13 YEARS OF
CONSTRUCTIVE
SERVICE TO
NORTH
CAROLINA
READERS
VOL. XIII—No. 19.
YO«»R ADV(RTIIBMKNT IN TNI JOURNAL IS A
INVESTMINT
CHARLOTTE, N. C., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1943
JOURNAL ADVERTISERS DESERVE CONSIDERATION OF
the Readers
$2.00 Per Year
- Labor Is “Producing For Attack” =:.
Tli« ONLY REALLY INDEPENDENT WEEKLY in Mecklenburg CountyFor a Weekly Readere Represent the LARGEST BUYING POWER in Charlotte
MISS CONDER ELECTED SECRETARY
OF CENTRAL LABOR UNION; BODY TO
WORK THROUGH LOCAL WAR CHEST;
THE LABOR JOURNAL IS ENDORSED
By J. A. MOORE
The Charlotte Central Labor Union is first again. This time
it is first in the State to have a Lady Secretary. That is a place
that I have always thought should be filled by a lady and have
said so on several occasions.
I am not claiming any credit for
the recent action of our C.L.U. in
electing Miss Chloie Conder to fill the
unexpired term of her father, Mr. T.
L. Conder, who had so much to do
that it was necessary for him to un
load on someone, so naturally it fell
to her lot. No one doubts but what
she had been doing the work for him
and was perfectly familiar with it.
Anyway I think it was one of the
most progressive moves that we have
made recently. She can do more work
as a secretary than her father and
myself and a half dozen such as we
can. WE ARE PROUD OF YOU
MISS CHLOIE.
Several weeks ago the Central
Labor Union, by unanimous action,
decided to abandon the idea of put
ting on a separate campaign for
funds for our United Nations Relief
(Labor is trying to raise twenty mil
lion dollars) but to join in the Char
lotte War and Community Chest pro
gram under an agreement reached
between the American Federation of
Labor and the National War Fund,
Inc. I have been selected to act as
Chairman of the C. L. U. committee
to work with the local War Chest
and it is my intention to put the very
best that I have in this effort.
The need today is greater than
ever. We have so many more to
think of when we give and our dol
lars will be used in many more ways
than ever before. Therefore I, like
President Green, urge that we, every
last one of our members, give at
least one hours pay per month. This
may seem to you readers that I am
liberal with your money, but not so.
I haven’t pledged a dime for you but
I know the Labor movement in Char
lotte, and likewise I know many hun
dreds of the members and I know
that they have never failed when they
were called on to do a really worth
while job. When you learn where
your dollars are spent, and what for,
then make up your minds and when
the solicitor calls on you, tell him
that you are giving because your
dollars will go towards strengthen
ing the WSO and that your dollars
will fight through the British War
Relief Society and that your dollars
will fight for the oppressed and im
prisoned people of the occupied coun
tries through the relief agencies of
France, Poland, Greece, Belgium,
The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Cze
choslovakia, and Yugoslavia.
I am proud to represent you on
this very important work and to
many it will seem that I am over
ambitious, but not so. I have been
giving this a study for several weeks
now and will only recommend to all
of labor what our worthy President
has recommended for us. I spoke
over Radio Station WAYS Septem
ber 10th on this subject and will
speak again on the same subject next
Friday night at 7:45. I hope that I
may hear from every member on this
subject in the next few days.
Again at the last meeting of the
Central Labor Union action was taken
reaffirming our faith in The Char
lotte Labor Journal. It’s own paper
and we are PROUD of it.
UNPREDICTABLE
SEABEES AGAIN!
—V—
WASHINGTON — Anything can—
and does—happen in the course of a
day’s work with the Seabees—those
versatile Navy men who came mostly
from the ranks of organized labor
Originally enlisted as members of
construction battalions, the Seabees
have established an enviable record
for doing anything that needs to be
done and when it needs to be done.
During the recent invasion of Sicily,
a battalion of the Seabees is credited
with saving the lives of 90 men on
-a bombed ship and minutes later they
had landed and “persuaded” a con
tingent of Italian defenders to sur
render their arms and flag. These
things were done in addition to their
assigned task of getting war materi
al ashore.
PIP Yoo
7*
U. S. Treasury Department
Free Labor Will Out-Produce Nazi Slaves
BUI WAR BONDS
u-jn/irunj-rwvvvvTriAnjnrunnrvwYVYYrvvYrvYYYVT^rnrn^rrrrrrrrrrrrr^*^^^^*^
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!”
lypo. Auxiliary
Will Meet On
September 27th
—V—
Woman’s Auxiliary No. 107 to
Charlotte Typographical Union
No. 338 will meet Monday night,
September 27th, at 7:45 o’clock
with Mrs. W. R. Cashwell, 1021
South College Street. Mrs. C. L.
Granger will be co-hostess. All
members are urged to attend
this meeting as committees will
be appointed and plans will be
made for the years’ program.
