AMERICA tt O i? AGA,N LAB0R
VICTORIOUS Z nC IlCtl HASD0NE
AGAIN /nion; Standing THE JOB
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VOL. XV. No. 15 / “'"T,rmTLI ------*
Of Hrwt«r
1945 — Victory Labor Day — 1945
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At OWLY EBALLT INDEPENDENT WEEKLY hi Mifkiabi 0—ty For * Wtckly lu *—1*" R*prM—1 *** LARGE8T BUY1NG W™** *» Chart«t><
THE CHARLOTTE LABOrIBORNAL ADVOCATES LOYALTY TO THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR;
PROMOTION OF INDUSTRIAL-PROSPERITY; AND COOPERATION OF ALL WORKER^ ALONG EVERY LINE._
LABOR DAY, 1945
BT WILLIAM GREEN
President of the American Federation of Labor
Thi* ia the first peacetime Labor Day in four years. It is a day for
ssws—r SdT
Lmetiorn sad dictatorship.
jt |f our supreme purpose to attain the fruits of victory for which
" rSU'tL? iSS^taMta* —rtd p— Air—ly Mm Drittd N.tion.
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up to ua and to oB othiur jmace-loving nations to make that charter work
**** naTvi must not our economic house in order. On an international
basis, that means prosperity for the people of all countries. Here at
home* it means a higher standard of living and security against depressions
To "in the panes and tha fruits of peace will not be an easy teak.
The difficult problem* ahead of ua demand intelligent planning and bold
action. Already millions of Americans art caught in the economic trap of
unemplo^nent. ^conversion in mime industries is proceeding with painful
slowneML But we must not become discouraged. For if wo proceed with
united determination to win the pence, economic hardships will be of short
duration and the great promise of the future can be achhit— % _
One of the nation’s great assets during the war was its strong labor
movement. The trade unions affiliated with the American Federation of
Labo^^made tremendous contribution, to victory. Thi. fact is best fllue
trated by their cooperation with the government to speed production of
the atomic bomb. By use of this devastating weapon we were able to
conquer Japan without a bloody invasion. And the War Department has
officially testified to the vital role played by American Federation of
Labor unions in producing these bombs in record time. ....
The seven million members of the American Federation of Labor have
come out of the war fortified in strength and spirit. They ara now better
prepared than ever before to carry on the huge tasks of postwar reconstruc
tion Through the American Federation of Labor, they aro exerting a pow
erful influence over the nation’s affairs and guiding its policies along
progressivepedermtk>n of L.bor calls upon the nation to establish
maximum peacetime production, which will provide full employment and
create steadily higher standards of living.
To provide a ready market for increased production, the American
Federation of Labor will bend all its efforts to obtain from management
wage rates high enough to create an abundant pool of domestic purchas
mK ftTorder to share equitably the benefits of scientific invention and
new methods of production, the American Federation of Labor will renew
its drive for the shorter work woek, thus spreading the available Jobs
and giving all workers the opportunity for healthy recreation and educa
tion which modern civilisation offers. _ . ... .
On this Labor Day let us dadfcate <m»elvu*iteMB#r«wut pah rf
peace. Let us never forget the supreme sacrifices mad by the^bmee
Amrican boys who lost their live* on the battlefields of Africa. Europe
and the Pacific and the unsung soldiers of production who were killed
^ at thier factotry machines. Our debt to them can never be repaid. But
we can and must resolve that the dread holocaust of war shall never deso
late mankind again, that our hard-won freedoms shall never be surrendered
and that the sacrifices of our war heroes shall be redeemed by the estab
lishment of a way of life which will bring happiness and security to hu
manity in the future.
BIRMINGHAM
PRINTERS WIN
EVERY DEMAND
Birmingham, Ala.—With complete
victory won, printer* employed by the
three Birmingham daily newspapers,
the Birmingham News, the Post and
the Age-Herald, have returned to
work after a 5 weeks’ strike.
In statements published in their
papers, James C. Chappell, president
and general manager of The News
and 'Hie Age-Herald, and James Mills,
publisher of the Scripps-Howard Post,
said that they had granted every de
mand of Local 104 of the International
Typographical Union as the only way
of restoring trablication.
