North Carolina Newspapers

i • * BUT WEEKLY h MocMatot County For « Wwfchr h* th> largest buying power ta 5hp Chatlotlf labor Journal •m Truthful, Honest, Impartial Endorsed by lbs N. C. State Federa tion at Labor and dixie farm news Endeavoring to Serve the Mi VOL. IX—No. 42 veve ADVUTIIMMT M Tee JOURNAL I* * CHARLOTTE, N. C., THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 1940 tUtPuTw ATLANTA SOUTHERN LABOR MEET MARKED MILESTONE IN HISTORY OF SOUTH FOR ORGANIZED LABOR ATLANTA, Ga.—The Southern Labor Conference held in the City of Atlanta on March 2 and 3, 1940 marked a notable mile stone in the history of organized labor in the South. To this conference came upwards of 3,000 representatives of labor from every one of the ten southern states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Caro lina, Tennessee, Virginia and from every craft and calling in the American Federation of Labor in these states. It brought to gether as well National Leaders of the Federation and many of the affiliated National and International Unions and the Railroad Brotherhoods. It has provided a unique agency for the interchange qf ideas; it has made possible the coordination of activities for the promotion of the welfare of wage earners in the South through the development of organization, education, and the enactment of labor legislation. Through such an interchange of ideas there has emerged from this Conference a clearer understanding of the needs for organization, education and Labor legislation and the formulation of basic standears for such legislation and administration. The Policy Committee representing the ten Southern State Federations of Labor, in behalf of the Southern Labor Confer ence, urge upon all those interested in teh improvement of work ing conditions for our millions of wage earners the adoption of the following organization policies, and the enactment of in the South, basic labor standards approved by the American Federa tion of Labor: CHILD LABOR With more than 760,000 children under age of 16 gainfully employed in the United States, and over 10,000, 000 adults unemployed, the problem of child labor is no longer one of State’s rights against national needs, but of co-operation of both State and nation to secure children’s rights. We recommend the enactment of legislation prohibiting the cmptby ment of children under It and pro viding for eompuleory eehool attend Prohibiting the employment of minora between It and 18 yearn of age in all hmaardeue occupation*. The Ratification of the child labor amendment. WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION Workers and employers agree that Workmen’s Compensation laws were enacted so that injured workers would be compensated at the time most needed without having to go to court. Because of exemptions, and th<» elec tive diameter of the laws bpt»*ieCin most instances by private profit mak ing insurance companies, less than 40 per cent of the workers employed in tne United tStates have the protec tion intended by workmen’s compen sation laws. We recommend that the benefits of workmen’s compensation laws be ex tended to all workers, and that ex clusive state funds be set up assur ing the payment of benefits that have a fair relation to the loss of earnings: adequate hospital and medical care during the whole period of incapacity: compensation for all injured workers through .a compulsory system for all accidents and occupational diseases, and a joint effort of worker and em ployer to adopt safety and preventa tive measures and reduce industrial accidents and occupational diseases. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION We heartily endorse the position of the American Federation of, Labor that the next step is to shorten the waiting period to one week, and make the duration of payment of benefits a flat period of twenty weeks »nd in crease benefits to 60 per cent of full time weekly wages, but not less than $6.00 nor more than $24.00, We endorse the proposal embodied in H. R. 7762 at tne request of the American Federation of Labor that these minimum standards by written into the Social Security Act as a re quirement for approval by the Social Security Board. To insure the pay ment of these standards by all States, provision is made for a Federal Re insurance Fund. We recommend no consideration be given to cuts in contribution rates until adequate benefits are paid, whether the cut is in the form of re duction on rate or merit rating. OLD AGE INSURANCE We recommend that all trade un ion organisations follow strictly the policies of the American Federation of Labor in the field of old age insur ance. We hope that the experienee under the broader benefits resulting from the 1839 amendments be care fully studied before changes are made. However, the benefits provided for workers covered by existing law should be extended to all wage earn ers as rapidly as possible, HEALTH INSURANCE We urge speedy action on the recom mendation of the American Federa tion of Labor favoring the enactment of a Federal Health Insurance Law. