Newspapers / The Charlotte Labor Journal … / July 11, 1946, edition 1 / Page 5
Part of The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
delegates to te Federation if you y done impor of the State body and important matters are to come up to be disponed of this '! Uuionists, Do Everything Within Your Power To Aid In the Southern A. F. L. Membership Drive Working For A Better Understanding Between North Carolina AFL Unions and Employers of Labor VOL. I; NO. 1 Published Weekly and Collaborated with The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News, July 11, 1946 _ ~ ^HABLOTTE, N. C„ THURSDAY, JULY 11. 1946. 63.00 Per Year BELAY COSTS CONSUMER MILLIONS AS PROFITEERS HEAP GREAT HARVEST Washington, D. C.—The U. S. Senate is fiddling while in flation bums like wildfire throughout the nation. The show-down fight for a strong OPA law to put out the blaze of shockingly increased prices got off to a woefully alow start in the “world’s greatest deliberative body.” After breaking a week’s parliamentary blockade which cost consumers millions while enriching profiteers, Senate leaders retreated from the firm stand taken by President Truman and gave their support to a compromise measure which connot succeed in holding the price line. A so-called “compromise” sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Barkley admittedly depudiates some of the basic -principles enunciated by the President in his veto message on the original OPA extension law. However, Barkley ex pressed the belief that the President would sign his “com • promise” bill if it is enacted. The Barkley proposal would guarantee profits to produc ers above costs, but it does give the OPA some leeway in making exceptions for the protection of consumers. However, the anti-OPA bloc led by Senator Taft of Ohio served notice that they will oppose the Barkley bill with all their power and attempt to reenact the OPA bill in exactly the same form as the vetoed measure. And Senator O’Daniel, of Texas also issued warnings that tie will again attempt to talk the OPA to death by launching a filibuster. Thus, it appeared certain mat the Senate will fiddle around at least another week, even if night sessions are called, before decid ing the issue. Then the House of Representatives may take a few more days to* act. j Meanwhile, the American people are being victimized. Without OPA to protect them, prices for most commodities and rents have soared throughout the nation. But this is only the beginning. The Bureau of Labor Statistics re ported that wholesale prices jumped 10 per cent on the aver age during the first week in July. These increases will soon hit con sumer! a double-barreled wallop, because there is bound to be a re tail markup in addition. As Marquis Childs, Washington news commentator, said in his syn dicated column: “Milk goes up 3 cents a quart. Robert Wason, of the National As sociation of Manufacturers, says consumers can cure high prices by not buying, which will be interest ing news to mothers with small children." Protests against the legislative demise of OPA continued to pour into Wsahmgton by the hundreds of thousands. With most members of Congress facing re-election this Fall, there was a run on the market for headache cures as they tried to figure out the effect of a 50 per cent increase in the cost of living in the next three months, just before Election Day. You tell 'em! SENATE APPROVES Bill TO RETURN USES TO STATES Washington, D, C.—Disregard ing the firm opposition of Presi dent Truman, the Senate, by rote approved and sent to the House for conference a bill for return of the United States Employment Services to the States by Decem ber 31, 1946. Soon after the opening of the present session of Congress, Mr. Truman, in a budget message, ex pi eased hope that the employment sendees would be retained under Federal control through the recon version period. He was defeated by a coalition movement. Some Federal jurisdiction was re tained under the Senate version of the measure. It provided that em ployment services must be return ed to the States by December 31, but specified that if individual States did not meet Federal stand s' ds in the use of Government f i ids, the USES would be permit e:J to intervene and establish its c n system. The employment services, under terms of the bill as it passed the S nate, would be under supervision of the Labor Department, but USES would have authority to set up its own programs in States which have none. U. S. WAGE CONTROL ENDS; SCHWELLEN8AGH ASK TRUCE Washington, D. C. — Wage con trol flew oat of the window along with price control—but with no damaging results to the American people. Chairman W. Willard Wirtx of the National Wage Stabilisation Board declared that existing pay controls bad been hinged to the OPA in a general stabilization pol icy and with the demise of OPA “all wage controls is out complete ly.” The National Wage Adjustment Board, which handles wage cases in the construction industry, also announced it will withhold any action on pending cases. In view of this situation. Secre