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AND DIXIE FARM NEWS
Endeavoring to Serve the Masses
VOL. X—NO. 34
CHARLOTTE, N. C„ THURSDAY. JANUARY 9, 1941
$2.00 Per Y«
A. F. OF L TEXTILE WORKERS GET
$250,000.00 WAGE BOOST FROM
ELIZABETHTON RAYON CORP.
. WASHINGTON, D. C.—The United
Textile Worker* of America, A. F. of
L. affiliate, reported that in continu
ing the fight for general wage in
creases throughout the textile indus
try, the Watauga Rayon Workers Un
ion No. 2207 has just won wage in
creases in an agreement negotiated
with the American Bemberg Corpora
tion and the North American Rayon
Corporation at Elizabethton, Tenn.
Union officials said the agreement,
effective January 1,1941, “is the first
general wage increase won in the
South by the United Textile Workers
of America since the last meeting of
the Executive Council at which a mil
itant program to secure wage in
creas throughout the whole industry
was formulated and commenced. The
Elizabethton agreement will have far
reaching results not only in the South
but throughout the nation as a whole,
for it equals an annual pay increase
per employe of about $62.40.’
Under the agreement all hourly
paid, non-supervisory employes of
both corporations will receive a three
cent-an-nour wage increase with the
stipulation that neither party can
bring up any question of further wage
adjustment before July 1, 1941.
Officials of the companies and the
union estimated that the wage increase
would amount to approximately a
quarter of a million dollars a year.
John W. Pollard, first vice-presi
dent of the international union, who
assisted the local pinion in these nego
tiations, stated:
“The agreement just reached today
with the management of the Eliza
bethton Rayon Corporations is a sig
nal victory for our organization in its
campaign for general wage iHeresies
throughout the whole textile industry.
We originally demanded a bonus for
these 4,000 workers and we finally,
compromised on these wage increases.
We are convinced that, in view of ex
isting conditions, our union has won
the best agreement possible at this
time.”
C. C. Collins, president of the Wa
tauga Rayon Workers Union, said:
"This agreement is a compromise
which I think is in the best interest
of all employes of both plants, and
this increase amounts to about (62.40
per year per employe, which is con
siderably more than our union mem
bers could have hoped to have re
ceived had they been given a bonus
rather than a pay increase. It goes
without saying that I as president of
the local union am very pleased that
such a fair and equitable agreement
has been reached between our union
and the plant management."
m^^HISSSSSSSMVWSSWMS)
HIGHLIGHTS OF PRES. ROOSEVELTS
WASHINGTON. Jan. 6.-Here
“"SS? iStot’klSSitat'lf. W *»>«■.•*«“•
E™P every part of the world-assailed
Mfwi ipreadinp of poisonous propaganda.
*•“ M wW*
w*rli u.> a ■•rinn can expect from a dictator’s peace in
ss-rr^tfs^JSssft**
and tnkUnf cymbal preacaene men who would
dir^iSrof*t£ XSriSaUtic r.-d.r to feather their own
ne*t^i>». need la a owift pad driving increase in our
armame'-l p^oT4 with the progress
thus far < future venerations of American may well
* w2J*j;rfir-teSznr&fc** « «•» -k* -
W* T*V_ ..^^Ttself-demanda Whatever stands in the
tl?** "speed and efficiency in defense preparations must give
Way Thi?te noHlme to*stop thinking about fhesa*! and, economic
problems which are the root cause of the social revolution which
1 “iv *£<...... h* .« - w.
Pr°KTh?’ world order which we seek is the co-operation of free
countries, working together in a friendly, dviltaed society. >
Typo. Union Starts ;
1941 Off With A |
* Large Attendance
The regular monthly meeting of
.. • -»-t . amimntiim 1 TTntnn No.
338 «U largely - -“C
ceremony woe inaugurated, which
from now on will be a regular part
of the meeting. Committee reports
were encouraging# and the label com
mittee made a report which was very
encouraging. Christmas activities
were told of and other private matters
gone into. I
B*y Nixon reported on tne meet
ing of the Allied Printing Trades
Council of three states to bejield here
on January 26th and 26th, at the
Mecklenburg Hotel. The gathering
will be addressed on Sunday by Wood
ruff Randolpr. secretory-treasurer of
the International Typographical
Union, and other prominent national
speakers. . _ I
The banquet will take place at 2
P. M. Sunday, and to use the words
of our president, “bring your wives
and sweethearts," which just can’t
be done—well, as, like gas and whis
key, they just will not mix. But at
any rate the single men can bring
(tfeeir sweethearts. |
The outlook for 1941 in Typographi
cal gircles is indeed bright 1
“So Pora took the rich old man for
(better or worse?”
“No, she took him for worse, but he
got better.
Low-Wage Workers
Will Get Millions
In Pay Increase
WASHINGTON, D. C.—Declaring
that “there have been too many pay
envelopes in this country containing
less than $16 for a full week’s work,”
Colonel Philip B. Fleming, administra
tor of the Wage and Hour Division,
predicted that “in 1941 the minimum
wage will add more than $100,000,000
to these pay envelopes. The increase
will go to about a million workers.
