Newspapers / The Charlotte Labor Journal … / April 11, 1946, edition 1 / Page 1
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A Newspaper Dedicated To The Interests of Charlotte Central Labor Union and Affiliated Crafts—Endorsed By North Carolina Federation of Labor and Approved By The American Federation of Labor. Che Charlotte labor Journal (AND DIXIE FARM NEWS) VOL. XV, NO. 48 Published Weekly CHARLOTTE, N. C„ THURSDAY. APRIL 11, 1946 Price 5c Per Copy Subscription Price $2.00 Per Year Frankness Between Capital and Labor Urged By Ornburn CONGRESS MOVES TO INCREASE PAY OF FEDERAL EMPLOYES Washington, D. C. — Congress moved on two fronts to increase the pay of the Federal govern ment’s million whits collar em ployes who have been hard hit by rising living costs. A House Civil Service subcom mittee recommended a flat 17 per cent basic pay raise to take effect July 1. This was higher than the increase approved by the Senate but fell short of the 25 per cent increase demanded by AFL unions representing government employes. At the same time, the House Post Office committee approved an annual $400 increase for Uncle Sam's 400,000 postal employes. This IS per cent boost meets the demands of the National Association of Let ter Carriers, the National Federa tion of Post Office Clerks and other AFL unions in thia field. The AFL Government Employes Council is now pressing for prompt final action on these pay measure^ in order to avoid last-minute ob stacles which may develop when members of Congress begin the rush to adjourn their session so they can undertake re-election cam The council also lashed oat at' Senator Byrd of Virginia and other congressional reactionaries who want to make increased pay con tingent on reduction of the num ber of government employes on the U. S. pay roll. "This council suggests that in jecting any element of enforced re duction in government personnel as part of the pending salary bill would prevent consideration of the pay legislation on its merits,” said a message sent to all members of Congress. “The Government Employes Council of the American Federa tion of Labor makes no attempt to say what the size of the labor force in the government shall be. It does, however, hold the definite view that those who are hired must be paid in accordance with fair methods.” President James B. Burns, of the American Federation of Govern ment Employes, summoned an emergency meeting of the union’s executive council to mobilize a full-scale campaign to obtain prompt action from Congress on the pay legislation. STATE AGENCY RECOVERS $50,000 IN UNPAID WAGES San Diego, Calif.—Nearly $50, 000 in unpaid wages was recov ered during 1945 by the San Diego office of the State Labor Com missioner, Deputy Commissioner Stanley M. Gue announced. This represents an increase of more than 15 per cent over the amount recovered in 1944. Chicago.—Settlement of indus trial grievances through collective bargaining and voluntary arbitra tion without any interference from Federal authorities was urged by I. M. Ogburn, secretary-treasurer of the AFL Union Label Trades department, in a radio address de livered over the American Broad casting Company network. “Both parties must be free in our American system,” Mr. Ogburn said. “Neither one should be dom inated by nor have any assistance from a political administration. That^would be unfair to one or the other. It would not be a volun tary procedure In our free economic system. “The union label is a symbol that stands for these principles so often enunciated by the American Fed eration of Labor. It is the emblem of fairness toward employer and employe alike. It is the mark of mutual good-will and co-operation. I sincerely believe that through col lective bargaining, established with AFL labor unions, that sufficient purchasing power can be obtained to create full employment in Amer ica; stabilise our economy; create improved standards of living; and inanre peacetime prosperity. I be lieve that through intelligent buy ing of union label products and the use of union-marked services that our union-earned money will even tually create a higher American standard of living for alL * "tip to date, the union label is the best peacetime plan that has been submitted to solve our in dustrial problems. No general for mula can be created by bureaucrats in Washington or by Congress that | will fit into the intricate problems of each and every industry. There is such a great difference in the methods of our varied industries that in many cases a blanket for mula would work great injustices. “We believe that each industry shouid solve its separate labor re lations in each sphere and category. Conferences, composed of repre sentatives of labor and manage ment for each industry could im mediately establish basic principles such as hours, wages, and working conditions. Then there could also be determined the future output for each industry so that employment' could be stabilized. Furthermore,! adequate protection against com petitive products of other lands which often ruin small businesses in America should be obtained in order that our market can be pro tected for our own workers and our own industries.” SENATE ASKS DOCTORS lO AID IN HEALttf LAW Washington. D. C.—Public health and medical agencies were invited I to tell Congress how it can legis 1 late to give 140 million Americans I longer life and less disease in the next five years. Chairman James E. Murray of the Senate Education and Labor committee announced that he had sent questionnaires to more than 180 professional health and medical >rganizations. Mapping Conference On Postwar Labor Problems Kansas City, Kan—Plans are being whipped into shape at head; quarters here for a significant na tional conference on problems confronting the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. . The parley, to be held in Denver, will bring together chiefs of the union, international representa tives, railroad general chlairmen, local business agents and many leaders of local lodges. Nearly 500 are expected to attend. Similar confabs have been held annually during the past several years. At each there has been a frank interchange of opinions on policies, and they have been un usually productive. Opening sessions of the Denver meeting during the first day or two will be attended by all delegates. Then the conference will break up into separate “clinics” on each of the industries in which the Boiler makers are represented, including i railroads, shipbuilding, construc tion and contract shops. Among subjects to be considered are: W«"e and employment trends since V-E and V-J Days, the wage movement on the railroads and in shipyards, the outlook in construc tion and in manufacturing shops, expanded organising activities, America’s future merchant marine, jobs for returning war veterans. Unemployment Total Rises; Total Is Now 2,700,000 OPPOSES LEGISLATION TO CUT EXISTING IMMIGRATION QUOTAS — Washington, D. C.