Newspapers / The Charlotte Labor Journal … / March 4, 1937, edition 1 / Page 1
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The ONLY REALLY INDEPENDENT T WEEKLY in Meetknbarg Cwty For » Weekly. Ito R—dure Represent the LARGEST BUYING POWER !■ ChariotU Iht Charlotte labor Journal Truthful, Himest, Impartial AND DIXIE FARM NEWS Endeavoring to Serve the Masses Official Orgaa Comtrml Labor Union; standing for the A. F. of L. Vol. VI.—No. 41 CHARLOTTE, N. C., THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 1937 JOURNAL ABVRRTII $2.00 Per Year AN EPDEMIC OF STRIKES RANGES FROM HOSIERY WORKERS, NURSES, VAN DRIVERS AND ON DOWN LINE NEW YORK, March 2.—Hundreds of hosiery workers joined the strike ranks today. Messenger boys, nurses, moving van drivers—even a group of blind handi-workers—quit their duties, too, as labor disputes kept approximately 30,000 idle in shops, stores, factorien and foundries forming a broad cross-section of American industry. The American Federation of Hos iery Workers claimed it had pulled more than 2,000 persons off their jobs and closed six mills in Berks county, Pennsylvania, in a move for union recognition. The movement cul minated in four “sit-down" demon strations, a walkout, and a lockout at the six plants. Unionists estimated more than 1,700 went on strike at six A. F. Walton shoe fastories in Chelsea and the Phyllis Shoe Company in Lowell, Mass. Five plants remained closed at Salem. Labor chieftains, demand ing a 15 per cent pay hike, said about 30 New England manufacturers had agreed to the boost. Sixty-five Toledo, Ohio, messenger boys,- organised at the headquarters of the United Automobile Workers Union, a Committe for Industrial Or ganisation affiliate, played harmon icas while messages piled up. They sought wage and hour adjustments. Moving vans and storage ware houses in Cleveland were paralyzed after contractual . negotiations be tween the drivers’ union and some 150 firms collapsed. Seven Norwalk, Ohio, nurses left thtir posts, protesting the dismissal of a superintendent. Approximately 100 sightless em ployes of the Pennsylvania Associa tion for the Blind’s factory at Pitts burgh sat down in an effort to gain higher wages. Sit-down strikers — predominantly feminine—barred the management from a Detroit five and ten-cent store. A number of others started a second sitting demonstration in another F. W. Woolworth store. Some 500 singing pickets paraded around the Douglas Aircraft corpo i at ion at Santa Monica, Calif., but( the world’s largest plane iacioiy re sumed operations after a six-day strike lull. The subsidiary Northrop corporation plant also re-opened. To, getner they employ more than 6,600. About 100 pickets gathered at the Electric Boat Company at Gronton, Conn., but officials reported more than 1,400 men were at work. The 458 “sit-down” demonstrators at the Ferro Stamping and Timken-Detroit Axle companies in Detroit were di rected to show cause why they should not be enjoined by the courts from occupying those properties. Father Francis Haas, Federal con ciliator, conferred with striking un ionists and Northern States Power company officials in an effort to end labor discord at Minneapolis. The L. A. W. A. announced set tlement of a controversy that closed the Fisher and Chevrolet plants at Janesville, Wis. An Elgin, 111., citiiens committee conferred with officials of the Illi nois Watch Case Company, closed by a strike affecting 090 employes. U. A. W. A. spokesmen continued post-strike parleys with General Mo tors representatives and prepared for a collective bargaining conference with Chrysler Motor chieftains to day. . Chairmen of the five “operating” railway brotherhoods, were instructed to file a formal demand for a 20 per cent wage increase by March 22 and to seek to have the higher pay be come effective May 1. The 16 “non operating” brotherhoods recently in dorsed similar demands. Labor trouble, meanwhile, leaped the Canadian border. Approximately 1,500 went on strike in 24 Ontario furniture factories. A new working wage agreement was the objective. A. F. OF L. DEFENDS WM. GREEN ON MINERST)ISL0YA1TY CHARGES; SAYS MOTIVE ATTACK BY LEWIS WASHINGTON, D. C.—The Executive Council of the Ameri can Federation of Labor, at the closing session of its quarterly meet ing here, absolved William Green, president of the Federation, of the charge made by the Policy Committee of the United Mine Work ers of America of disloyalty to labor in connection with a state ment issued by the A. F. of L. head regarding the settlement terms of the strike declared by the United Automobile Workers of America against the General Motors ^Corporation, and condemned the action of the Policy Committee in demanding Mr. Green s ex pulsion from the Miners’ Union not only as a “wholly unwarrant able” attack upon the A. F. of L. head, but also as a blow aimed at the American Federation of Labor itself. The statement issued by Mr. Green, which was