She Charlotte labor Journal
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Official Organ of Central Labor Union; Standing
tor the A. F. L.
VOL. XIII—No. 8
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CHARLOTTE, N. C. THURSDAY, JULY 8,
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Labor Is On tbe Job For Victory
The ONLY REALLY INDEPENDENT WEEKLY In Mecklenburg Comity "^lknb^gc°cS For a Weekly Its Readers Represent the LARGEST BUYING POWER in Charlotte
A. F. OF L. FUNDS SMUGGLE
CHINESE MECHANICS THROUGH
JAP LINES INTO FREE CHINA
“Every dollar sent by American Labor to China is a time}
bomb for democratic victory,” declared Matthew Woll last week j
after receiving h confidential report of a meeting held in Chung-}
king early in March. * f
“From under the noses of the Japanese invaders, skilled
Chinese workmen are being smuggled into free China with funds
made available by the members of the A. F. of L. and CIO,” the
A. F. of L. United Nations Relief president explained. “We are
not afraid to make this news public,” Mr. Woll said. “The Japan
ese know that an elaborate underground railroad system is work
ing against them, but they can’t stop it.”
. A Board of Custody of the American Labor Fund has been set up in |
Chungking with Chu Hsueh-fan, President of the Chinese Association of
Labor, as chairman. The principal object of the Fund is the evacuation of
skilled metal workers, carpenters, electricians, lathe operators, and tech
nicians from Japanese held territories into free China. Dollars contributed
by six million members of the AFI. to the National War Fund and their
Community War Chests, make this evaculation possible.
Other facts made public by Mr. Woll are:
American labor's contribution are equipping and maintaining base hos
pitals and mobile food canteens. A special diet for war workers is pumping
vitamins and calories into thousands of starved Chinese production workers
who for six years have built the weapons and the tools that have kept China
a nation against the overwhelming onslaughts of the Nipponese. Through
nited China Relief. American labor has contributed the equivalent of
$4,400,000 Chinese dollars for food for these workers and "for patients in
hospitals who are suffering from anemia.' malnutrition, malaria, tubercu
losis and the diseases which result from wound conditions and insufficient
nourishment.
In recognition of American labor's aid. a special insignia has been adopted
from the composite emblems of the contributing American labor organiza
tions. This insignia will be placed on buildings, hospitals, canteens and other
war relief units which are maintained or which have been built by labor’s
millions in this country.
“American workers.” Mr. Woll said, “can have the great satisfaction of
knowing that while they remain on their jobs making this the arsenal of
United Nations victory, their dollars are so many time bombs under the
flimsy structure of Japanese occupation in China. When the not too distant
day of American attack comes in the Orie,nt, our fighting men will be able
to judge the effect of the groundwork that has been laid by the generous
assistance of the merican trade union movement to our allies in China.”
IN DEFENSE OF IDEALISM
By RUTH TAYLOR
There isn’t one of us today who does not fully realize that Or
ganized Labor has to do a better job in its public relations, if it is to
continue to hold its gains and even to survive. We have talked over
ways and means; we Have worked out techniques and methods; we
have considered what charges should be answered and what should be
ignored; and we have threshed out what to do and what no to do.
But unfortunately there has been one important point we have
been too “het up” to give its proper place—and that is the idealism
which is the basis of the Organized Labor movement, and which must
be back of and in all of its public relations. As Father Boland said,
when he discussed the art of mediation at the Kutgers Labor Institute
last week—“THE LABOR MOVEMENT ISN’T JUST A MATTER
OF DOLLARS AND CENTS, IMPORTANT AS THAT IS TODAY.
IT IS SOMETHING FAR BIGGER. IT IS THE UNITY OF MEN
FOR THE GOOD OF MAN.”
Our nation was formed when people of divers nationalities and
traditions drew together because of a belief in the basis ideal of free
dom and equality for all. Today as a nation we have expressed this
ideal in the Four Freedoms. These freedoms are not for one group, or
for one class, or for one creed, or for one color. They are for all the
peoples of all the earth. And it is through the practical application of
these ideals that we will win not only the war but the peace to come.
