Che Charlotte labor Journal
Endorsed by the N. C. State
Federation of Labor
VOL. XI—NO. 44
▼OWII A0VIHTIMNM*
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AND DIXIE FA&M
D*. C* THURS
NEWS
Official Organ of Central Labor Union; standing for
the A. F. of L.
CHARLOTTE,
DAY, APRIL 2, 1942
S2.00 Per Year
Sun!!
ONLY ‘REALLY INDEPENDENT WEEKLY in Mecklenburg County
* ********* For a Weekly Its Readers Represent the LARGEST BUYING POWER in Charlotte
The
BEWARE OF YEK SIXTH COLUMN
LABOR IS DOING ITS PART
LABOR WILL ALWAYS DO ITS PART
vProcidonf Pnncavalf defined Sixth Columnists at his March 24 press conference as Americans who wittingly or unwit
ru 1 O' v'nli ttuuacicil tbgly spread rumors and doubts devised by enemy Fifth Coumnists about America’s war effort.
rhese Sixth
have now been concentrated into a vast smear campaign against American workers and their unions.
Words won’t win this war—hard fighting wilL Sniping at each other won’t win this war—national unity will. New laws
won’t win this war—hard work will. $
We are the workers of America, its production soldiers. We are on the job. We have only one aim right now, and that is to
help America win. We are working night and day to produce the ships, planes, tanks and guns our armed forces need for
victory.
WE ARE GIVING THIS JOB EVERYTHING WE’VE GOT! WE WILL STICK TO THIS JOB, COME HELL OR HIGH
WATER! UNTIL THIS WAR IS WON! THAT IS OUR PLEDGE TO AMERICA!
AN UNDECLARED WAR
The Sixth Columnists are waging an undeclared war against President
Roosevelt and against us.
They are doing this by putting the heat on Congress to pass the Smith
Vinson Bill and other dangerous legislation aimed at the President’s war la
bor policies. '
The SixUi Columnists are trying to fool the American people into believ
ing such legislation is needed to speedup production and win the war.
Don’t let the Sixth Column fool you!
What are the facts? President Roosevelt and the heads of our war agen
cies are in the best position to know the facts. What do they say?
They agree unanimously that the Smith-Vinson Bill and other proposals
of the same kind can do no good.
Whom do you believe—President Roosevelt or the Sixth Columnists?
The sponsors of this legislation say they are honest and sincere. If so,
why do they persist with it when ourCommander-in-Chief urges them to
stop?
It’s high time to cut out such sniping against our President and his poli
cies. Let’s get together on the one important job before us—to win the war.
Let’s have real national unity in America.
LABOR’S WAR RECORD
Who is fighting America’s war on the front line? The sons and brothers
and loved ones of American workers right alongside American citizens from
all other walks of life.
Who is carrying on America's victory production program on the home
front? The loyal, hard-working men and women of labor who are breaking
production records and beating schedules every day.
Who fought beside our Marines at Guam and Wake? More than 1,100
union mechanics who are now prisoners of Japan.
Who is sailing America’s merchant ships and tankers on the high seas,
braving daily submarine attacks? Union seamen who are carrying on al
though hundreds of their fellows have lost their lives.
Who rode the Burma Road? Union teamsters who are now transporting
supplies by, other routes to China despite enemy bombers.
^ Whois building America’s defense Outposts injjjawju^ Alaska, the Canal
jobs at home to do their bit.
Who built all the Army camps and Naval stations in record time? A
civilian army of union workers who in six months constructed forty-six new
“soldier cities” from scratch.
American workers are paying their full share of the cost of this war— in
blood, in sweat, in sacrifice, in taxes. They are not squawking. They enter
ed this war with their eyes open as free men and women and they are deter
mined to come out of this war free men and women.
FOUR MILLION WOMEN WILL BE IN
WAR PRODUCTION BY END OF 1943
MISS THELMA MACKELEY, CHIEF OF
WOMEN’S LABOR SUPPLY SERVICE
Four million women, almost six times as many as are now so
employed, must be directly engaged in war production by the end
of 1943, according to a statement made today by Miss Thelma
McKelvey, Chief, Women’s Labor Supply Service, Labor Division,
War Production Board, before the 21st Annual Massachusetts De
fense Safety Conference in Boston.