We have obtained about $6,600,000 in
restitution for about 200,000 workers.”
“The 40-hour overtime penalty is
hastening the employment of Ameri
ca,” Col. Fleming said. “It is causing
the training ofrow workers instead
of exhausting of the present work
force. It is causing multiple shofts
on production machines which other
wise would slow down or stop when
fatigue overtakes the worker.
The LABOR JOURNAL
SERVING THE A. F. OF L IN
PIEDMONT, NORTH CAROLINA
STRIVING FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE WORKER8 —
AND A FAIR DEAL FOR THE glfFU>YERS
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
SAYS EMPLOYER MUST SIGN
WRITTEN CONTRACT WITH UNION
WHEN AGREEMENT IS REACHED
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7.—The Supreme Court held that the
Wagner act requires an emloyer to sign a written contract with
a union when a collective bargaining agreement has been reached,
even though the law does not say so in so many words.
The decision on this point, which has
been in controversy ever since the law
was enacted, was given in a suit by
the H. J. Heinz Company of Pitts
burgh, contesting the authority of the
labor board to require it to sign a
contract with a local of the A. F. L.
Canning and Pickle Workers’ Union.
The company had agreed to the un
ion’s terms after bargaining, and con
tended that it met tbs requirements
of the law by posting notices to this
effect on the bulletin boards.
But the opinion by Justice Stone,
from which there was no dissent, as
serted categorically that the com
pany’s “refusal to sign was a refusal
to bargain collectively and pa unfair
labor practice,” and that “the board’s
order requiring petitioner (company)
at the request of the union to sign a
written contract embodying agreed
terms is authorised” by the section of
the act which empowers the board to
make orders to remedy unfair prac
tices.
The decision noted that before en
actment of the Wagner act "it had
been the settled practice of the ad
ministration agencies dealing with
labor relations to treat the signing
of a written contract embodying wage
and hour agreement, as the final step
in the bargaining process.”
Congress, by incorporating the Col
lective bargaining requirement in the
Wagner act, “included as a part of it
the signed agreement long recognised
as the final step in the bargaining
process," Stone said.
“It is true,” the opinion continued,
“that the act, while requiring the em
ployer to bargain collectively, does not
compel him to enter into an agree
ment. But it does not follow that,
having reached an agreement, he can
refuse to sign it.
“The freedom dx the employer to re
fuse to make an agreement relates to
its terms in matters of substance and
not, once it is reached, to its expres
sion in a signed contract, the absence
of which, as experience has shown,
tends to frustrate the end sought by
the requirement for collective bar
gaining.
“A businessman who entered into
negotiations with another for an
agreement having numerous provi
sions, with the reservation that he
would not reduce it to writing or sign
it, could hardly be thought to have
bargained in good faith.
“This is even more so in the ease
of an employer who, by his refusal to
honor, with his signature, the agree,
ment which he has made with • labor
organisation, discredits the organisa
tion, impairs the bargaining process,
and tends to frustrate the aim of the
statute to secure industrial peace
through collective bargaining."
The Heins ease and another decided
today involving the Idnk-Belt Com*
pany of Chicago also upheld labor
board contentions that alleged anti
union activity by foremen and other
supervisory employes constituted un
fair> labor practices for which the com
panies were responsible even though
it was not shown that they sanctioned
In the I&ik-Belt case the Supreme
Court noted that a circuit court of ap
peals, which refused to enforce part
Of a board order, had held that the
employes acted with complete freedom
in jpining an independent union which
the board denounced as company
dominated.
“But we are of the opinion that the
»urt of appeals, in reaching that con
clusion, substituted its judgment on
disputed facts for the board's judg
LABOR I
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Fly the FLAG
THE A. F. OF L. STANDS WITH AND FOR THE FLAG
WOLL RALLIES A?'!ESfCA>T LABOR
TO AID BRITISH—ERNEST BEVIN,
WALTER CITRINE HAIL AID COM.
NEW YORK, Jan. 6.—Matthew
Woll, vice-president of the A. F. of L.,
and President of the League of Hu
man Rights, Freedom and Democracy
appealed to the presidents of more
than 100 national and international
unions affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor to join the Na
tional Committee of the American La
bor Committee to Aid British Labor,
a division of the League, in a letter
released today.
The new committee, which has the
approval of Sir Walter Citrine, Gen
eral Secretary of the British Trades
Union Congress, was formed follow
ing Citrine’s eloquent appeal at the
recent convention of the A. F. of L.
at New Orleans and his subsequent
address at a meeting of the League
for Human Rights. Freedom and De
mocracy, in New York.
In his letter, Mr. Woll declared that
Citrine's message at New Orleans and
subsequently in New York “struck a
deep chord in the hearts of all of us,
and aroused our determination to do
everything possible to bring the day
of restored freedom closer.
“We of organised labor have two
important functions to perform,” Mr.
Woll continued, ‘‘one, to make of this
country an 'arsenal of democracy,’ as
the president put it; two, to rally
America’s workers to give every pos
sible aid to the British workers who,
together with the rest of the civilian
population, are suffering greater atro
cities and tragedies than any civilian
population has suffered before.”