tary of Labor Schwellenbach ap pealed to labor and management to “avoid hasty action” on new contract negotiations until the future status of price control is determined by Congress. “As a practical matter,” h e said, “it is now impossible for either management or labor to at tempt to negotiate wage agree ments if such agreements con template a relationship with the cost of living " AFL leaden made no immediate response to this appeal for a ware increase truce. It was said that temporary stabilisation of wares is assured by more than 40,000 ware contracts still in force. One labor representative said the na tion had nothinr to fear from un ion demands in this emerrency, but needed prompt protection from the profiteen. However, AFL President Wil liam Green made it clear that if Conrress unnecessarily delays ex tension of price control, strikes for hirher pay are bound to break out all over the country. He told a House Labor Subcommittee that by failinr to pass adequate price control lereislation, “Conrress has burned the only bridge of stable transition to peaceful and uninter rupted full postwar production.” 1* OF EVERY 12 VETERANS AT WORK OR IN SCHOOL Waahinrton, D. C.—A report of the United States Employment Service shows that 10 of every 12 veterans discharred by June are at work or in school. USES Director Robert C. Good win termed the record rratifyinr and stated that “for the third straight month the backlor of the World War II veterans not at work has been reduced, notwithstanding continued discharges of service men from the armed forces.” GREEN HUES TRUMJU VETO OF CRIPPLED OPR MEASURE Washington, D. C. — Text of AFL President William Green’s "hearty endorsement” of President Truman’s “courageous veto” of the emasculated OPA Bill follows: “The American Federation of Labor heartily endorses the Presi dent’s courageoue veto of the crip pled OPA bill. “Congress failed the Nation once when it adopted this inadequate legislation. It is now on trial again and the people of the United States will sit in judgment on its action. “It is unthinkable that Congress should refuse to carry out prompt ly the President’s recommenda tions for a year’s extension of ef fective price control, with contin ued subsidies to hold down prices of essential foods and with author ity to remove controls as soon as production of any commodity is sufficient to meet demand. “Any other course would mean economic chaos in America. Infla tion would take a terrible toll of the savings of the masses of our people. The workers of our coun try would not submit to being plundered and robbed of their hard earned wages by greedy profiteers. Labor unrest and interrupted pro duction would once more engulf the nation. "Therefore, we appeal to Con gress to respond immediately and favorably to the President’s urgent message.” Muster Quits CIO Post lu Inti-Red Protest New York City.—Morris Muster resigned as president of the CIO‘s United Furniture Workers Union because, he said, he could not suf fer “to remain head of a Commu nist-controlled organization.” His dramatic charges corrobo rated what AFL leaders have fre quently reiterated—that many of the CIO unions are dominated by Communists. “Communistic chicanery and in trigue have captured our interna tion,” Muster publicly announced. His present plight was foreshad owed when Muster eight years ago led his union out of the AFL into the CIO. He was warned at that time that he was opening the door to Communist control of his organ ization. George Bucher, Philadelphia leader of the union, said the issue would be squarely presented to the CIO President Phil Murray. Unless Murray agrees to purge the Com munists from the union, he said, the anti-Communist group will re organize the union and take it out of the CIO. NASHVILLE WALKOUT ENDS WITH NEW AGREEMENTS Nashville, Term.—F. L. Medlin, business representative of Team* sters Local Union No. 327 this week announced that agreements have been reached with the Taxi* cab companies and Motor Freight Lines. The pick-up, deliverymen and the platform men returned to work last week after a walkout which lasted four days. These employes, under the new agreement, will receive an increase of 11 cents per hour, along with a two weeks annual vacation with pay for those employed more than three years and one week’s vacation with pay for those of less seniority. The walkout did not involve the over-the-road drivers, however, but they remained off the job until the standard city pick-up agree | ment was reached. The 11th hour agreement for the taxicab drivers adverted the sched uled strike with all employes re ceiving very substantial wage in creases and better working cohdi A. P. «(L President _ Righto at I ha annual convention of Viea President James J. Knond of laak (into am to inspect the exhibits of din Labor Laagua far Hamia Pemurlvania Federation of Uhor ia Philadelphia. Left la right: >■ r...! r ,l 'm’Tr.T , , Bpo*herhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangsrsi Viea Preai thr nit,.fry.