Newspapers / The Charlotte Labor Journal … / Jan. 14, 1943, edition 1 / Page 1
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BOBOS Cite Charlotte labor Journal Endorsed by the N. C. State Federation of Labor AND DIXIE FARM NEWS Official Organ of Central Labor Union; Standing for the A. F. L. 12 YEARS OF CONSTRUCTIVE SERVICE TO NORTH CAROLINA READERS VOL. XII—NO. 32 YO««* AOVMTItlMIN* «N Th| JOURNAL (• A GOOO INVUTNCNT CHARLOTTE, N. C„ THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 1943 JOUWNAk ADVr*TI»tM DCSCftVC CONH DERATION Or ▼ H* RIADCM $2.00 Per Year Labor Is On The Job For Victory The ONLY REALLY INDEPENDENT WEEKLY in Mecklenburg County ^klwjbumg^cwnt? lwCHmUff?5^For a Weekly Its Readers Represent the LARGEST BUYING POWER in Charlotte N. C. BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL l MET IN CHARLOTTE JANUARY 10TH; j EVERY CITY IN STATE REPRESENT’D ; The North Carolina Building Trades Council held their ■ monthly meeting here Sunday, January 10th, with P. M. Taylor, i of Durham, presiding. Delegates from every city in the state I were in attendance and representatives from several National i and International Unions were present. This meeting was a very constructive and harmonious session; the business was disposed of with speed and entirely satisfactory to all present. The officers are P. M. Taylor, president; A. T. Rust, vice president; J. E. Cuthbertson. sergeant-at-arms; Felix Masser, A. N. Hutchins and P. T. Silor, trustees. Meetings are held j monthly and in different cities, place of meeting to be decided ' bv the delegates present. WARS BRING RELIGIOUS REVIVAL By DANIEL J. TOBIN General President Teamsters Union Every great crisis in our history has brought about some betterment for the present and for the future. I was in France and went into Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris shortly after the ending of the last war, and in the middle of the day I found that beautiful cathedral nearly filled with people, saying a prayer or walking around admiring the wonderful paintings and the beautiful stained glass windows that sym bolize the crucifixion. I had been in 1‘aris before the war and that beautiful temple was , lonesome. It was difficult to find a human being within the edifice in the middle of the day. j I made inquiries and they said to me that people had lost so many of their loved ones during the war that it had brought them back to a realization that there was, and must be, a hereafter. They needed a shock to make them think, and many of them came there to commune with those loved ones who had been called away dur ing the four-year conflict from 1914 to 1918. From the middle of August until the middle of September, 1912, 1 I was in England, and on Sunday morning or afternoon I would wander ' into some famous old cathedral or church—it didn’t make much differ ence what denomination—and again I found hundreds of people within ! those edifices. 'In some instances a part of the roof had been destroyed, and in other places the surroundings gardens and connecting buildings were destroyed. Bombs and bombs everywhere—destruction all around. 1 Still the body of the church was filled with people, standing in silence or moving around with bowed heads, pondering life and its uncertain ties, and endeavoring to find some solace for the loss of those who had been taken away. In other words, what I am trying to say is that as a result of the destruction of life and property and the suffering of the people, they are turning again to religion and to God; those who in the days of prosperity had forgotten that there was a God or that there was any such thing as a leveling up of life or a demanding from some unseen power that things be different and that people live decent lives. It is an awful price to pay. It is difficult to understand. One thing is certain; the sufferings of the people of Europe will extend to our own population before the ending of this war, and as a result of those agonies people will bring back to their hearts the God they have forgotten—the God our fathers believed in. This war will, perhaps, be the cause for re-establishing again in Russia the religion that for centuries apparently brought them noth' ing outwardly; but no one can deny that religion brings consolation to the struggling, suffering bodies and souls of men and women. After all, there are other fundamentals involved as well as the freedom of the bodies of men. The conscience and the mind must be free to serve or believe in the God of their fathers if they so desire. The hidden souls of millions are involved in this conflict, and it may be —as we hope it will be—that men and women will come back to a saner, cleaner, more godly way of life. WHAT I BELIEVE By A Union War Worker I believe in our fight for democracy. I know that there are no good things in life except those for which we have to struggle from time to time. Even in America, the home of the free, this fight has gone on since the beginning. At f:rst the struggle for independence and for the Bill of Rights to protect the common people; then the Civil War to pre serve these gains and extend them further by freeing the op prssed Negro race. Not without strife in our own time has a new democratic institution been born—the Labor union, the voice of the modern institutional worker. I look ahead to a t:me when our democracy shall forge the weapons to defeat the age old problems of poverty, insecurity and war. I know that against this past progress and future hope stand the