Addressing a group of industrial
ists from the New England area, Miss
McKelve pointed out that the expand
ing manpower needs of war produc
tion call for a war labor force of 15,
000,000 workers by the end of 1942,
23,000,000 workers by the end of 1943.
To meet these manpower goals, we
must draw millions of new workers
into the labor market,
“Women are our most important
labor reserve," Miss McKelvey said.
The Women’s Labor Supply Service
of the Labor Division predicts that
three or four million women workers,
possibly even more, will be drawn into
war industry this year.
Miss McKelvey said that “We must
start training these workers now so
that they will be ready as jobs open
up. We cannot afford to wait until
the last minute.”
The place of women in industry was
established during the first World
War. To win this war the Women’s
Labor Supply Service emphasizes the
necessity of drawing women into in
dustry in ever increasing numbers.
Miss McKelvey pointed out that wom
en’s adaptability to factory work is
limited only by the physical strength
requirements of certain jobs. In many
kinds of precision work, she said wom
en are superior to meh.
Stressing the principle of “equal
pay for equal work,” Miss McKelvey
urged employers to utilize the local
labor supply and thus to avoid un
necessary labor migration with its re
sulting housing congestion and trans
portation difficulties.
IP TOUR SUBSCRIPTION
IS IN ARREAR8
SEND IN A CHECK
Each night a providential sunset
separates us from tomorrow’s prob
lems.
! We must take the tasks of peace
as stirring and as satisfying as the
challenges and duties of war.
Precept unbolstered by example is
just that much poppycock.
And loose words can lose a cause!
If Labor is to go ahead and do its
big share to save humanity, it must
tolerate no timidity and set no prem
ium on conformity in its own ranks.
Fascism is a system of internal
tyranny which has as its aim external
conquest and oppression.
These are busy days for petroleum
workers.
THE JOURNAL has by far
the largest city circulation of
aay weekly published in Char
lotte. Tour ad in The Journal
will bring results from the
workers.
fwars^onflagnition^m^Depressioi^
WARS
1846
Mexican
War
1861
Civil
War
1898
Spanish
American
War
1917
World
War I
1941
World
War 2
CONFLAGRATIONS
1835—New York City
1945—New York City
1851—San Francisco
1866—Portland, Me.
1871— Chicago
1872— —Boston
1877—St. John, NJL
1889—Seattle; Spokane
1901—Jacksonville, Fla.
1904—Baltimore
1906—San Francisco
1908—Chelsea
1914—Salem
I
DEPRESSIONS
1819
1837
1843
1857
1873
1893
1907
1921
1929
NO INDIVIDUAL’S WAR—BUT OUR WAR
It’s Capital’s War! It’s Labor’s War! IT’S OUR WAR.
Let’s hark back to the days of ’76. Think of Valley Forge. No
fight then for profit. We have got the Fifth Column boys about
eliminated. Now we have the Sixth Columnists—Big Business—
Our PROFIT PATRIOTS, who would wax rich off the blood of our
boys and government restrictions of the workers.
i .
A. F. of L. WORKERS
WILL DO THEIR DUTY
TEN TIMES OVER TO
-Win this War
CENTRAL LABOR
UNION “DIGS”
AT REYNOLDS
Charlotte Central Labor Union
at its regular meeting last
night, at the Labor Temple, paid
its “compliments” in no uncer
tain terms to Robert Rice Rey
nolds for his anti-labor stand.
In other words it regretted the
“all-out for Reynolds” stand
taken in the days when Labor
fed the hand that is biting it to
day. But “Robert” will find that
he will need more than his newly
i acquired millions to place him in
the United States Senate from
North Carolina again if the vote
of labor amounts to anything.
That was the “theme song” of
the meeting, along with the reg
alar routine of business. Good
reports from locals, everyone
working, and in its new home, a
spirit of unity prevailed. Presi
dent Scoggins presided, and Sec
retary Wm. S. Greene was at his
post again after an absence of a
few meetings.
Tomorrow’s production won’t give
us victory today. Today’s production
will prevent defeat today and provide
victory tomorrow.
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It’sOUR FLAG
THE A. F. OF L. STANDS WITH AND FOR THE FLAG