—The Ameri- ; ican Federation of Labor told the House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization that it opposes pending legislation to curtail ex isting immigration quotas. AFL Legislative Representative Lewis G. Hines testified: "The United States is a humani tarian nation and we have done our share up to the present time to provide a haven for refugees. T believe most of our citizens desire that the United States set an ex ample for other nations by contin uing to offer succor to the op pressed and displaced persons up rooted as a result of war. Our na tion has a large share of respon sibility in the maintenance of a peaceful world. “The American Federation of j Labor therefore feels that we should maintain our present immi gration quotas as an indication to the world that we intend to remain ar active participant in world af fairs. To do other wise .and especi ally to reduce our immigration quotas .would indicate that we are not willing to accept the responsi bility of leadership.” Mr. Hines pointed out that a congressional committee had rec ommended the appointment of a commission of full time experts to undertake a study and analysis of postwar immigration problems. He urged that this study be under taken before Congress attempts to change existing immigration laws. Odd Ailments Jimmy—Have you ever had hob bies? Johnny — No, but I’ve had measles and mumps. -1, ■ —— ■- ■ After reading The Journal, paw it an U 70m neighbor! Washington, D. C.—Unemploy ment continued to rise throughout the country during February de spite gains in construction, mining, and trade, government reports showed. Nonagricultural employ m e n t dropped 285,000 bringing the total number c f jobless to 2,700,000, about 400,0<t0 more than in Janu ary. The number of production workers in manufacturing indus tries was 9,607,000, the lowest fig ure in five years, 3,500,000 less than a year ago. Meanwhile, although initial claims for unemployment compensation dropped by 4,400, waiting period claims rose from 144,000 to 156,000 during the week ending March 9. An employment increase of 84,000 in the nondurable goods industries was noted and increases of about 25,000 workers each were reported by the textile and apparel groups. In the textile and apparel indus tries larger supplies of raw mate rials and the growing number of returning veterans made possible the addition of 51,000 workers over the month. Other significant in creases occurred in the leather and printing industries. A new Labor Department report showed that gross hourly and week ly earnings of factory workers reached their highest level since V-J Day in December and retained that position in January. Workers in the light industries averaged al most £3 cents per hour, the high est ever received by such employes, as many groups reported increases due to recent upward wage adjust ment. The average work week for all manufacturing was 41.6 hours in December, almost one-half hour longer than in November. Weekly earnings for all manufacturing averaged $41.43 in December, about 60 cents more than in November, but $4 less than in July. The only sitable decrease in weekly pay were in the auto and tobacco groups, the Labor Depart- j meat found. JAX UNIONS RENDER GENUINE SERVICE TO RETURNING VETERANS Jacksonville, Fla. (SLPA)—Th« Jacksonville Central Labor Union under direction of President . Charles G. Smith and his execu tive hoard, has named a Central j Labor Union Veterans Advisorj | Committee to work and plan with civic groups and veteran's agen cies in the task of rendering: still greater services to veterans. Lo cal Unions affiliated with the ; Jacksonville Central Labor Unior i are doing excellent work in theii respective training programs. Seventy veterans of World Wai ; II are now serving apprenticeshif I in the carpenters trade in Jackson I ville, 50 of whom are being spon sored by Carpenters Local Unior So. 627. E. P. St. John, President of Local No. 627, is serving as sec retary of the apprenticeship com mittee of the Carpenters District Council. Ted Harris, business agent of Bricklayers Local Union No. 19, announces that twenty Jackson ville veterans are learning that ancient trade. The Local Union, the contractors and the Jackson ville Vocational school are co-ope rating in this most effective pro gram of traioing . Numerous other crafts report similar programs .and the Veter ans Advisory Committee appointed by the Central Labor Union will serve as co-ordinator with all of the local unions and veterans agencies. LABOR-SCIENTIFIC GROUP ON ATOM POWER URGED Chicago.—Proposal for a nation al labor-science committee on atomic energy was placed before a conference at the University of Chicago attended by 49 labor lead ers and the Atomic Scientists of Chicago. Durable Homes, Not \ Chicken Coops, Need Ol Vets, Bates Insists New York City.