Only two demands had been in dis
pute. One was insisted upon by the
union’s international officers after ne
gotiations had been settled locally.
This was that a clause be incorporat
ed into the contract adopting the un
ion’s 1945 by-laws, one of the pro
visions of which is automatically in
corporated into the contract. The pub
lishers argued that this wrote “a
blank check for the union.”
The other demand was for medical
examinations and certain conditions
relating to the admission of appren
tices.
The publishers also granted hourly i
pay increases of 10 cents to the day
shut and 11 cents to the night shift,
paid vacations for two weeks instead
! of one, time and a half for working
on days off, regardless of whether 40
hours had been worked in a week, and
double time for Sundays except when
these are part of the regular shift and
pay for four holidays.
-V
Occupation in Europe will take 400
thousand soldiers.
WSMWWSSSSWISMWWIWWSWV j
h, THE N6 Of E CE«TW*X. OuRwG
A MEW OAiEANS STREET-CAR STRIKE, A WMOtfc
COrlPANX Of MiLiTiA CAUtO Our -© PROTECT
SCaS- ?fSCNPD ‘N A 8OOY.
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§ Boy u.4.
COYMNY 1&WN«
«MER£ WORKERS HAvf
MN COMPELLED It
MAKE *£lR PURCHASES
AT tMg Co^M«ARYRum
BY THE COMPANY, WORK*
ER3 crrtN RECEIVE AT
WAGE PAYMENT A LIST
op what They oh§ the
COMPANY' A
%^PHlPO CHgCK*
. (TrtlBRE ARE STtLt WOMEN (N NEW YORK STATE
'W0RKIN6 POR |lO,»l2,ORf 15"A WEEK. —
AND UNDER MINIMUM WAGE LAWS iT'3 LEGAL.
■t»*s is TRurDFsprrE -me fact TWAt&fjREce nt survey
Of TMEtW- of LABOR SNOWS THAT ITS iMP&SSlBtE
fbR A WOMAN YD GET ALONG ON iESSTNAN* 52.se.
^UPfORT UtoRS flfeHTtbRA WTTCR
UWOUABGLQccXQ. »
•this i< -me ua*on lawl uWDib i
- H*WYiRY UNiOH-MADT HAT*.
_ 4
F.H.SHUFORD
ANNOUNCES THE
APPOINTMENT
OF ARBITRATORS
—V—
Forrest H. Shuford, Coauaissioner
of Labor, today announced the ap
pointment of the following seen to
serre as arbitrators onfcr tAi Arbi
tration Act enacted by the last legis
lature and administered by the North
Carolina Department of Labor: Fran
cis O. Clarkson, Charlotte; John W.
Darden, Plymouth; George D. Heaton,
Jr., Charlotte; R. J. M. Hobbs, Chapel
Hill; Raymond Jenkins, Salisbury; Al
bert S. Keister, Greensboro; W. H. F.
Millar, Waynesrille; J. J. Spongier,
Durham; Capos Waynick, Raleigh;
Harry D. Wolfe, Chapel Hill.
“Our State, daring the period of the
war, has been singularly free of major
labor disturbances. During 1942, 1943
and 1944 one hundred and twenty
eight strikes occurred in North Caro
lina with a resulting 195,679 man-days
of idleness, six one-hundredths of one
markable record,” he added, “and is
attributable to the fine relationship
that has existed between management
and labor in this State.”
LABOR DAY MESSAGE
Of GEORGE L. GOOGE
Soothers RepmuUHre, Amrku
Federation of Labor. Labor Day IMS
Labor Day 1944 to Labor Day 1945 goes down in history as
having been the most crucial year of the organised labor move
ment South of the Mason Dixon line. Greater progress has been
made by the American Federation of Labor Unions during this
period than in any one year of our existence. Wages have reached
a new all time high for this Southland, noted In years gono by as
a low wage section. Hundreds of thousands of workers have en
joyed vacations with pay, obtained through union contracts from -
employers who never before had paid vacations, paid holidays
have been inaugurated for tens of thousands who never before
received pay when enjoying legal holidays.
