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'VOL. V—No. 16.
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CHARLOTTE, N. C.. THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 1935
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The Labor Journal Is The Only Labor Paper In This Section
PLANS FOR STATE CONVENTION
OF FEDERATION OF I-ABOR MEET
IN DURHAM ARE GOING FORWARD
Plans are going steadily forward
for the twenty-ninth annual conven
tion of the North Carolina State Fed
eration of Labor, which meets Thurs
day, August 29, in the Washington
Duke Hotel, Durham, E. L. Sandefur,
the secretary-treasurer, announces re
ceipt of a large number of creden
tials indicating good attendance. The
secretary-treasurer says this conven
tion may not have quite as many dele
gates as attended the banner meeting
last year, but it is highly probable
that more local unions will be repre
sented at the coming; meet than any
previous year. Last year interest was
at a high pitch because of many new
unions having been organized and the
NR A was then considered a means of
giving organized workers new rights
and new opportunities. Then, too,
there was the possibility of a nation
wide strike of textile workers which
actually was called a few days later
our convention adjourned.
It is reported that the State Federa
tion of Labor has more affiliated lo
cal unions at 'present than at any
time in its history. The drive for a
100 per cent, organization has been
quite effective and this campaign will
be continued with renewed vigor fol
lowing the convention. Many inquir
ies and expressions of interest are
reaching the secretary’s office, and
recommendations will be made to the
forthcoming convention which, it is
hoped, will lead to a greatly enlarged
and more -effective state labor move
ment.
R. R. Lawrence, president of the
organization, announces that arhong
the speakers who have accepted in
vitation to address the convention, are
Senator Robert R. Reynolds, Repre
sentative Harold D. Cooley, State
Senators Swearingen, of Cabarrus,
Burrus of Guilford, and Representa
tives W. L. Lumpkin and Ralph W.
McDonald, the latter a probable can
didate for Governor.
Other prominent national and state
governmental leaders have been in
vited, but acceptance depends much
upon the early adjournment of Con
gress, most of those invited expressing
an earnest desire to attend if possible
to get away from Washington, and
other centers of activity.
This convention is expected to see
the largest number of visitors in his
tory, the meeting being centrally lo
cated, and Durham itself being well
organized. Officers of the Federation
stress the fact that the meetings are
usually open to all members of argan
ized labor, whether a delegate or not.
All members of American Federation
of Labor unions are invited and urged
to attend.
LABOR DAY IN CHARLOTTE
Don’t forget the Labor Day
gathering at Bryant Park on
Monday, September 2. Francis
Gorman, textile international
official, will speak and probably
other Labor eclebrities will be
present. This is going: to be a
real LABOR GATHERING with
the “frills” left out. Get your
basket — bring your friends.
Gorman speaks at 10 A. M.
STRIKE AT QUEEN CITY PTG. CO.
98 PER CENT EFFECTIVE AFTER
A BATTLE OF OVER 3 MONTHS
After more than three months, the
strike at the plant of the Queen City
Printing Company is still 98, per cent
effective and the fact that one Grady
Heinby has seen fit to desert the
ranks of the men who have heretofore
stood for him at the risk of their own
jobs is not worthy of mention except
that he does not quite make up the rei
maining 2 per cent.
The fact that only one striker out
of forty has seen fit to desert the
ranks is evidence of the fact that man
has advanced some since the day some
2000 years ago when there was one
Judas out of twelve good men and
true.
The strikers are well entrenched,
having accumulated resources which
will enable them to carry on the fight
for at least another twelve months, or
as long as necessary to gain that for
which they struck.
Communists have repeatedly tried
to get in on this strike, having used
every means within their power to
try to take an active part themselves
as well as trying to instill the prin
ciples of Communism into the minds
of the strikers. To date they have
made no progress as far as the
strikers are concerned, but they are
still a serious menace to them as far
as any trouble that might come up in
the future is concerned
The strikers have for the time be
ing discontinued the picket line in
order to try and discourage any
Communistic activities. They see a
possibility of becoming involved in
very serious trouble as the Com
munists are daily appearing in front
of the plant. The Queen City Print
ing Company will be notified of these
Communistic activities by the strikers
with a request that the guard in and
around the plant be increased until
such time as they cease their activi
ties.
X. Y. Z.
OUR LABOR DAY EDITION
The Journal’s Labor Day Edition, which will appear on
August 29th, is being well received by the business men of
Charlotte. Ever faithful to our merchants, at least those
who are in sympathy with the program we are aspousing,
Co-operation is asked to the end that Labor in this section
may have a mouthpiece through which its side of the dis
cussion may be heard.
LABOR DAY IN CHARLOTTE
Don’t forget the Labor Day
gathering at Bryant Park on
Monday, September 2. Francis
Gorman, textile international
official, will speak and probably
other Labor eclebrities will be
present. This is going to be a
real LABOR GATHERING with
the “frills” left out. Get your
basket — bring your friends.