forces of reaction, ignorance and superstition as embod.ed by Adolf Hitler and the Axis powers. If these prevail, then all our gains from 1776 to the present day are gone. I believe that our part is to out-produce, of our own free will, the best that Hitler can force from h's unhappy slaves. We have no slave driver here that can make us do it. But we will dot it ourselves. I believe that the issue is Freedom against slavery and that Freedom must win, if a lasting peace is to be written. I pledge myseif to do my part to the utmost of my ability to w:n the struggle for the future of free mankind. GOVERNMENT WORKERS GRANTED OVERTIME AFTER 40 HOURS A six-day. 48 hour week, with time and a half overtime pay, is now in effect for most of the nation’s federal employees. Base salary is paid for 40 hours a week, under the bill signed by the President, and overtime for the additional 8 hours. While the majority'of government workers are getting increases under the law, which is retroactive to December 1, 1942 and expires April 30. legis lative and judicial employees receive a flat 10% increase, along with othe; employees who do not work on a per annum basis. Workers who already a<-e paid overtime under wage board rulings also do not get increases undei the new law. Some low-paid employees, under the law, will be getting an increase amounting to 21.6% of their base salaries. Full overtime is paid on salaries up to $2900. Between $2900 and $5000 only overtime on $2900 will be paid. The aggregate of the two—overtime plus base salary—can’t exceed $5,000. WHO IS THE COMMON MAN SPENCER MILLER, Jr. The Common Mmn is the doer of the common task, the drawer of the water, the hewer of wood, the tiller of the field, the worker in the mine, mill and workshop. His vocation is the world’s work; his dedication is the world’s service. He is the product of our common school, subject of our com mon law, citizen of our commonwealth, and participant of our common wor ship. He is both the producer of the nation’s good and the chief consume of the good he produces. His welfare is entwined with the general welfare. Thus it cannot be well with any nation unless it is well with the Common Mar. Everywhere the world over the common people are on the march; their feet are set on the road to freedom. Theirs is a quest for the light. Thej will not be denied. They will not be led back into slavery and darkness a the ruthless and fanatic dictators seek to lead them in this world crisis. The? are determined to make this a people’s war for the benefit of all peoples. More than at any previous time in human history the future is up to the common people. If the coming century is to be the centpry of the Common Man, it is wel for all those who teach or lead in our day to begin by recognizing that fac* We must learn to organize the world for brotherhood; to act in co-operat*or as members of a family; to learn to love one another. There is no othe basis of collective security. The only hope of resolving the tensions between the people of differed races, between the appeals of nationalism and unlve'salism, between the im perialism of advanced nations and backward people, between capitalist enter prise and collectivism, and between the secular and spiritual interpretatio of life is by a new approach to man. Man is at once the measurer of an the measure of the universe. The emphasis upon the Century of the Common Man wh:ch some havr used interchangeably with the “American Century” makes manifes* ‘he more responsibility of America for world leadership. “Perhaps,” said Vice Presi dent Wallace, “it will be America’s opportunity to suggest the freedoms b; which the Common Man must live.” America could have no finer destiny. Into tKe Declaration of Independ enceence was incorporated a bold declaration of faith • “We hold t^e*** truP’f to be self-evident that ALL MEN are created equal.” Rv that Deda-atior we rejected for all time the theory of a Master Race He-e wo have n Herrenvolk, no kings by Divine Right, but the revolutio"a'v politic"! doc trine that all men are created equal. Since that day Ame-iea has become the asylmu for the children of all men. Never is Amedeo so t'ue to he spirit as when she becomes a sanctuary to the oppressed and a h»aler of thr nations. In the days of convalescence after the war is over the-e will be man* fold tasks in the ministry of healing, T^ere will be, fi-st of all. t’-e recon \ struction of ravaged countries, which will include the p-ov’ding of food. rj,v i materials, and other prime necessities. In the second p'ace. there will br the task of policing civil disorder. Finally, the'e will h« th« n^ed of re storing economi collapse in conauered territories w;t1' ‘on's and rquiome-t, God grant us the social imagination, the disciplined intelligence. tu«' capacity for co-operative action, the moral steadfast-es". •"* fVo rv-ie*i-r humility for this greatest of al (human adventures. And if it be God’s will, , make this the Century of the Common Man! A.F.L. INVESTS $208,000,09 IN VICTORY BONDS A S?00 000 check for the Treas ury's new Victo-y Bonds was hand ed by AFL Secretary-Treasurer George Meany to William A. Jul'an of the Treasury Department last Tuesday. At the same time, Presi dent William G-een made public his letter to affiliated unions urg ing all members to purchase War Bonds “to the extent of thei" “bility” ’.