allegedly the basis!lor the attack on him by the Miners’ Policy Committee, said that in the auto strike settlement terms the Automobile Workers’ Union lost its the union be recognised as the sole bargaining agency for all of General Motors employes And that “to this extent and in this aspect represents a surrender in a very large way to the demands of the General '*0t<Themreaffirmation by the Executive Council of its full faith in President Green was made public in a letter signed by Frank Morrison, secretary treasurer of the A F. of Lm and ordered sent to all national and international unions, the A. F. of L. Metal Trades, Building Trades, Railroad Employes and Union Label Trades Departments, State federations of labor, city central bodies and 35,000 local unions. Wm. Green Does Not Believe Coshocton Miners Will Expel Him From Union COSHOCTON, Ohio, Feb. 28.—Wil liam Green, president of the Ameri can Federation of Labor, says he feels confident his Coshocton union, Mor gan Run local of the United Mine Workers, would support him in his fight against expulsion from the U. M. W. “Members of the local will never permit the local to be used as an in strumentality for the imposition of injustice,” Green said at his home. He asserted the ouster fight would not affect his status as president of the A. F. of L. “Whatever action Mr. Lewis (John L. Lewis, president of the U. M. W,) and his associates may take against me, personally wih serve only to rally the local unions more strongly in my support,” Green The union policy committee or the United Mine Workers ordered Green s expulsion more than two weeks ago because he criticised Lewis’ part in the General Motors strike. Execution of the order is up to the Morgan Run local, whicn Green joined as a coal digger 45 yeais ago. Members who were in the local when Green poined it indicated they would uelay action as long as possible. THE OLD DEVIL Two little girls were on their way home from Sunday School, and were solemnly discussing the lesson. • Do you believe there is a devil? asked one. No, said the other promptly. It’s like Santa Claus, it’s your father. Steel Circles To Come To Show Down This Month PITTSBURGH, March 2—The five billion dollar steel industry looked to day for March to bring a “showdown” in the battle between organised labor and the management, but hoped ne gotiations would not check the pow erful strides of recovery. Two big problems loom for settle ment: 1. Will the John L. Lewis Com mitte for Industrial Organisation de mand outright recognition as the sole collective bargaining agent of the workers or would it agree to act only for its membership. 1 2. Will the present 48-hour work week be continued or will the 40-hour week be substituted? Clinton S. Golden, eastern regional director of the steelworkers commit tee handling Lewis’ drive, predicted little difficulty in reaching an agree ment. Chief Unit Of U.SL Steel To Bargain With The C. I. 0. PITTSBURGH, March 3.—Organ ised labor won formal recognition last night as a collective bargaining agent for its members from the chief unit of the giant United States Steel corp oration. The epochal step in the industrial relations of the five-billion-dollar in dustry was announced quietly by Philip Murray, chairman of the steel work ers organizing committee and first lieutenant of John L. Lewis. • I CHATTING In these modern days of big business, and almost everything else is done in a big way, it would be hard indeed to carry on the activities of life without our artificial, man-made god which we call money. In olden times money was not needed, for trade was carried on by exchanging one article for another, but today it woud pusale the United States to know what to give in exchange for a battleship or a submarine, or an armored tank. Hence the need of something which can be used for one and all these things which man needs from day to day, so money is a very necessary article. In the earliest days when the hunting of wild animal* was the chief occupation and the chief source of subsistence, the proceeds of the chase were the properties of most value. While the meat of captured animals was too perishable to be saved, this was not the case with the skins. They were valuable for clothing and lasted for a long time. Thus furs and skins were accepted as money m many ancient lands, and down to the time of Peter the Great leather money was circulated in Russia. Among the Indians of North American Wampum or strings of small shell beads were used as money; these shells were of two kinds, one white and the other dark purple or black, the latter being equivalent to twice the value of the forms. In India and Africa small shells called “cowries” were perhaps the oldest cash in the world. The South Sea Islanders considered red feather as the necessary currency, Among the Fijians, whale’s teeth took the place of “cowries” and white teeth were exchanged in this monetary system somewhat in the