** Phifa^iyhia Central Uhor Union; President Green, Vice Praaident Jamca Mrlea *"* t>per«we Plasterers mmd l rascal Fisishers IslersatiossJ A REORGANIZATION PLANS ARE REJECTER GY HOUSE Washington, D. C.—Three dis tinct proposals by President Tru man, in his initial move to reor ganize the machinery of the Fed eral Government, were rejected in full by the House. The American Federation of La bor registered strong opposition to plans which wouid strip the La bo r Department of important functions by transferring them to the Security Agency and shift the Bureau of Marine Inspection from the Commerce Department to the Coast Guard. The law governing reorganiza tion plans requires the approval of only one branch of Congress. Therefore, AFL leaders now are concentrating their efforts to pre- ] vail upon the Senate to follow the Houce action. Another plan which was rejected would consolidate the Federal hous ing agencies and would restrict St. Elizabeth's Mental Hospital to the insane of the District of Co- j lumbia. Stating the objections to the housing consolidation plan. Chair man Manasco of the House Expen ditures Committee, said: “While the committee favors a permanent consolidation of all re lated housing agencies and func tions,” said Chairman Manasco, “it does not believe that the lending agencies, such as the Federal Housing Administration, which in sures loans for private builders and home owners should be placed under the administrative control of the NHA, or any other Federal agency whose primary function is to build houses with Federal funds and manage Federally owned hous ing projects.” Wait Board Approves Aithraclti Pay Raise Washington. D. C.—The contract of the United Mina Workers with the anthracite industry, granting an 18 1*2 cent an hoar increase to 75.000 Pennsylvania miners, was approved by the Wage Stabilisa tion Board. The board ruled that the royalty of 5 cents a ton on hard coal mined to establish a health and welfare fund, was outside its jurisdiction and did not require its approval. A similar finding waa made in approving the parallel contract for 400.000 soft c«al miners, who now are working for the Government. : RRA PLANS EXPANSION Washington. D. C.—Plans to ex pand the field activities of the La bor Departments’s Retraining and Reemployment Administration are announced by Maj. Gen. Graves B. Erskine, chief of that agency. FOOD TO BE SCARCE FOR ONE YEAR OR MORE Washington, D. C.—Bread, meat, eggs, flour and wheat breakfast foods will be scarce in this coun try for at least another year, the Agriculture department has pre dicted. At the same time experts fore cast that, on an over-all basis, the average American family will eat “considerably more’’ than before the war. Civilians in the next 12 months, they said, will be able to buy more canned fruits and vege tables than last year. Little change is expected in the avail ability of fats and oils, canned milk and eheese. United States shipments of grain to world-famine areas reached a new high in the first 10 days of June. These shipments nearly tripled the amount shipped in May. Agricultural experts, in esti mating the amount of food to reach American tables for the next 12 months, warned that the fate of the administration’s price control program may change their predictions. They said that, should the controls be lifted from food products, some commodities may become easier to get in retail stores but would cost so much many persons could not afford them. Romaldi Assails Red CIO Policy lo Latli Natioos Rio De Janeiro. — Deep regret that the CIO continues to support the Communist-led CTAL — the Latin American Workers Federa tion—was expressed by Serafim* Romaldi, an AFL representative engaged in a tour of Latin Amer ica. The CTAL, headed by Vincente L. Toledano, Senor Romaldi said, is engaged "in vicious propaganda against the foreign policy of the United States and principally is trying to disrupt hemispheric un ity.” It is opposed to the United States armament program for hem ispheric defense. The contest between Commu nists and non-Communists for the control of Latin America's* organ ized labor, Senor Romaldi said, is spreading to Brazil, “since Brasil has the largest potential trade un ion membership of all the Latin American nations.” Expressing belief that Commu nists could easily be defeated in their bid for control of the labor movement in Brazil, Senor Rom aldi proposed establishment of a Brazilian Confederation of Labor, with affiliated unions to be organ ized on a national scale rather than on a local or state basis as at the present, FEPC ENDS ITS WORK AFTER I LONG FIGHT Washington, D. C.