Gorman speaks at 10 A. M.
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CHATTING
»Y
HARRY
BOATE
i
——For one individual in particular the World War is not yet over.
The party reterrea 'to is Mr. Grover Bergdoli, member of a wealthy family
of Fnnauelpma, whose money was made from breweries. Uurmkptne World
War, when his number was called for draft into the military service oif the
United States he failed to report, and for two years the military authorities
sougPt him for evasion, and finally succeeded in tneir efforts in ly20. after
the war was over. He was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment March
17, 1U20.
On May 21, lt»20, he received permission to visit his mother and failed
to return. He made his way to Germany, where he has since lived, a man
without a country. His motner was his assistant in his flight and kept, him
posted on every move the government made in efforts to recaptiy^him, an
effort was mai'c by Americans to kidnap him while in Germany^but one o*
the would-be abductors was seized and imprisoned and a diplomatic inci
dent developed over the affair.
The years have gone by, his children are in need of an education, and
»e is now endeavoring to bargain with the United States Government to
permit his return and allow his family to reside in the United States. His
wife says he is anxious to return and claim a fortune of $800,000 which tne
government seized when he fled this country. Apparently he cares as little
*«r the welfare of the country of his birth as he did in years agone, but
American money is still good, and American schools are still good, sp hr
'vill sacrifice a little pride and return to the country he fled in order to ge'
the American dollars and schooling. Yes, we have many in our country ter
day who are as undesirable as is Bergdoll, and it is too bad we cannot get
rid of them, but we will let the government settle the case, for they have
all the facts needed with which to decide. This may be a warning to other*
who think money will do anything they wish.
-Over in Moscow. Russia, the Communists are holding a convehtioh
and Earl Bowder. general secretary of that party in- the United States, pre
dicts Facism in this country in order to protect the toiling masses from be
coming victims of terror and atrocities such as have been visited upon Ger
many. Now that this particular individual is known, also his attitude to^aH
»ur system of government, and hej can be easily located, it would not be a
bad idea to see that he does not return to continue his efforts.
-Money is the god of the hour, and now Uncle Sam is investigatm
certain recent occurrences a more members of his official family. The in
; cestigation concerns a racket which ?«■ being carried on by smuggling alien*
1 «ito the country, and then bleeding them for money under threat of expo*
<ng them for being in the country illegall’’ if they refuse to pay. Truly thh
a hard age in which to live, for the devil appears to be holding the whir
aand. and he is not lax in snapping the whip. [ T
-Mr. Howard C. Hopson, whom the government has been chasing ior
some tiftie as a witness in the lobby investigation, has finally been captured
and put on the stand for questioning. He has admitted that his business con
cerns endeavored to gain their point in defeating the utilities bill by con
trolling the activities of newspapers which favored the bill. Says he! “I
saw no advantage in advertising in a paper that accepted the money of a
business corporation that was trying to protect its investors and then had edi
torial writers that had so little knowledge of the situation about which they
were writing.” If he really thinks the newspapers do not know what they
are writing about, he is npt soshrew^ss we thought he was. Were it not
for the wide-awake newspapers of this country we would be m a worse con
dition than we are. They know many things of great importance long before it
ever happens, and because of this knowledge many things do not happen that
would be bad for the country and its citizens. All hail to the American
newspapers that are conducted in the interests of its readers.
—— Charlotte promises to be considerably enlightened in the next few
days because of the storm which is now brewing between the police depart
ment and the civil service commission as a result of the recent incident in the
colored section of the city. Some time ago the colored citizens asked for
better police protection, and it seems they were not wrong ip. making their
request. These pepole wish to live quiet and peaceable lives 4nd should be
given that privilege.
DEFEAT McCORMACK-TYDINGS BILL!
The McCormack-Tydings Bill, which prohibits the criticising of the use
of troops in strikes under penalty of a $1,000 fine or two years in jail, is an
indication of the extent to which some of the warped minds in Congress will
go in their effort to take from the American people the right of free speech.
This is the kind of law that will bring a revolution in America— If Amer
ican people cannot crystallize public sentiment against an undesirable gov
ernment or the abuse of any of its functions as a means of getting rid of
such a government in a constitutional way, then there is nothing left for the
American people to do except to resort to violence. Present-day Americans
can hang their heads in shame if the McCormack-Tydings Bill becomes a law.
What becomes of our stewardship of the heritage that was left us by
our revolutionary forefathers, who were willing to die that America might
be free, if we allow such proposed legislation to go unchallenged?
This bill has already passed the United States Senate. Write your Con
gressman and protest against its passage in the House.
A. F. L. Fighting
The Sales Tax
American Federation of Labor’s ex
ecutive council, in session at Atlantic
City early in the week, urged aboli
tion of all state sales taxes at the
earliest possible moment.