—American vet- j erans want durable, safe and san- < itary homes, not chicken coops, AFL Vice President Harry C. Bates told the National Public Housing Conference here. Blasting the false assumption that the housing emergency is limited to the next two years and i charging that veterans will .be “grossly cheated" if they are 1 forced to buy these jerry - built * homes which become useless by 1 the time they are paid for, Mr. ' Bates declared America cannot af ford to “build now and plan later.” In a strong pleai for support of the Wagner - Ellender - Taft bill, 1 which provides for a long-range, carefully integrated housing pro gram, Mr. Bates said: “We would not be fair to our selven to assume that good homes for all Americana can be supplied through a brief, shortlived effort to provide two or three million homes regardless of their quality, regardless of their durability and safety and without a plan to fit these homes into soundly designed neighborhoods and healthy conh munities. If that is all we were planning to do, we would be fool ing no one but ourselves and ig noring the most fundamental facts underlying our whole housing problem. The public should know the real facta. All elements *of enterprise should take a realistic measure of America’s long-term capacity to produce. Having taken such a measure we should plan ac cordingly. “I cannot subscribe to the no tion that we should build now and plan later. It teems plain common sense to me to recognize today— not tomorrow or two years front now—that the homes we could be t' gin to provide at once must be re garded as a lasting investment in cur country’s future wealth and as a lasting contribution toward the welfare and happiness of the peo ple served. "We must endeavor to build as much housing as our ’present ca pacity, our facilities and our in genuity permit. But what we build we must build well. What millions of returning veterans and civilian families, doubled up in crowded quarters ,nre asking is ! not for the roof alone. What they want is durable, safe and sanitary housing -not chicken coops. Every room, every kitchen, every win dow in the homes which they so desperately want will tie paid for with the hard-won savings and the > j hard-earned wages of the great mass of Americans. They who! in the end will pay every cent of i the price of their new homes will | la grossly cheated if they a:e forced to buy homes which become j useless when they are paid for. “Keenly aware of the record of j the past, organized labor calls up- j on all Americans, veterans and (Continued on Page 3) EX-60VERN0R OF NEW YORK NAMED HOPKINS SUCCESSOR .New York.—Charles Poletti, for mer governor of New York, was •elected as impartial chairman of he $500,000,000 New York coat md suit industry by union and employer representatives. He suc seeds the late Harry L. Hopkins. The selection was made by a committee representing four em ployer associations and the Cloak loint Board of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' union (AFL). Mr. Poletti has a distinguished record of public service. He re signed from the New York Supreme Court bench in 1938 to run for lieu tenant governor and succeeded to the governorship at the end of 1942 when Governor Lehman re signed to become head of UNRRA. Mr. Poletti served for a time as special assistant to Secretary of War Stimaon and entered the Army in 1943. During part of his service he was AMG governor of Rome, Naples, Milan and Sicily. Mr. Poletti has been a member of the law firm of Poletti, Diamond, Rabin, Freidin and Mackay. As Mm iaspartial chairman of the {jgpt York coat and spit industry, M- Poletti will preside over one of the eldest structures of collect ive management-labor relationship, established in 1910, At present, it embmoet 40,000 factory workers, and 1,300 firms with an annual output of more than $500,000,000 in value or approximately 80 per cent of the total coat and suit pro duction of the nation. The committee that acted in the naming of Mr. Poletti included Is rael Feinberg, general manager of the New York Joint Board of Cloak, Suit, Skirt and Reefer Makers’ Unions of the ILGWU; Charles Baker, executive director of the Infants’ and Children’s Coat as sociation, Tnc.; Joseph L. Dubow, executive director of the Mer chants’ Ladies’ Garment associa tion. Inc.; Samuel Klein, executive director of the Industrial Council of Cloak, Suit and Skirt Manufac turers, Inc., and Charles M. Suss man, executive director of the American Cloak and Suit Manufac turers’ Association, Inc. In a joint statement, they de clared they regarded Mr. Poletti as “certain to make a distinguished contribution to the industry’s prog ress in enlightened labor-manage ment relations.” “Governor Poletti's constructive abilities, so thoroughly demonstrat ed in the key posts he filled with such distinction, will be of sur passing value in furthering the nrogressive strides in worker-em ployer relationship achieved in the coat and suit industry in its long history of collective bargaining," the statement said. Truman Lauds Green In Improving Health Bill Washington, D. C. — President Truman publicly praised AFL President William Green for a con structive suggestion for improve ment of the National Health bill. Chairman James E. Murray, of the Senate Education and Labor committee, made public a letter from the President endorsing Mr. Green’s proposal for a clarifying amendment to the bill. The Presi dent’s letter was in response to in quiries made by Senators Murray and Wagner and Rep. Dingell re garding his views on Mr. Green’s suggestion. The President * said he was “wholeheartedly in favor of Mr. Green’s suggestions'’ and that "Mr. Green has rendered a distinctive service by making a constructive suggestion for clarification and improvement” of the legislation. In studying the bill, Mr. Green discovered that a section dealing with maternal and child health services would duplicate provisions of the health insurance system set up in another section. He urged that a clarifying amendment be drafted to indicate that the Chil dren's Bureau program under Titlo I should be directed toward com munity services, special research and educational activities to assure high standards of maternal and child care. If the Children’s Bureau also is to provide personal health services, Mr. Green said that this phase should be limited to those not eligible for insurance benefits under the terms of the bill.
The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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April 11, 1946, edition 1
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