—Subject of a long and bitter controversy, the Fair Employment Practices Com mittee expired at midnight, June 30 with no apparent hope that it wilil be revived at this session of Congress. The agency was strong ly backed by the AFL. President Truman, acc e p t > n g “with great regret" the resigna tions of Chairman Malcolm Ross and five other members, praised them for performing an important war service under a “continuous barrage of criticism and harass ment.” The committee in a letter and final report told the President that wartime gains against discrimina tory employment practices were to day being rapidly dissipated. They emphasized that any national pol icy against such practices would require the force of legislation to be effective. Enactment of such legislation could not be foreseen, either by its supporters or its opponents. How ever ,it was expected to be an is sue when a new Congress convenes next year. While bills to establish the agency oa a permanent basis and give it broader scope are pending in both the House and Senate, it Is not believed that they can be passed by this Congress in view of the pressure of other legisla tion. SAVANNAH LOCAL GETS NEW CONTRACT FOR 897 MEMBERS Savannah, Ga.—R. C. Weigle, Business Agent of the Savannah Local of the' International Team sters Union, has reported two nice contracts signed for members of his Union in the past few weeks, one of these covering the truck drivers of the Cyclone Fence cor poration, operating from the Sa vannah warehouse, while the other contract was with the Savannah Linen Service for driver salesmen of that concern. About 30 drivers of the Cyclone Company benefit by the new con tract which carries a wage increase of from IS to 22 cents per hour, along with vacation provisions and other features not recognised as regular stipulations in labor con tracts. The contract agreement with the Linen Service will affect about 15 drivers who also get an Increase of pay under the agreement, thfs amounting to about 19 per week.; The laundry is now full organised, the Laundry Workers Union hav ing maintained a local there for more than a year. Both the contracts call for s union shop and employment of the members of the Teamsters Local. FOOD PRICES m RENTS SKYROCKET AS THE OPA, CONTROLS ARE ABANDONED Washington. D. C.—Bearing out tha warnings of President Truman and AFL President William Green that removal of price controls would send prices skyrocketing, the soaring commodity markets of the Nation gave the American peo ple their first full taste of un bridled inflation. Monday, first day of abandon ment of price controls since OPA came into being during the war, saw prices in the grain, meat and other farm produce and metal ex changes soar above 17 to 27-year record highs. The Western States Meat Pack ers Association, which claims 90 per cent of the business done by independent packers in nine West ern States, announced a price jump of 20 per cent above ceiling prices on all grades of meat, and E. C. Forbes, president of the asso ciation, said prices of top grades will rise 30 per cent. Price of butter here in the Na tions’ capital jumped overnight to 94 and 98 cents a pound. Maryland and Virginia milk producers met to discuss a 3-cent increase per quart. Cotton climbed $4 a bale in New York and $6 a bale in New Orleans. Wheat in Chicago reached a 27 year high, up 92.12 a bushel. In Kansas City It rose in one day from fli)7 to $2:09, almost 12 per cent. Hogs gained from $2.50 to $3.86 per hundredweight, an increase of 15 to 21 per cent since Saturday. A small number of choice steers in Chicago brought $22 a hundred pounds, the highest price on rec ord, 60 cents above the 1919 peak. Gains in cattle generally were about $4 per hundred pounds, or 29 per cent ih one day. This'4 cents a pound rise will be aug mented further before the meat reaches retail counters, stabilisa tion officials declared. Corn jumped 40 cents, or 27 per cent. tightening as were the reports ot greatly increased food prices, thfey couldn’t compare with the spectacular rise in rents. So startling were the rent in creases that four States imme diately froze rents at the OPA ceilings. Gov. Maurice Tobin of Massachusetts, Acting Gov. Hadyn Proctor. New Jersey, Gov. Chaun cey Sparks, Alabama, and Gov. Robert D. Blue, Iowa, issued exec utive orders barring increases. New York and the District of Colum bia earlier had banned increases in rents by law. Some other states prepared to take quick action to hold the pres ent rates. In Connecticut, Gov. Raymond E. Baldwin said he was prepared to suspend State laws dealing with summary process and evictions and to call a special session of the Legislature to provide emergency rent control laws “if the situation becomes acute through the uncon scionable action of landlords and Congress fails to take further (rent control) action." Gov. John O. Pasture of Rhode Island said that if Congress failed to act and an emergency developed ere would take State action. Gov. Mortimer R. Proctor of Vermont said he would call a spe cial session of the Legislature “to protect Vermonters against rent increases.” Gov. Horace Hildreth of Maine declared that the Legislature would take “appropriate action”' if the situation were not clarified nation ally. He called attention to thq. Maine laws “prohibiting profiteer ing in the necessitiess of life, in cluding rents.” The National Home and Proper ty Owners Foundation announced (Please Turn To Page J
The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 11, 1946, edition 1
5
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75