William Green, president, was in
structed by the council to urge af
filiated state federations to work for
sales tax repeal in states that have
such levies, at the next sessions of
their legislatures. States that have
not levied sales taxes will be urged
not to do so.
“These taxes are bearing very
heavily upon the laboring people,” said
Green. “They transfer the burden of
relief to the poor—even to the unem
ployed. Millions of dollars are being
collected from people who are unable
to pay.”
Labor Day Picnic
At Bryant Park
Monday, Sept. 2
There is a big time ahead for
the Union Labor men and wom
en of Charlotte, and their fam
ilies at Bryant Park next Mon
day. All kinds of games, with
prizes, a basket picnic, a talk by
Francis Gorman at 10 A. M., mu
sic, and ”what not.” Brothers
Fulelrton and McElice, of the
committee in charge of the af
fair, report plans in the making
for a big time. All Union men
and their families are urged tc
on hand before 9 A. M.
LABOR RACKETEERING IN
CHARLOTTE CONDEMNED BY
CENTRAL LABOR UNION
S Racketeering in the name of Organized Labor in Char
lotte in the advertising, publicity and co-operative field
brought forth the following resolution, which was unanimous
ly passed Tuesday, January 21, by Central Labor Union:
"Resolved, That the Charlotte Labor Journal is
recognized in Charlotte as the only official paper of
this section, and that merchants and business con
cerns are warned against outsiders soliciting adver
tisements or funds in the name of Labor, unless they
have secured the sanction of Central Labor Union.
For information merchants and business men may
may call The Journal at 3-4855, or Central Labor
Union, 9185. The motion carried unanimously."
PREVAILING WAGE SCALE URGED
BY A. F. OF L ON GOVERNMENT
WORK RELIEF AND CONSTRUCTION
ATLANTIC CITY, N. J.—Strikes and other manifestations
of unrest among the workers caused by the low wage rates in
Works Progress Administration relief projects would be allayed
if the Government would pay the prevailing wage rate per hour,
the Executive Council of the American Federation of Labor de
clared in a statement here issued in connection with the strike of
building trades workers in New York City and elsewhere.
This change could be realized, the
Council said, by transferring WPA
building and construction projects to
the Public Works Administration,
which pays the prevailing wage on all
work coming under its jurisdiction.
The recommendation of the Execu
tive Council will be conveyed to Pres
ident Roosevelt, who is authorized to
fix wage rates on projects executed
under the $4,000,000,000 work relief
law.
The Council emphasized that the so
called security wage per month on
WPA projects would not be disturb
ed by the prevailing wage rate plan,
which only insisted “that the number
of hours worked per month! by relief
workers shall be fixed upon a basis
so that the worker would earn the
monthly security wage at the hourly
prevailing wage' rate established in
each community.”
Strikes Are Feared
William Green, president of the
A. F. of L., in making public the Exi
ecutive Council’s proposal, predicted
nation-wide walkouts of Works Prog
ress Administration workers unless
the prevailing wage rate was adopt
ed.
“We deplore strikes the same as
any one else,” Mr. Green said, “and
for the people to be engaged in a
strike against the Government is a
very serious matter. We would like
to see it settled, but there are certain
policies to which our members must
adhere.”
Executive Council’s Statement
Following is tbe text of the Execu
tive,; Council’s statement clarifying
the position of the American Federa
tion of Labor on the work relief wage
question:
“Representatives of the New York,
New Jersey and Philadelphia Build
ing Trades Counchils advise that
building trades workers in the cities
and States named were refusing to)
work for the so-called security wage,
provided for relief workers on WPA |
projects. •! ,
“These representatives of skilled
building trades' workers stated that
these workers were convinced that if
they accepted the security wage on
WPA projects they would lose the
prevailing rate of pay when employed
by private contractors.
Private Employers Chisel Rates
“Norman Blumberg, secretary of
the Building Trader Council at Phila
delphia, definitely and positively stat
ed that private contractors in Phila
delphia had served notice upon build
ing trades workers that if they ac
cepted the security wage on WPA
projects, said private contractors
would demand that they work for low
er rates in private construction over
which said contractors had control.
Mr. Blumberg is submitting affida
vits to the president of the Ameri
can Federation of Labor in confirma
tion of this report.
Prevailing W age Held Sacred
“In order that the public may cor
rectly understand the action of build
ing trades mechanics in refusing to
work for the so-called security wage
fixed by the Federal Government on
WPA projects they must first appre
ciate how sacred the building trade
workers regard the maintenance of
prevailing rates of pay fought for and
secured during years of struggle and
effort, and how, because of sacrifice
and suffering, they jelously guard and |
protect these built-up wage standards.
Position on Security Wage
“The American Federation of La*
bqr is quite willing- to accept the
monthly security wage for relief
wbrkers, including skilled workers.