Our unions were formed because men of different backgrounds and
faith agreed to work together for the good of all. As union mem
bers we have a traditional ideal of brotherhood, of the voluntary co
operation of workers to raise the status of all workers, regardless
of creed, or class or color. THOSE WHO JOIN A UNION DO NOT
JOIN IT JUST FOR WHAT BENEFITS THEY MAY RECEIVE AS
INDIVIDUALS, BUT. IN THEIR VERY OATH OF MEMBERSHIP,
THEY TAKE ON THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF UNITY—THE AC
CEPTANCE OF THE BURDENS OF OTHERS. THE WILL TO
WORK WITH AND FOR THEIR FELLOW MEN.
Go back over the history of both the movement and the nation.
When the ideals have been ignored, disaster has threatened. When the
ideals have been adhered to. both the movement and the nation have
grown. The Labor Movement without its ideasl is like a government
without a principle. UNIONISM WHETHER IT BE OF A NATION
OR A GROUP MUST HAVE ITS HIGH PURPOSE EVER BEFORE
IT.
Idealism is not an escape from reality. Idealism is reality for only
as we look upward, only as we climb upward together, can we per
manently realize any of our hopes of a better way of life for ourselves
as a union, or for ourselves as a United States in a world of United
Nations.
— FOR VICTORY: BUY BONDS —
HERE IS THE WAY TO DEFEAT THE FOES OF LABOR!
TRADE UNION
ARMY URGED
TO REGISTER
—V—
RAIL LABOR CHIEFS
LAUNCH MOVEMENT
WHICH DESERVES
SUPPORT OF ALL
—V—
By EDWARD KEATING
Editor of “Labor,” the Railroad
Worker's National Washington
Weekly
At its May meeting in Washing
ton, the Railway Labor Executives
Association, speaking for approxi
mate 1,500,000 workers in all parts
of this country, sponsored a move
ment of the greatest significance.
The rail labor chiefs appealed to
their members to register so they
could vote in the next election. 11
you are not registered, you can t
vote!” the chiefs emphasized.
Letters are going out to the thou
sands of local lodges of these tail
labor organisations. Each lodge is
asked to appoint a committee —
preferably a small committee — to
take over the task of registering all
members of that local, the eligible
members of their families and such
friends and acquaintances as they
can reach who are in sympathy with
objectives of the trade union move
ment. ,
These local committees are expected
to get in touch with unions outside
the transportation industry and urge
them ot engage in the same good
work.
“Once started.” says Thomas t .
Cashen. president of the Switchmen s
Union and chairman of the Railway
Labor Executives’ Association, “the.
movement should roll along like a
snowball going down hill.
“The labor movement suffered a
disastrous reverse in the congressiom
al elections of 1942. The immediate
result was the passage of anti-labor
legislation by Congress, a body which
had been extremely friendly to us
for the last 10 years.
“1 f we suffer another defeat in
1944, our enemies will endeavor to
make these anti-labor laws more
^•astic. They will not be satisfied
FACING THE FACTS
(By Baer)
-_
* FAILED TO VOTE
-O IM TO BLAME FOR
ANT I-LABOR BILLS'
with seeking to cripple the labor
movement. They will do everything
in their power to destroy it.
“We lost the 1942 election because
the trade unionists did not take the
trouble to vote. That’s the plain
truth. We will lose in 1944 unless
we wake up and register and vote.
“Registering is the first job. You
can’t vote unless you are registered.
If each local union will appoint a
live-wire committee, we can place
the mighty army of labor in a posi
tion to reward its friends and de
feat its enemies.
“There are approximately 12,000,
000 trade unionists in this country.
With the members of their families
and their close friends, they could
etsily cast 25,000,000 votes in the
! next election. Our enemies could not
| stand up against that avalanche of
I ballots.
* “I don’t think we should discuss
candidates at this time. The first
step is to get your name on the reg
istration list. After that, we can
consider what we should do oy elec
tion day, but unless we are registered,
we will be as useless on election day
as tin soldier with a wooden gun.
Those of us who are associated
with the newspaper, Labor, are do
ing what we can to help put over
this momentous campaign, and we
are sending this appeal to our fellow
labor editors and to their readers, in
the hope that they will join with us
in this thoroughly feasible and tre
mendously important project.
THE PLEDGE OF EVERY LOYAL
A. F. OF L. UNIONIST
“I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of
America and to the Republic for which it stands—One Na
tion, Indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for All!”
BUY U. S. WAR SAVINGS BONDS AND STAMPS NOW!
Along the shores of the Great Lakes
and the Mississippi River, $765 mil
lion worth of sea-going vessels are
being built for war service, a figure
more than twice as great as was spent
by the Navy in 1940 for all new naval
construction.