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT AND BOARD The Southern Labor Conference af firms their support of the general principles as set forth t* the National Labor Relations Aet, In view, how ever, of the maladmintstratxon of me act by the National Labor Relations Board, we recommend that the pro posed amendments to the act as for mulated by the American Federation of Labor be approved. WAGE ANl> HOUR LEGISLATION The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 provides minimum wages and basic maximum hours for workers em ployed in interstate industries, but many thousands of workers in intra state industries are forced by eco nomic pressure to work long hours for low wages because they lack organiza tion. The effectiveness of the American Federation of Labor efforts in Fed eral legislaiton and administration can be strengthened to the extent that their efforts are supported by alert and informed State Federations of Labor. We recommend that a study be un dertaken by the American Federa iio nof Labor of the recent enactment of Federal legislation establishing ba sic labor standards'* for -workers .en gaged in interstate business in an ef fort to secure for workers in intra state business the full protection of these standards. In the light of the recent surveys made in the South it is known that the need for low-rent housing which would provide decent housing for the lowest income families is more urgent and far greater ni the Southern States than in some other sections of the country. At the same time the drastic curtailments in the public works and the effects of war condi tions on the building industry has made it clear that the future employ ment of the building mechanics and laborers at prevailing standards is largely dependent on the expansion of the low rent housing program under the United States Housing Authority. We recommend that all unions of the American Federation of Labor in the South support the stand unani mously adonted by the American Fed eration of Labor convention and reit erated by executive council last Jan uary on low . cost housing. We urge the House of Representatives to enact S 591 providing for the expansion of the low-rent housing U. S. H. A. pro gram increasing the benefits of' this program for the South and for the entire nation. WAGE COLLECTION LAWS Wage payment and wage collection laws have been enacted in many states, because some employers fail to pay the wages of their workers regularly, some do not pay in full, and a few do not pay at all. We recommend and urge the adop tion by all states of laws requiring mages to be raid regularly, and au thorising the State Labor Department to assist in the collection of valid un paid wage claims. CONVICT LABOR Many states are still lacking in legislation to eliminate the competi tion of prison made goods with tnose produced by free labor, We recommend a vigorous, contin uous effort on the part of all state federations to prohibit the sale of prison made goods. RESTRICTIVE LEGISLATION We recommend that resources of the American Federation in the South be mobilized to prevent the curtail ment of modification of Labor's rights to self-organization and collective bargaining through restrictive legis lation. STATE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR The Labor Department is the wage earners’ own department organised to promote an dsafeguard the rights of the worker, The various functions of government dealing with the interests and welfare of wage earners should be coordinated and combined in a real THE SKATING AREA PROJECT The “Off the Street” Skating Area Project being sponsored by Charlotte Central Labor Union is making progress. Many workers are oat and committees are yet to report, but Treasurer Conder states that two projects hare been taken care of, with outstanding pledges. Do your part to make the eleven areas we are striving for a reality. ! Stages One-Man Strike ! ■ Behind the eight-ball strictly and only in the game of pool. I Wilson Little, former Janitor, moving picture projector operator, advertising manager, and collector of films far the Gaston Theater hi Mount Holly, has enjoyed a bit of reading, a shot of pool, and » measure of sleep since his one-man strike began hut Monday, i Horace Pritchard, business manager of the International Alliance | of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Operators, Local No. 481, an AFL affiliate, said today that members win picket the theater tonight. Wilson asks a raise in pay and a few less hopr* weekly than he has put in foe (he past six