“We cheerfully accept such securt
ity wage at a rate of $50, $60, $70 or
$85 per month. We will gladly and
willingly co-operate with the Govern
ment in the acceptance and applica
tion of any monthly security wage it
may decide upon for dependent work
ers who are upon the relief rolls.
Position on Security Wage
“The American Federation of La
bor is quite willing to accept the
monthly security wage for relief
workers, including skilled workers.
“We cheerfully accept such secur
ity wage at a rate of $50, $60, $70 or
$85 per month. We will gladly and
willingly co-operate with the Govern
ment in the acceptance with the Gov
ernment in the acceptance and appli
cation of any monthly security wage
it may decide upon for dependent
workers who are upon the relief rolls.
Insists on Standard Hourly Rate
“The American Federation of La
bor asks only that the prevailing
hourly standard wage rate be main
tained in the payment of the month
ly security wage. That is, that the
number of hours worked per month
by relief workers shall be fixed upon
a basis so that the worker would earn
the monthly security wage at the
hourly prevailing wage rate estab
lished in each community.
“Through such a plan the Govern
ment could put into effect its month
ly security wage rates and the work
ers would be permitted to maintain
their hourly prevailing wage stand
ards.
New York Prevailing Wage Law
“The workers in New York have
been taught to believe in, to hold sac
red and to maintain the prevailing
rates of pay. They think in prevail
ing wage terms.
“The State law of New York pro
vides that workers employed upon
public works in the State of New
York, whether on the relief rolls or
not, shall be paid the prevailing rates
of pay. The same rule applies to all
public works projects in the city of
New York.
“Because of these facts, the work
ers are caught between two contend
ing forces—one which requires the
payment of the prevailing rates of
wages on public work projects ip New
York and the other which demands
that they work for a security wage
wage which is a definite and sub
stantial reduction in pay far below
the prevailing rate of wages.
Hates Cut on Slum Clearance Project
“Again, it is charged by workers in
New York that the announced policy
of the WJA is being violated because
a s'lum-clearanee building project in
New York, which will cost more than
$400,000, is being launched as a WPA
project at the lowered security wago
rate.
The workers understood when they
were employed upon building con
struction projects costing $25,000,000
or more it would be under PWA su
pervision and the workers employed
Would! be paid the prevailing rate of
of Wages!
Hopes Strikes Will Be Avoided
“The American Federation of Labor
is gref-tly distressed and deeply con
cerned ever the serious situation which
has arisen in. the attempted execu
tion of WPA work relief projects. We
sincerely wish that strikes could bp
avoided, that satisfaction could be es
tablished and that the highest degree
of co-operation could be brought
about:
“We are reliably informed that as
WPA work relief projects are launch
ed in all the different cities through
out the country the building trades
workers will take the same action in
these cities as was taken by the
workers in New York, New Jersey
and Philadelphia. '
Transfer WPA Projects to PWA
“It is sincerely hoped that such a
distressing situation can be avoided.
“For this reason the Executive
Council recommends that all WPA
building and construction projects be
transferred to the PWA, whffch fol
lbws the rule of paying the prevailing
rate of wages for all work coming un
der its supervision and administra
tion.” • .
Durham Labor
Is Preparing For
State Convention
The arrangements committee of the
Durham Central Labor Union, host
organization to the twenty-ninth an
nual convention of the North Carolina
State Federation of Labor, Durham,
August 29-31, announces an excellent
program for possibly the largest state
gathering of organized labor in the
history of the movement.
Outstanding entertainment features
include a banquet on Thursday night,
7:30 o’clock, in the banquet room of
the Washington Duke Hotel. Thelma
Lloyd, the Durham song bird, will be
heard with her accompanist, Mrs.
Llewellyn. M. F. Johnson will be
toastmaster and there will be several
short speeches by prominent people.
On Friday night in the ballroom,
a floor show will be given at 8 o’clock,
lasting until 9, followed by dancing
until 1 o’clock, with intermission at
10:30, at which time refreshments will
be served guests. Delegates and visi
tors may obtain tickets to the dance,
without charge at the registration
booth. It is of interest that all en
tertainers on the floqr-show pro
gram are members of families of or
ganized workers in Durham and vi
cinity.
Officials of the Federation empha
size the fact that all members of
American Federation of Labor unions
will be welcomed to the meetings and
entertainment features whether a del
gate or not.
FREY WILL MAKE LABOR DAY
SPEECH IN PITTSBURGH, PA.
Washington, D. C.—John P. Frey,
president of the Metal Trades Depart
ment of the American Federation of
Labor, will speak in Pitsburgh, Pa.,
on Labor Day under the auspices of
the Pittsburgh Central Trades Coun
cil, it was announced at the headquar
ters of the Department in the A. F.
of L. Building here. The address will
be broadcast.