*1 1913. The last conven tion, declared President Green, adopted a declaration calling on “all un:oi members to invest at least 10% of wages ea-ned in War Bonds and that the 10% payroll deduction plan be out into effect” as wa« noscible. Important Dates January 15—Deadline for getting War Ration Book One. Individuals who do not have the book should ap ply to local rationing boards. January 21—Last day for using num ber 3 coupon in Gaso line “A” coupon books Number • 4 coupon be comse valid January 22. January 31—Coupon No. 10 in War Ration Book One is good 3 pounds of sugar through this date. Also, motorists must have auto tires inspected by this date. Official OP A inspector at filling sta tions, garages, etc., will check tires and make re ports on tire inspection records. UNION WOMEN HELP PROGRAM OF GOOD WILL Among the 20,000,000 women in 31 United States organizations who co-operate w’th the U. S. Office of the Coordinator of In ter-Amercan Affairs to aid the “good w.ir program among the Americas, trade union women play a key role. The National Women’s Trade Union League is one of 31 key women’s organizations which are serving as channels for informa tion on inter-American affairs. SHEFFIELD UNIONS BUY $664,677.00 W AR BONDS WASHINGTON, D. C.—Mildred Jarrett, recording secretary of Tri Citie. Cent al Labor Union, Sheffield, Ala., reported to AFL Secretary Treasurer George Meany that during 1942 the afiliated local unions and heir members pu< chased $664,667.60 worth of war bonds. There are almost 30 billion ratior stamps contained in the 150 million copies of War Ration Book Two, oi more than all the postage stamps pro duced by the Government during the past 12 years. LOCAL LABOR MEN ATLANTA BOUND FOR GREAT SOUTHERN CONFERENCE, WHERE HISTORY WILL BE MADE By J. A. MOORE The holidays are over and labor is beginning to get busy again as reports of last week will reveal. Without a single ex ception all local unions that meet weekly held their regular meet ings. A report from some of them has reached me, and I, of course, will not give out any of the transactions that should not be given publicity; however, there are some things they did that I am authorized to mention. At a meeting previous to the last meeting of the Carpenters Local Union, 1469 they e'ected three members to represent them at the Southern War Labor Conference to be held in Atlanta, Ga , on January 16th and 17th. Those elected were Brother T. L Conder, W. J. Merrill and P. E. Martin. These men are fully aware of labors responsibility in this War and this selection was a wise move on the part of their organization. Tuesday, January 5th, the Firefighters he’d a special meeting to discuss the advisability of being represented at the Conference, and by action of the members present a motion was carried to concur in the action of their op posite platoon and send three members, the executive officers, to make the selection, with the result that the following were named to go: Brother J. J. Thomas, T. L. Keeter and G. O. Todd. A fine selection, too. At a meeting Thursday night the Central Labor Union elected three delegates to the Southern War Labor Conference. These were J. A. Scoggins, W. B. Pope and J. A. Moore, and if a .close investigation was made it might be found that I, personally, voted for myself, as I was interested in going. Seems to me that I remember going on a trip like this one before, as best I remember. Three years ago many members from Charlotte went down to Atlanta to a conference that is remembered as one of the greatest labor meet ings ever held in the South; much good was accomplished at that meeting and now, as then, labor is aware of its obligation in this war effort and we will meet our obligation, certainly, with several hundred of our members, our mothers’ sons^our fellow trades unionists and our friends in the armed services, with our membership investing ten per cent and more of cur earn ings in Bonds and Stamps, with several of our members working on various beards without compensation or hope of reward, and with thousands of our members working in every effort that is being made to win the war; surely, we will fulfill every obligation that is ours Friday night, January 8th at a regular meeting of the Machinists Local Union, 263, it was decided to send two delegates to the conference in Atlanta, Brothers W. B. Wallace and Roy Brennon were elected, these men are leading members in the Machinists Union, and, I believe, they will ably represent the Machinists. At this meeting the Machinists honored their members that are in the armed service by placing a service star on their charter in honor of them; this was done on a roll call of those so honored, and the officers of the en suing term were installed. Crescent Lodge 2074 Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks installed the officers for the ensuing term, and unveiled a plaque, honoring . their members in the armed service. This plaque bears the names of the following brothers, with more to be added: Grant M. Lee. John G. Keenan, James S. Morris, William L. Hunt, William F. Curry, Tracy D. Ray, Jr., Harry B. Williams, Lester E. Johnson, William A. McMullan, Fred A. Baucom, Fred P. Kelso, Jack H. Wayland, Earl L. Blackmon, Thomas L. Keeter, Theodore L. Conder, Boyce M. Stradley, and Julian F. Freeman, with several more names to be added. Brother R. R. Harris presided at this meeting and Miss Conder occupied her regular place as secretary. Don’t Let Your Life Insurance Policy Lapse! •ifnsoQ. X V. S. Trmtmry Dtfartmnl KHUA. RECORD BUY Bonds NOW
The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Jan. 14, 1943, edition 1
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