ratio of dollars and cents. In Russia and China tea money has also been used. Made of tea and compressed into blocks, it was sometimes serrated like chocolate bars, to be broken conveniently for change. It had the added advantage of being either for money or for a beverage. Cheese in China was also presesd into cakes and circulated about as money until someone got hungry and ate it. As civilization advanced into a milder form, sheep and cattle became the property of greatest value and units of measurement. A man might receive a number of cows for a sword, and could later offer some of them for other commodities. Cattle had the advantage in that it did not have to be carried from one owner to another, but could walk there. In addition to that, it might multiply. Before there could be any extended commerce some form of money had to be invented, and people began to experiment and to seek a standard of value. Metals soon asserted their superiority, since they took up little space and cost nothing for fodder. In parts of Africa a copper cross weighing less than two pounds bought a wife, as one collector says, of indeterminate weight, height, and good looks. Iron was one of the first metals used for this pur pose. Sparta, with private reasons for wanting to keep its people at home, made money of iron, the coins so large and heavy it could not be conveniently carried. Money in strips with a hole to string it together was convenient in days before pockets were used. In early days in Egypt large rings or thin bent strips of metal about fives inches in diameter served as money. At first metals were handed about in ingots and weighed at each trans action. Somewhat the same method is used in dealing between different nations today. Later money was stamped to indiciate fineness and purity. The first recorded coins were minted about 600 B. C. by Croesus, whose name became a proverb for wealth. About the same time coins also arose in China. Some of the original Chinese coins were made in the form of knife blades, and derived the name of “razor” coins, in imitation of bars of metal which they superseded, while others are known to have appeared in the form oi uiue snoveis. In the Middle Ages men could not rely upon their government to main tain a standard of value. Kings often debased the coinage ta secure means of carrying on war or paying public expenses. Each debasement left the coins with less pure metal and lowered tlfcjpnrchasing value. In many foreign countries feudal lords were permitted to have their own mint, thus adding to the confusion. These things made the money changer necessary. He was to be found everywhere, even in the small towns, buying and selling the va rious coins in circulation. . . About the year 1000 and during the crusades the monasteries were the real bankers of the country. Enriched by the expiatory gifts of pilgrims, while the nobility became impoverished by distant expeditions, the mona steries loaned money to needy princes and otherwise were the financial agencies of the communities. After reading this brief history of money and its many changes as time has passed, we of America, should be well pleased with our present system, even though there is yet much room for improvement. We at least know that when we retire at night with a dollar in our pockets, it will still be worth a dollar on the morrow, even though the price of the article we wish to purchase has increased in value while we were asleep. It could be worse, but we hope it will not be. . H. Bridges To A Furniture At Tlie Old averty Stand J. H. Bridges, manager of the Haverty Furniture store here, has leased the three-story building at 308 South Tryon street and will operate there a new furniture store under the name of the Bridges Furniture Company. The new company was granted a charter by Secretary of State Thad Eure Saturday. Mr. Bridges hopes to have his new store in operation at a date near April 1. J. H. BRIDGES. Mr. Bridges opened the Charlotte Haverty store nine years ago. He has been vice-president and manager of the local store since that time and, also, a director in the parent organ ization of the Haverty Furniture Company. He has resigned from these offices and is opening a new store here because he believes in the future of Charlotte and this section of North Carolina, he said. “I feel there is a place in Charlotte for another good furniture store,” he said.” I am going to carry the best furniture made in all lines and am going to establish my business on a basis of fair dealing.”—Observer. South Carolina Five-Day Bill “Going Places” COLUMBIA, S. C., Feb. 29.