--V
About 50 per cent of all canned
goods packed in 1943 will be required
by oiir armed forces and, to a smaller
degree, by our fighting allies.
MORRIS LIVINGSTON SEES
POSSIBILITY OF 19,000,000 JOB
LESS IN U. S. AFTER THE WAR
If the production of goods and services in the United States
is as high as it was in the best pre-war year, but no higher, there
jwill be 19,000,000 unemployed in the United States after the war.
This is the conclusion to be drawn from a study by S. Morris
Livingston on Markets After the War, just published by the De
partment of Commerce.
In 1910, when the production of civilian goods was the highest in our
historv 9.000.000 American workers were unemployed. Between 1910 and
1946. 2.500.000 persons will be added to the available labor force. On top
of this, the efficiency of labor will have increased to such an extent that
8.000,000 fewer workers will be required to turn out the volume produced in
1940. .
Adding up these three figures leads to the conclusion that the 1940 pro
duction level 19.000.000 would remain unemployed.
A chapter by Dal Hitchcock in the collection Postwar Economic Prob
lems, edited by Seymour E. Harris, pofnts out that the best chances for
additional employment after the war are in residential construction, the serv
ice (industries and wholesale and retail trade. Dr. Hitchcock believes that
employment in all branches of the service industries and trade can be ex
panded from approximately 7.500.000, the probable figure at the war’s end.
to 12,000.000 or 14.000.000 within two years, after the cessation of hostilities.
Labor’s Policy For The Future
WASHINGTON, D. G.—President William Green’s letter to Presi
dent Roosevelt, renewing labor’s no-strike pledge, follows:
“I wish to express my sincere appreciation for your courage and
statesmanship in vetoing the Connally-Smith Bill.
"Labor and all its friends are inexpressibly shocked by the hasty
and impetuous action of Congress in overriding your veto. By their
unprecedented procedure, the members of Congress demonstrated they
were moved by anger and resentment rather than by careful considera
tion of the facts. . A
“Unquestionably, as you pointed out in your veto message, the
prevention of strikes in vital war industries will be rendered more diffi
cult instead of more effective by the enactment of this ill-considered
“Let me assure you, however, that the officers and members of the
American Federation of Labor will do everything in their power to
make application of this law unnecessary and to further the successful
prosecution of the w'ar. ...... „ .
“The American Federation of Labor and all of its affiliated unions
stand committeed to our no-strike pledge for the duration of the war.
I am confident that they will live up to this pledge in the future.just
as they have in the past. In this way, the workers of America can
render the Connally-Smith Act inoperative and pave the way for its
early repeal. In this way, the workers of America can best serve
their country and the cause of freedom and democracy.
BUY BONDS AND BOMBS
“Free Labor Will Win!”
HOW TO KEEP
YOUR FOOD
Rill JinWN
” I 9<t F
Ill
COMPARE PRICES IN THE STORE WITH
THOSE ON YOUR LIST RETAILERS
MUST DISPLAY PRICES
AT THE RATIONING BOARD A PRICE
PANEL STUDIES THE CASE AND ASKS
THE RETAILER TO COMPLY, If NECES
SARY, OPA WILL TAKE LEGAl^CTION
CUT THE OPA LIST OF TOP LEGAL
PRICES FROM YOUR NEWSPAPER
IF WRONG PRICES ARE DISPLAYED OR
IF NO PRICES ARE DISPLAYED WRITE
YOUR RATIONING BOARD
1 ■■■■*
WILFUL PRICE VIOLATORS ARE SUB
JECT TO A MAXIMUM PENALTY OF
1 YEAR IN JAIL AND 55000 FINE
_—_I
TAKE THE PRICE UST WITH YOU
WHEN YOU SHOP
IF YOU ARE OVERCHARGED GET
ITEMIZED SALES SUP ANJ MAIL IT
YOUR LOCAL RATIONING BOARD
CHECK THESE POINTS
tverytime you shop
D DO YOU HAVE YOUR
OPA PRICE LIST?
0 ARE PRICES DISPLAYED
IN THE STORE?
Q ARE DISPLAYED PRICES
SAME AS OR LOWER
THAN YOUR LIST?
□ ARE YOU CHARGED
MORE THAN LEGAL
PRICES?
CLIP THIS OUT AS A REMINDER