a statement urging: a stronger De fense Production Act which would: (1) Hold down and stabilize the cost of living, especially the price of foods, (2) Impose strict rent controls everywhere needed. (3) Provide more effective enforce ment of price and rent controls, (4) Require maintenance of qual ity. (5) Establishh dollars and cents ceiling prices. (6) Regulate margin require ments on commodity markets. (7) Eliminate exemptions of certain in dustries .from price cootrola such as motion pictures and newspapers. (8) Relax credit controls on hous ing for low-income wage earners. (9) Provide full participation fop labor in administration of the en tire Defense Mobilization program. Mr. Green concluded: “These then represent our con sidered views regarding the exten sion of the Defense Production act. “I do not suppose that It comes with any surprise to your commit tee to find that our testimony is completely different from the tes timony given by representatives of business before this committee. We |y|yf emphasized Btrwulhiiiiig tlMi law; these other witnesses have emphasised weakening the law. “Let me point out that for a la bor organisation, the easy solution to the problem of inflation is to agree with those who want to abol ish all controls. “This, I say, is the easy solu tion for union leaders to the prob lem of inflation. For the Ameri can Federation of Labor, we have decided that the threat of Soviet imperialism to the free world makes it impossible for us to rec ommend such a course of action. This is no time for business as usual. “To us. the issue appears very simple. Are we or we not going to have a comprehensive anti-infla tion program? “No one, least of all the Ameri can Federation of Labor, contunda that price and wage controls are the whole answer to the problem of inflation. We have, for example, made very specific recommenda tions regarding taxation. We have very sepciflc views regarding a savings program and a program to restrict inflationary bank credit. However, even with these pro grams, direct controls will be needed. “Our economy ia faced with the problem of adjusting itself to a defense program that will shortly be taking 20 per cent of our na tional effort. The dislocations and pressures brought by the defense program cannot be handled with out direct controls. “If we need controls, let us make them truly effective. We cannot stem inflation by halfway measures. It makes no sense for Congress to pass a law saying there should be direct controls and then fail to include in that law the necessary provisions for making those con trols effective. “That is why we say: make these controls truly effective; make certain that they can be effectively enforced; and make certain that there are no loopholes for special privilege. “If you meet this challenge, yon will have earned the gratitude of the American people.” Union people owe a debt of co-operation and helpfulness to their brothers. If it were not for the other fellows in the Un j ion, each man would stand alone. {Then where would he be?
The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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June 7, 1951, edition 1
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