—m At the same time our movement has
GOVERNOR CHERRY SENDS GREETINGS TO LABOR
-—— -1
I • . f t
» •
STATE Or NORTH CAROLINA
ooveRNORS orrice
RALEIGH
R. Greco Cherry August 22. 194$
COvCRMOR ~ i
Mr. W. It. Witter
Mditor 4 Puhliaher
Charlotte Labor Journal
c^ua.M.-e;
Dear Mr. Witten
Please permit me — on the eve of the annual
observance of Labor Day — to extend, through tho ROdim of
the Charlotte Leber Journal, greetings to labor in Worth Carolina.
We are all happy that it can be said of our
Old Worth State that it has been blessed with a minimum of labor
troubles. This is also a good tine to take a look back at the
aegaificant job that labor turned in here in Worth Carolina in
eoMieetioa with the general war pro grew. Hostilities are now
over, and a great portion of the credit for final victory i» to
be laid at the door of labor — in this state end throughout the
united States.
• Please let me also take this opportunity to
- fi—-» vou for your faithful efforts in behalf of the cause of
labor in Worth Carolina during the half a century that you have been
affiliated with organised labor and more especially during those
y , years that you have so ably edited the Journal.
With all good wishes, 1 m
Sincerely yours,
9 R. Gregg Worry V
RGC/n
WHAT NEXT?
By RUTH TAYLOR
Amidst the exuberant rejoicings ut the end of the Second World War,
amid the heartfelt prayers of gratitude over the Victory, there is one fact
which is pre-eminent The atomic bomb that prefaced the final outcome
marked the end not only of a war but of an era.
“The old order changeth, yielding place to new;
And God fulfills Himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.”
So wrote Tennyson at the turn of the century.
The devastation wrought by the atomic bomb, the revelation of the ter
ror it can make of war, demands an equally great invention for the preser
vation of peace, a thoughtful, purposeful meeting of a new way of life.
V-J Day marks not merely the end of a period of destruction, but the be
ginning of a period of construction. Like old buildings blasted away by
bombings, so have old ideas, old prejudices, old misconceptions been blasted
away under the spiritual bombings of war. Now we can begin to clear away
the rubble and build not merely a new community but a new world.
War has blasted a pathway uniting the peoples of the earth. We must
level this pathway into a road upon which human beings of all creeds, all
races, all tongues, even though they start at different places and move at
different rates of progress, may march along, in the full stature and dignity
of free men—to a goal of peace and security.
It is time, not space that has shrivelled. We have learned that our world
is but a succession of small communities, all linked together, all interde
pendent, like parts of a great chain. We have learned that one cannot have
peace and prosperity unless all have it. Peace can never be merely the ab
sence of war. Victory does not guarantee lasting peace and prosperity. It
only wins for us the right to work for these ends. There can be no peace
unless justice is also uresent.
It will take time to build the new world of UNITED nations, to forge a
unity so strong in understanding that occasions for war cannot break it. It
will take many steadfast men to build this world—men who will give to peace
the same unselfed devotion they gave to the successful prosecution of war.
It will need men who will "use the goods of God’s earth for the good of
God’s people.”
The pyramids of Egypt stretch for
sixty miles along the west bank of the
Nile river.
-V
Memory is the thing you forget
with, especially unpleasant things.
-V
When a missed opportunity is fly
ing away, it always appears bigger
than when it came.
“Victory Loan”
Drive To Start
On Oct. 29th
WASHINGTON — Start
ing date of the Eighth and
last War Loan Drive is Oc
tober 29.
This will be a “Victory
Loan” of $11,000,000,000,
of which the Government
wants four billions to come
from individuals, half in
“E” bonds.
Secretary of the Treasury
Vinson in announcing the |
loan last night, said:
“The cost of contract set
tlements, bringing our forc
es home, their mustering
out pay, hospitalization,
care and rehabilitation will
be great and will require
large sums for which we
must plan now.”
---V
MAY MAINTAIN SCHOOLS
Chicago, Aug, 25.—The Executive
Council of the American Federation of
Teachers (AFL) recommended today
that nursery schools, which the coun
cil said “had proved so effective” dur
ing the war, be further extended as a
permanent part of the American
school system.