In addition to Mr. Citrine’s approval
of the American Labor Committee to
Aid British Labor, Mr. Woll released
a cabled message from Ernest Bevin,
British Minister of Labor, which
stated ‘‘The British workers thank
you and their American comrades for
promise of support.” k
Stressing the urgency of the needs
of the British workers during the
hard winter season, Mr. Woll said the
committee “must send blankets, cloth
ing for children and adults, medi
cines, mobile kitchens and ambulances
to our fullest capacity.”
Mr. Woll asked his fellow trade un
ionists to join the American Labor
Committee to Aid British Labor to
“help sustain our brother workers
and their labor movement—the cham
pions pf democracy across the sea.”
DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES BASIC
By DR. CHARLES STELZLE /
- Every movement or institution which hopes to make
an appeal to Americans today must be founded upon the
fundamental principles of Democracy, which includes the
consent of the governed, and a form of organization
which is representative of the people. This at once shuts
out of all form of control which deny human dignity and
liberty. 4
The same situation regarding Democracy exists
within the Church. President Roosevelt recently said that
Democracy has its basis in Religion. This fact is becom
ing increasingly recognized. But Religion is dependent
upon the permanence of Democracy. This fact has been
made clear through recent events in Europe. Together
they may attain a double victory. Alienated, they will
suffer a common defeat.
Industry is facing one of the most perilous periods
in all its history. It still has the power to put the brakes
on progress if it wishes to do so. hut the. world has be
come impatient of any group which could start a move
ment that would . Tree mankind from economic despair,
but which refuses to do so because some of its privileges
would be curtailed. The leader of either Industry or
Labor who fails tp recognize this fact or who is incapable
of measuring up to it, will soon face personal defeat or
else he will destroy the organization for whose success he
has been given responsibility.
This does not mean Socialism, Fascism or Commun
ism, particularly such as exists or is surely developing in
some European countries, but it does mean a greater
Democracy in Industry and in Labor trends. What form
that Democracy will take is still within the power of In
dustry to determine^ If Industry or Labor fails in thin
respect, it will simply be destroying itself.
Those who frame, interpret and enforce our laws
will also decide our future course as well as its own. If the
leaders ip national affairs prove to be merely self-seeking
politicians, thinking only of party supremacy or personal
power, the way to freedom for the people will be blocked.
And by ^freedom” we mean the right to work, to live, and
to grow, so long as one does not interfere with the rights
of others. “We the people” are the beginning and the
end of our Democratic Institutions.
$1,000,000 Raise
In Pay Is Won By
The TV A Workers
KNOXVILLE, Tenn—Arthur S.
Jandrey, Tennessee Valley Authority
personnel director, and Samuel E.
Roper, president of the Tennessee Val
ley Trades and Labor Council, A. F.
of L. affiliate, announced in a joint
statement that the new 1941 wage
schedules for TVA workers “result
in an increase in the total annual pay
roll, under expanded employment due
to accelerated national defense pro
gram, to the amount of about $1,000,
Approximately 10,000 skilled, semi
rilled and unclassified workers em
sldlled
ployed in the construction, operations,
maintenance, and chemical engineer
ing department for the authority are
affected by the new wage schedule,
which went into operation as of Jan
uary. 1, 1941.
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
At an important works somewhere
in the North of England a group of
workmen were, discussing air raids.
Some were gloomy, others did not
think that- wings were so bad, and,
at any rate, efficient shelters had
been provided.
One workman, proud of his optim
ism, said, "Wot's the use o’ worrying?
If a bomb 'as yer name and address
on it, you 11 get it, but if not—well,
i!”
there you are!"
An irishman who had been a silent
listener to the discussion then inter
rupted: “Sure, mate, you’re right,
but supposed it’s addressed 'To whom
it may concern*?” >
ment—a power which has been denied
it by the Congress,*' said' the opinion
by Justice Douglas, from which again
there was no dissent “Congress en
trusted the board, not the courts, with
the power to draw inferences from the
facts.”
Labor Does Not
Hinder Output
Says Labor Dept.
WASHINGTON, D; C.—The De
partment of Labor again knocked into,
smithereens propaganda that strikes
are hindering the national defense
program.
Publishing figures proving conclu
sively that, strikes have been running
month by month fully fifty per cent >
less in number than last year, the De
partment emphasized that only one
third as many man-days have been
lost.
I In addition, it was explained that
most of the strikes were in non-de
fense' industries, or in plants having
only an infinitesimal raelationship to
only an infinitesimal relationship to
the defense program.
Moreover, Labor Department offi
cials declared that in the past six
months strikes have not noly been
far less than in 1939, but consider
ably below the war year of 1917.
HIS CHANCES
One negro was worrying about the
chance of his being drafted for the
army. The other consoled him.
“There’s two things that can happen,
boy. You is either drafted or you
ain’t drafted. If you ain’t you can
forget it; if you is, you still got two
chances. You may be seat to the front
and you may not. If you go to the
front, you still got two chances, yon
may get shot and you may not. If
you get shot, you still have two
chances, you may die and you may
not! And even If you die, you still
has two chances.”
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