years, (News staff wJteteL " ...' • (Courtesy of The Charlotte News) labf»- department. We recommend a strong, coordi nated labor department in each state, with all functions dealing with wage earners under one head, adequately staffed with practical men and women wit ha trade union experience, POLICY ON WAGES The minimum wage in the South today for the majority of men work ing in industry is 30 cents an hour or less. In the North and West the min imum for the majority is 52.5 cents or higher. At 30 cents an hour a man can earn a maximum of $655 a year if he works every working day. This is just half of the minimum nec essary for the farest subsistence liv ing standard for a family of four in the South. Labor does not intend to wait for the Fair Standards Act to raise the minimum to 40 cents in 1945. We set as our goal the fol lowing: By 1942 a minimum of 40 cents an hour in all industries. By 1045 a minimum of 50 cents an hour in all industries. The South must not remain per petually a region of low living stand ards. The myth of lower living costs in the South has long since been ex ployer. Low wages in the South mean nothing but low living standards. All factory workers in the south ern states represented in this confer ence have an average yearly income of only $750 per year, The bare sub sistence family budget for the South is $1,300 and an adequate budget for health and efficiency for a family of five is $1,9900, In many union industries the min imum of 40 cents is already estab lished in the South, In cement, all workers in southern states have a min imum of 40 cents or higher; in paper and pulp, 62 per cent, and in building, 57 per cent have this minimum, ft electric power, a minimum of 37H cents and higher is in effect for a majority; in machine shops and foun Oaries, 35 cents and above. Very low minimum wages still remain in fertilizers, brick-making, lumber, paint making, cotton textiles and cot ton garments. We declare it to be the purpose of this conference to bring these indus tries rapidly up to theb set union standards. We urge that every effort be made to raise the minimum wage in all industries and to give workers the wage to which they are entitled. EDUCATION The American Federaiton of Labor has traditionally stood for free pub lie education as the fundamental basis on which democratic government is built. The annual convention* of the American Federation of Labor and the Perms nent Education Committee pf the A. F. of L. have repeatedly urged Central LaLbor Bodies and State Federations of Laborto give fullest support to local programs, of educa tion and to assist In securing proper working conditions for teachers in cluding the right to affiliate with or ganized labor. We recommends 1. Assistance in organizing pub lie school teachers in, areas where they are unorganized. S. Enactment of tenure laws which will protect teachers in their right to organise. 3. Federal aid to assist in provid ing adequate educational opportunity to every child regardless of race, creed, political beliff or economic con dition of his parents. 4. Emphatic opposition to those pressure groups which are attempt ing to reduce educational facilities by curtailing local and state financial support of the schools. 5. The development of institutes, conferences, and other educational services as developed over the years by the Workers Educational Bureau of America which is endorsed and supported by the American Federa tion of Labor. RESEARCH TO ASSIST ORGANIZATION New industries are beginning a new phase in what is destined to be the de velopment of the New South. New ag ricultural crops and new uses for old crops are giving rise to new develop «ts in cliemleal, textile, paper and t major industries. Industrial chemistry is rapidly developing new resources and adding new channels for production of goods and of wealth. Southern labor must organise its share fully in the benefits of new in dustries through proper distribution of jobs and incomes. Labor in the South must keep step with industrial progress in order to assure workers their full share of employment, fair wages and economic security. Higher labor standards in the South must go hand in hand with industrial growth. Only through the maintenance of such standards will albor make pos sible the growth of a better standard of living for the whole nation in place of the destructive regional competi tion. We recommend that the American Federation of Labor direct its research department to heme a detailed study of new industrial developments in the South for guidance of the southern paign. LABOR AND CAPITAL LEADERS IN HARMONY AT ATLANTA BANQUET IN REGARDS TO ORGANIZATION Capital and labor munched thick steaka together and spoke highly of each other Saturday as Preston S. Arkwright, president of the Georgia Power