—The surprisingly wide margin by which the House of Representatives passed the bill to enforce a five-day, 40-hour work week in the State’s textile mils was by far the most outstanding event )of the seventh legislative week just aided Saturday. Coming on the last day, the vote climaxed the week’s session, otherwise marked by consideration of a smaller than usual number of State-wide measures as the all-important general a*"'ropriations bill remained in the hands of the Senate finance commit tee. i Sweeping through by a vote of 82 to 11; the 40-hour bill won a smash ing victory in the face of a majority vorable report from the House judiciary committee, which had held two lentfhy hearings on the pro posal. The vote sent the bill to third reading, of which, under House pro cedure, it was assured. Introduced by the Aiken delegation, the measure would amend the law en acted last year to adopt the 40-hour week when North Carolina and Geor gia adopted similar legislation by making it effective regardless of ac tion by those two States. A Series of Articles Starts Next Week Of Vital Interest To Hosiery Workers The Labor Journal, begin ning with its next week's issue, will start a series of articles as to the formation and progress of the Amer ican Federation of Hosiery Workers, taken in the main part from Fortune Maga zine, one of the nation’s leading periodicals. The ar ticles are both interesting and instructive, and we would advise our readers to follow them closely. BARGAINING DEMAND IN STEEL WAR BY ORGANIZED LABOR — CARNEGIE ILLINOIS STEEL, EMPLOYING 120,000 PITTSBURGH, March 2.—The Carnegie-Illinois Steel corpor ation, largest producer in the industry, today recognized the claim of the John L. Lewis Committee for Industrial Organization to bar gain on terms for union workers in the company's mills. In an unheralded conference, Philip Murray of the steel union, submitted proposals of the workers to Benjamin F. Fairless, presi dent of Carnegie-Illinois, which employes 120,000 of the industry’s 550,000 workers. wnne tney conrerred, a movement to increase wages amounting to pos sibly $100,000,000 a year began in the industry. The National Steel Corpo ration, the Republic Steel Corpora tion and the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company—all independent pro ducers — announced that effective March 10, they would inaugurate a minimum $5-a-day wage and pay time and one-half for all work exceeding 40 hours weekly. The industry now is on a 48-hour work week and minimum pay is $4.20 a day. A brief statement issued by Murray after the conference, news of which had been withheld until after the close of the stock exchange, said: “At our request, we met today with Mr. Fairless, for the purpose of pre senting our requests for such em ployes of his company whom we rep resent ,on wages, hours of work, etc. “Mr. Fairless agreed to meet with us on this basis. The~conferenCe win be continued tomorrow afternoon. ‘‘We wish to report a very co-op erative spirit existed throughout the meeting." Murray declined to disclose when he asked for the conference. This was understood to have been made in New York about a week ago. He said, however, he had not made a similar request of other corpora tions but that this would be done “in due time.” The company declined to make any statement, but simultaneous with opening of an executive meeting in Fairless’ office, a statement was read to employe representatives at the corporation’s 27 plants. "Hr. Fairless has had a request from representatives of the steel workers organising: committees to meet with them today for the pur pose of bargaining for their members under an announced policy of meet ing and bargaining with any person or representatives of ay of our work men. Murray said informally in discuss ing the “break” in the eight months drive to organise steel workers: “It is the greatest story in the his tory of the labor movement in Amer ica.” Ernest Weir, in announcing Na tional Steel's increase, said details were being worked out and the boost for those beyond the lowest bracket would be announced later. Steel circles expected this would amount to approximately 10 cents an hour. If all operators adopt the in crease, which has been the practice in the past, steel's potential pay roll will pass the billion-dollar-a-year mark. The industry’s average pay is 73 cents an hour now, amounting to $936,000,000 a year, the American Iron and Steel institute estimated Workers are averaging 42 hours a capacity for the machinery available. A ten cents an hour pay boost would therefore amount to more than $100,000,000 a year at this rate. Carnegie-IUinois is the largest sub sidiary of the two billion dollar United Steel corporation, which has previously dealt with employe repres entatives but refused to deal with “outside” labor unions in its steel mills since it was formed in 1900. Ml M . Ml MM WRITER SEES HOURS INCREASED IN A LARGE NUMBER OF MILLS SINCE SCRAPPING OF THE NRA To the Editor of The Labor Journal: Since the NRA was thrown out we have seen hours on the increase in quite a number of mills. We know the average manu facturer and the average worker, union or non-union, regard this with apprehension. There are a few, however, that look at the 40-hour week as a thing of the