• .-V
PRODUCE
FOR VICTORY
ARE YOU GROWING OLD WITH
NO SOCIAL SECURITY? CONTRAST
DRAWN BETWEEN TWO BROTHERS
lln compliance with duties imposed by the Social Security Act,
Government officials have made various studies pertaining to pro
visions of the Act. These studies have developed the belief that cer
tain changes should be made in the Social Security Act in order to
meet the needs of American people. Because the editor of the
Charlotte Labor Journal feels that residents of this section wish to
know what changes are contemplated and because he thinks that his
readers are entitled to such information, this paper in co-operation
with the Charlotte office of the Social Security Board is presenting a
series of articles explaining the proposed revisions. Given below is
the second installment of this series.—Editor.]
WANTED: SOCIAL SECURITY FOR ALL WORKERS
Jacob works on a farm. Every year since he was a boy, he has planted
crops in the spring and helped with the harvesting in the fall. Between
seasons he clears new ground, builds fences, and does odd jobs for the farmers
who employ him. Now Jacob is growing old, and he is wondering what will
happen to his young wife and their little girl when he is no longer able to
work.
His brother, John, has a job in a
rolling mill where he has worked for
the past six years or more. Because
he holds a job that is covered by old
age and survivors insurance, John has
a social security account and is grad
ually building up a wage record that
is kept for him by the Social Security
Board. This means benefits for him
when he is too old to work and month
Jy payments of survivors insurance to
his wife and children if he should die.
Thousands of men and women in
the United States who held jobs cov
ered by this law have reached the age
of 65, retired from their jobs, and
are receiving their monthly payments
of old-age insurance. Large numbers
of insured workers have died leaving
widows, children, or other dependents
who receive monthly payments of sur
vivors benefits.
Jacob does not have this protection,
because farm workers are not covered
by insurance provisions of the Social
Security Act.
Under the present law, workers cov
ered by old-age and survivors insur
ance are, in the main, those who have
jobs in business or industry—that is,
in factories, shops, mines, mills, stores,
offices, banks, cafes, hotels, restau
rants, laundries, filling stations, and
similar establishments.
Since the war began, many farm
workers have found jobs in factories,
while others have devoted part time to
farming and part time to construction
work or to jobs in war production
plants. This means that such work
ers have old-age and survivors insur
ance during the time they are em
ployed in construction or manufactur
ing, but during the time tnat tney
work on farms they are not covered
by insurance provisions of the Act.
In many cases, their employment in
jobs that come under the law is not
long enough or the amount of their
wagtes is not large enough to justify
insurance benefits. The same applies
to domestic service. A girl who serves
a private family as cook, laundress,
housemaid, or nurse pays, no social
security tax and is not insured under
the Social Security Act. If she
changes to a similar job in a hotel,
restaurant, boarding house, or other
covered employment, she then comes
under the old-age and survivors in
surance system.
When the janitor of a church, a
nurse in a charity hospital, the clerk
in a public library, an employee of
any non-profit institution, or a per
son who is self-employed reaches the
age of 65 and wishes to retire, he or
she is faced with the fact that, under
the present law, no social insurance
benefits can be expected. If one of
them should die, leaving little children
or other dependents, there will be* no i
insurance payments from Uncle Sam I
for the survivors.
In all, there are 20 million workers
of the United States who are now
excluded from coverage — and they
are knocking at the door. The Social
Security Board believes that every
worker—regardless of his occupation
—should have financial protection un
der old-age and survivors insurance
provisions of the Social Security Act.
NEXT: “Disability Insurance
For Wage Earners.”
THE A. F. OF L. DEFERS OUSTER
AGAINST INT. ASSOC. MACHINISTS
Since the I. A. of M. officially withdrew from the A. F. of L.,
effective at the close of May 31, 1943, negotiations have been
going on between the interested parties, looking to an amicable
adjustment of the dispute. Outstanding representatives of Labor,
who may be said to be in the “neutral corner,” have exerted their
best powers of persuasion to conciliate and mollify the contending
parties, with a view to settle the dispute or at least to keep it
from spreading into uncontrollable proportions.
Other International Unions appear to have attempted to take advantage
of the withdrawal of the I. A. of M. from the A. F. of L. to raid its member
ship which, in turn, has brought on retaliatory measures by the Machinists.
The Executive Council of the A. F. of L. went into session in Chicago
on August 9, for the purpose of attempting to iron out a number of pressing
questions, and to pass upon its report and recommendations to the forthcom
ing A. F. of L. Convention, which convenes in Boston on October 4, 1943.
It was an open secret that a number of the members of the Executive
Council intended at this Chicago meeting to force the Machinists out of the
several affiliations of the A. F. of L., such as the Metal Trades and Railroad
Departments, the Central Labor Unions and State Federations of Labor.
During the same week the A. F. of L. Executive Council met in Chicago,
the Executive Council of the I. A. of M. was in session at headquarters
in Washington prepared, doubtless among other business to be transacted,
to take action upon any move made by the Executive Council in Chicago with
reference to the affiliatio nof the I. A. of M. with the A. F. of L.
In view of the possibility that an amicable understanding could be
reached with the Machinists before the A. F. of L. Convention convenes in
October, the Executive Council of the A. F. of L. refrained from taking the
punitive action against the Machinists which had been contemplated by some
of the members of the Council.