—--V
It’s easy to make allowance, but for
some it’s easier for them to spend it.
Hope, Kans.; Charity, Mo.; Reform,
Ala.; Sleepy Eye, Minn.
iaceu greater omucm uian ever tm
fore. Greater efforts have been made
through State Legislatures to ham
string and hogtie labor unions in the
South daring this period than all ef
forts of past pears combined. We are
happy to report that in the face of
this concerted opposition labor did its .
best ioh before the Southern State
Legislative bodies ever in our history.
We have beat successful in over
whelminglp defeating every piece of
anti-labor legislation that was intro
duced in all of the legislatures in the
South in 1946 and in many statas an-,
ti-labor bills that were recommended
for passage bp legislative commit
tees were almost unanimously defeat
ed upon the floor. Dual organizations
and independent or company unions
have made desperate efforts to raid
our unions. The dual movements have
made but little efforts to organise
the unorganised but have concentrat
ed their nefarious activities in at
tempts to raid American Federation
of Labor unions without success.
Vigilante committees have been
formed in some communities in the
South, however, only in some smaller
industrial centers. Our organisers
have been beat up, their automobiles
damaged, as well as false paid adver
tisements in local county newspapers
by vtgilantes subsidized by tory in
dust relists attempting to discredit our
movement and incite hostility against -
industrial democracy. Despite all of
these difficulties, however, the Amer
ican Federation of Labor unions have
1 {frown in numbers, membership and
influence; numerous new local unions »
have been organised, hundreds if new
union contracts obtained and thous- /
ands of old contracts renewed on a
sound and permanent basis with in
i creased gains to the wage earners.
President William Green’s Labor
Day address at Tampa in 1948 and
again at Jacksonville in 1944, and
broadcast to the nation have been
largely responsible for off-setting the
hysterical anti-labor propaganda pour
ing from the press and subsidized ra
dio commentators, and these address
es were very instrumental in^ turning
the tide of anti-labor legislation in the
Southern state legislatures. Vicious
anti-labor battles were waged during
the year in Florda and Arkansas
where constitutional amendments
were voted upon in general elections
outlawing all forms of union secur
ity clauses in contracts between em
ployers and unions.
in Arkansas the anti-union security
amendment in this agricultural state
was adopted by the slim margin of
seven thousand majority votes. Un
der the Arkansas constitution before
the anti-security amendment adopted
to the constitution could have the
force of the law it requires the pas
sage of an enabeling Act by both
houses of the Arkansas Legislature.
The 1945 general assembly of Arkan
sas, realizing the injustice to labor of
this amendment, refused to pass an
enabling Act.
The Anti-union security amendment
to the constitution of Florida was
adopted by a twenty-two thousand
vote majority, but its enforcement has
been restrained in the courts until the
U. S. Supreme Cour can pass upon our
suit contesting its validity. The pen
dulum of public sentiment in Florida
became so aroused following the adop
tion of this fascist constitutional
amendment that the foes of labor were
unable to get a single member of the
Florida House of Representatives or
State Senate to endorse a single anti
labor bill in the 1945 regular session
of the Florida legislature.
The General Counsel for the Amer
ican Federation of Labor has been
devoting most of his time to combat
ing these obnoxious constitutional
amendments and the anti-labor laws
passed in previous sessions of the
Florida, Alabama and Texas legisla- *N
tures, and has won a signal victory
for organized labor before the Su
preme Court wherein this court inval
idated the Florida Act placing labor
unions in straight jackets, the Su
preme Court ruling for all time that
the state law-making bodies could not
pass valid legislation curtailing the
rights of ciMfective bargaining estab
lished by the' Congress of the United
States. s
We owe much to our State Federa
tions of Labor, City Central Bodies,
Building Trades, Metal Trades, Print- '
ing Trades Councils and Local Unions
for their closely coordinated opposi
tion to those enemies of progress who
would destroy labor’s potency and
general effectiveness in collective bar
gaining. Our unions and membemhip
spent freely of their time and re
sources in this historic struggle
against our native fascists, x x x
• V 5 ;