Company, gave a luncheon to William Green, president of the Amer ican Federation of Labor. Bankers, industrialists, mill opera tors and union leaders sat together in perfect harmony, though the purpose of the labor men’s presence in At lanta was the launching of a. great drive for unionization in fields Mth erto uncultivated. Mr. Arkwright spoke of the days when he feared a union man as one whose purpose was to “take over my property, ruin my business, and ruin me.” Twenty years of association with unions, though, he said, had taught him that their members wore no horns and tail, and that their pur pose was not to destroy, but to join m a great triumvirate of capital, man agement, ^uid labor to carry indus tiy onTOWto greater heights. The union man knows that before there can be collective bargaining there must be somethin '* to bargain for," Mr. Ar as he introduced Mr. Gr< who holds the respect 1 and of capital. The union head, famed for the poise with which he appears before employers, tqld the group that the American Federation of Labor was coming into the south with renewed «a in an effort to contribute what it could, to the new industrialization growing in this section. Befgore there can be prosperity here, though, or anywhere else in the country, the problem of unemploy ment which finds 9,000.000 to 12,000, 000 persons jobless, must be solved, he declared. He suggested that an advisory council, appointed by congress and g in tne pot kwright said, sen as a man >oth of labor made up of representative* of capital, labor, and “the public,” should go into a thorough investigation of the em ployment problem. . IJ1the trouble is found to be the tmidity of business, fearful of expan sion, he said, the fact should be brought out and business should be urged to forget its fears. If the trouble is found to Ue in confiscatory taxation, restrictive reg ulation, these burdens should be re moved, he declared. One partial solution which the A. V 5»f L- could offer, he said, was a re distribution of the hours of work to take care of more men. If technological improvements throw men out of jobs, the working hours available should be distributed d£S worke"in **" md' Talking on subversive inflnatyws. nf th ’^1 1-ho *<Slr mi^*on members of the American Federation of Labor stand like a bulwark against anv *f fort to enlist them in the ranks of those who would overthrow m« de mocracy.” He also said that the ranks of la bor stood in solid array tplnit *ny effort to drag this country into the war in Europe. STATE BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL TO MEET IN CHARLOTTE, SUN. I PJ| • A ™e*tin* of the State Build ‘"f Tj'ede* Council has been wiled for Sunday at 1 o’clock at the County Court House. A large attendance is expected fromaU over the state. There will be much business of importance to come fore the body. ** *-■ _ AfterDarkH... by Rice\ 5PEED WEIGHT wooLDiirr DRIVE OPT A TEN STORY/ PHLPWr BUT/ MITTNM SOMCTHHM AT 50M.P.H. NAS JUST ABOUT THE SAME / THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR 'The American Federation of Labor has proven the nation's most powerful stabilizing influence, and has eon* tributed more than any other organization of men to the advancement of America's men, women and children.”—L M. Ornborn, chief executive officer A. F. of L. Union Label Trades Department. NEED OF UNITED ORGANIZING CAMPAIGN To carry but the high purposes of this declaration and to establish a sound labor policy ' throughout the Southland, we oj] upon the National and International Unions, State Fed erations of Labor, Central Bodies and all Volunteer organizations to unite In an intensive organizing campaign among the workers of the South. Only the workers through their trade un ions can organize the wage earners in a Free Society. That work, if it is to be successful, must enlist tne united support of the local unions and Cen tral Bodies in every community. Ef fective organization of the workers is the only guarantee for the workers that labor laws when enacted will be enforced. OUR MOTTO MUST BE: LABOR FORWARD IN THE SOUTH — LABOR FORWARD FOR JUSTICE, BROTHERHOOD AND DEMOCRACY. CONCLUSION We recommend that this Conference express to President Green and Sec* retary Meany and the Representathfes of International and National Unions, and the Railroad Brotherhoods oar appreciation for their efforts in aid ing us to establish through this Southern Labor Conference a greater measure of industrial democracy and mutual interest in the welfare of wage earners throughout the South land. Respectfully submitted, S. E. ROPER, Alabama, Chm. L. H. WILLIAMS, Louisiana, C. A. FINK, North Carolina, CHAS. H. SILLVA, Florida, J. W. CAMERON. Mississippi, E. J. SHAVE, Virginia, AL FLYNN, South Carolina, PAUL J. AYMON, Te E. H. WEYLER. Kentucky, CHAS. GRAMUN, Georgia.