past. To those we can only say that through their actions we may be forced back to the long 50- and 60 hour week, which unionists and progressive groups all over the nation have fought for many years to abolish. The manufacturer in this small group who is approached on this question usually states that his plant is operating on 40 hours per week. He doesn’t state, however, that he encourages in every way at his command that the workers make as much production as posible, whether it takes them 40 or 60 hours to make this high production does not make any difference. Produc tion and more production is his cry. If we can sell as much as we can pro duce, every dozen means more profit. A few of the workers needing more money to pay bills, or to keep the wolf away from the door, or to save a little for a rainy day, when requested to work overtime or to work two shifts of eight hours in one day, go ahead and do it. Their fellow workers sometimes warn them of the outcome, In quite a number of cases this has led directly to the 10 and 11, and yes, as much as 12 hours daily. Where organisation is more general, as in Durham, N. C., in one of the mills there, the management requested a few of the knittters to come in and work Saturday morning. They sent their committee to the office and con vinced the management that it was a bad precedent. We think if there were more of these round-table conferences between group of workers and their employers the hosiery industry would be a better place for both sides to earn their livelihood. For the workers the industry is probably their life’s work, their art, their trade. For the owners, their money is tied up in machinery, plants and material. And anything detrimental to the industry affects one as much as the other. Some of these same owners have a system of hiring young men as ap prenticeses, working them for no wages at all until they are capable of oper ating machines. Then they lay the older help off and subtitute the appren tices at just half the rate formerly paid the more experienced help. This serves two purposes: one to get the work done much cheaper, another to cre ate a surplus of help. And when there is a great surplus of trained help, the wages tend always downward. The same thing proves true, whether it be hosiery, apples or potatoes. We, of the American Federation of Hosiery Workers, know from ex perience that these evils are cured only by organisation of, and by the work ers. We know that the different employers* unions or associations cannot or will not solve the problems confronting our industry. We also know the gov ernment cannot solve our problems. Mr. Roosevelt has done practically everything but ordered all workers to join their respective labor organisa tions. So shall we continue forward with shorter hours, decent pay and good condiitons, or shall we remain indifferent and passive and see ourselves going backward to the old pre-NRA days, when leggers were paid 30c, and footers 12c to 18c and hoars running from 55 to 80 per week. The American Federation of Hosiery Workers is your organisation, take advantage off its experience, learn more about it from those who have no selfish purpose to serve. Find out bow it manages to keep its members, and vou who arenot members, the highest paid group of textile workers in the world °Look aroTml yo^at those who do not have the benefit of a good strong progressive organisation to help them, and think how fortunate we ■re to have a leadership who will not accept defeat. are to have a leauersmp A HOSIERY WORKER. T. Leon Walker New Manager Of Haverty Furn. Co. T. Leon Walker, business executive, formerly manager of the Haverty Furniture Company of Greenville, S. C.. has been named manager of the Haverty Furniture Company, of Charlotte, succeeding J. H. Bridges, who recently resigned to go into bus iness for himself at the old Haverty stand, on South Tryon street, it was announced Monday. , Mr. Walker, formerly of Charlotte, comes back home to take charge of the local Haverty store after having managed the Haverty Furniture Com pany of Greenville since last Septem ber. Mr. Walker became associated with Haverty’s in Charlotte about seven years ago. At that time he was a salesman. THREE MILLION IDLE CARPENTERS IS ESTIMATE OF “FINANCIAL WORLD” According to the Financial World, a publication of big business, approx imately three million carpenters are unemployed at the present time. The estimate is based on the Federal Re serve Board’s latest index of indus trial production and the census fig ures, which reveal taht, taking the 1923-1924 average of production as 100, building activity stands at only 56 per cent of the base average, while ; the census figures Show a total of 'more than seven million carpenters.
The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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March 4, 1937, edition 1
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