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast,” and it is hoped by all con
cerned that the “hatchet will be hurried" wth -due ceremony and with justice
accorded the I. A. of M.—The Federal Machinist.
So long as we have held fast to voluntary principles
and have been actuated and inspired by the spirit of serv
ice, we have sustained our forward progress and we have
made our Labor Movement something to be respected and
accorded a place in the councils of our Republic. ... No
lasting gain has ever come from compulsion. If we seek to
force, we but tear apart that which otherwise, is invin
cible.—Samuel Gompers.
WHAT IS THE LABOR LEAGUE
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS?—LABOR
LEADER THROWS LIGHT UPON IT
By JAMES F. BARRETT
It is human nature for people to want to know the origin, the
purpose, the functions and something of the founders of a move
ment that is new. The Labor League for Human Rights is a com
paratively new organization. Its founders are the executive heads
of the American Federation of Labor and affiliated National and
International Unions.
Its purpose is to serve as the
Agency of Mercy for the Trade Union
Movement.
Its functions are best described in
the closing verse of that famous poem
by James Hay which he affectionate
ly called “Little Britches.” This verse
read:
“I think that saving a little child.
And brnginj' him back to his own.
Is a darn sight better business
Than loafing around the throne.”
When Mussolini was mounting the
heights of his hateful ambitious cam
paign in the early Thirties, and then
Hitler started building his empire of
hate for the purpose of destroying
freedom, the American Federation of
Labor declared war on both Germany
and Italy, in the foreknowledge that
the campaign started by these men
in 1933 would end in war-torn world
of human agony and suffering.
To meet these deplorable conditions
of suffering, the Labor League for
Human Rights was established. Its
first outstanding performance was the
aid given distressed working people
of Great Britain through the Amer
ican Labor Committee to Aid British
Labor. There is no way of estimating
the great amount of good done for
those people who were then fighting
our battles for continued freedom, for
at that time America had not entered
the war.
After America had been drawn into
the world conflict, and our govern
ment and the several established or
ganisations of community and na
tional helpfulness began a campaign
to raise funds for the distressed peo
ple among our Allied Nations and
those suffering innocents in Nazi oc
cupied countries, the Labor League for
Human Rights paved the way for a
unified effort through establishment
of United . Nations Relief.
With final organization of the Na
State War Fund and the several
Stat eWar Funds, Organized Labor
was given its proper place in this
highly important working group. And
now, for the first time in the history
of this country, Organized Labor is a
recognized and highly appreciated
part of a national movement under
the directon of which all aid for suf
ferers at home and abroad will be
gathered and distributed.
Through the untiring efforts of the
Labor League for Human Rights our
Local Unions and our members will
be given full credit for all contribu
tions made by them to these funds,
including Community Chests and the
Red Cross.
And that is why the leaders of the
American Federation of Labor and
its affiliated organizations are so
anxious that A. F. of L. Unions ap
point committees to work with the
Regional Director of the Labor Lea
gue for Human Rights in each state.
That is why George L. Googe, South
ern Representative of the A. F. of L.,
and the officers of all of the State
Federations of Labor in each South
ern State are so anxious for all A. F.
of L. Local Unions, Central Bodies,
Trade Councils and Auxiliaries to
name committees and w ork with might
and main with the Regional Director
in these states of the South.
Wherever human suffering and mis
ery cloud the days for humanity, the
Labor League for Human Rights has
a work to do. The American Federa
tion pf Labor bclkves with Poet Hay
that saving a little child, and bringing
him back to his own, is a darn sight
better business than loafing around
•the throne.
THE MARCH OF LABOR
(802 AtfO f
Morals act to Reoolatjl \
THE LABOR OB SOUND OULOREM]
N COTTON FACTORIES VWAS
EMACflEO »i ENGLAND-TOl FIRST
LAW OP TOE PRESCMT6REATC0M
OF FACTORY LEGISLATION.
■tw-^iSSsSSiw
LABOR FI6HTS
WORKS - OlVCS ~ AND
BUYS MORE BONOS •
iHTME I830S
■there were at
LEAST Jf0 lABoR
fAPERS iHAm*KXA’
15b
uMeM You aid oRSAMireo LABoR
All OEMOCRACV. WHExJ YOO INSIST OtJ
-Ok JthON LABEL You AlD LABOR .
this is iwe may umiom label
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC
THE CHARLOTTE LABOR JOURNAL
is the only weekly published in the Piedmont
section of North Carolina representing the
A. F. of L. It is endorsed by the North Caro
lina Federation of Labor, Charlotte Central
Labor Union and various locals. . THE
JOURNAL HAS A RECORD OF 13 YEARS
CONTINUOUS PUBLICATION AND SERV
ICE IN THE LABOR MOVEMENT.
MUSICIANS BUY
$100,000 BONDS
—V—
WASHINGTON — The American
Federation of Musicians (AFL) began
its active participation in the Third1
War Loan on opening day, September
9, with the purchase of $100,000 worth
of war bonds.
The purchase, authorized by the in
ternational executive board, will bring
to $350,000 war bonds. This supple
ment $227,000 already invested in
Canadian bonds.