Newspapers / The Charlotte Labor Journal … / Aug. 1, 1946, edition 1 / Page 1
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Elect your delegates te the North Carotlaa Fed eration of Labor Meet ing at once, if yon hare not already done so. You are an important arm of the State body and matters of great importance are to came up to be discussed and disposed of at the Aug ust meeting in Der CHARLOTTE LABOR JOURNAL Unionists, Do Everything Within Your Power To Aid In the Southern A. F. L. Membership Drive AND CAROLINA Working For A Better Understanding Between North Carolina AFL Unions and Employers of Labor JOURNAL °'LABOR A Newspaper Dedicated to The Interests of Charlotte Centr al Labor Union and Affiliated Crafts—Endorsed By North Carolina Federation of Labor and Approved By The America n Federation of Labor. “Were it not for the labor presw, the labor movement would not be what it is to day. and any man who tries to injure a labor pa per is a traitor to the cause.”—Samuel Gompers. VOL. XVI; NO 12 CHARLOTTE, N. AUGUST 1, 1946 Subscription Price $2.00 Per Year C. Federation Meeting Changed To Durham I MISS MEETING OF GDARLOTTE LIBOR A large mass meeting of all Charlotte AFL unions has been called for Sunday, August 25, by a committee of the Charlotte Central Labor Union, headed by Sterling Hicks, president. Tentative plans were made at a meeting of the master committee on arrangements at a meeting held at the Labor Temple on North Tryon street Thursday. This meeting of the local labor unions will be held to pro mulgate plans of co-operation with the Southern member ship drive of the American Federation of Labor and South ern Director George Googe has indicated that he will be here to attend the meeting, if his busy calendar will permit. Of ficials of the North Carolina Federation of Labor will also be here, as will also officials of the various Central Labor Unions and their affiliates in the AFL from cities and. towns in the surrounding territory, all of whom are being issued urgent invitations to attend. The Central Labor Union committee has named the presi dents and secretaries of all local affiliated and non-affiliated AFL unions to be a part of the master committee on arrange ments and President Hicks will issue another call for a meet ing of this committee as a whole early next week. According to plans of the Central Labor Union committee the meeting is to be held in the Mecklenburg County Superior Court room, which will accommodate several hundred people. The local meeting is expected to be one of the largest and most enthusiastic labor gatherings held in the history of lo cal labor. Also policies aad plans to be devised at this meet ing are expected to expedite Charlotte Labor's march for ward in the weeks and months Just ahead. The members of the- Ccxlral Labor Union committee who met Thursday were: Sterling Hicks, president, Claude No lan, R. L. Stitt, Dan Anderson, E. A. Tarver and H. A. Stalls. Another committee meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday. Living Cost Up 25 Per Cent In 16 Days Of No OPA Washington, D. C.—Living costs In the United States rose 25 per j cent in the first 16 days after col- I lapse of the OP A, It was revealed in a report prepared by the Com merce Department and made public by the White House. The increase in all but a handful of basic commodities amounted to 35 per cent, by the Government’s own interpretation of the report. If it had not been for the fact that business groups working for the removal of all price controls extended themselves to hold prices down to a minimum rise while Congress was still debating the fate of OPA, hoping thereby to prove their point that price con trols no longer were necessary, living costs would have gone still higher, in the opinion of the de partment. As a result of the recent price spurt, the department said prices increased at a much faster rate since the Japanese surrender than they did during a comparable pe riod after World War I, when the country was experiencing “serious inflation.” The official appraisal of the price situation was based on the behavior of the Bureau of Labor Statistics index of daily spot mar ket prices for 28 basic commodities —the usual basis of living-coat studies—during the first 16 days of July. It was pointed out that among these commodities were six which showed no price change—four be cause of other government controls and two because of a market stand still due to economic uncertainties. Eliminating these six commodi ties, it was noted, the price rise for the first 16 days of July stood at almost 35 per cent, rather than the 25 per cent indicated for all 28 commodities. Farm products, foods and im ported goods lead in the upward price trend, the report showed. The largest percentage rise was in the price of silk, which had gone up (Please Tara to Page 4) ICE CONTRACT IS SIGNED BY GALVESTON LOCAL Galveston, Texas—Local 940 re cently signed an agreement with the Galveston Ice dnd Cold Storage Company. The Galveston Ice and Cold Stor age is a part of the City Ice and Fuel Company of Chicago, signed agreement with Local 940 covering all the cold storage men, platform men, route salesmen and helpers. By signing this agreement the Teamster Union has signed the largest distributors and manufac turers of ice in the city of Galves ton. Negotiations were carried on by Mr. Homanson of Chicago, vice president of the City Ice in Chi cago, and G. C. Rickert of the Teamsters. 128,000 Jobless In Philadelphia Labor Market Philadelphia. — Unemployed in the Philadelphia labor market now number 128,000. it was revealed in a report by labor experts after a survey. This is the largest number of unemployed since the end of the war, they said, but the real peak is several weeks off. By the end of September, the report said, un employment will begin to drop sharply as a result of the increased production of many now scarce supplies and commodities. Even though unemployment has reached its highest point since 1940 those familiar with labor conditions and industrial production see noth ing alarming in the situation. They say it’s remarkable that peacetime production should al ready have absorbed such a large number of war workers—especial ly since various shortages and oth er problems have delayed indus trial reconversion. Philadelphia’s men’s suit indus try has plenty of cloth but is plagued by a shortage of workers. I^wu disclosed by a spokes man for that industry here. Phila delphia is the second largest suit ma.ltfacturing center tn the coun try. Suit manufacturers here could use at least 4,000 more workers, of whom at least half should be hand tailors and machine operators, ac cording to William B. Flickstein, secretary of the Philadelphia Cloth ing Manufacturers’ Association. But the workers simply cannot be found, despite a campaign to re cruit them. Men’s suits will therefore con tinue to be scarce for some time. For the same shortage of workers also exists in the nation’s four > other great manufacturing centers for men’s elothing — New York, Baltimore, Chicago and Rochester, IN. Y. I _ RENTS CLIMB AND CLIMB Chicago.—Rent increases in this J city, as reported by tenants since ' OPA ceilings went off July 1, have reached an average of 80 per cent ( above OPA tops, an official of the | Tenants League revealed. More than 4,500 tenants have filed for mal complaints, and in a single day one municipal court was the scene of 150 eviction hearings. r A. F. OF L. MAN HELPS RED CROSS uvimanj—n ▼ iuii im» uciwvvn l niiu f\w wmj tvccupBllVR soldiecs a ad their homes in the States. Pet. Carmel "Joe" Southard, Dixon, III, awmber of the Hod Carriers and Building Labor Union— |A. t. ef L, is on detached service to the Americas Red Croon, deliv ering emergency messages and reports by courier |eep. He carries good and bad news from Munich to Army headquarters and to Red Cram held directors with units in isolated parts of Bavaria. George Googe Visits AFL Charlotte Office George L. Googe, Southern di rector of the American Federa tion of Labor organiting cam paign. was a visitor in Charlotte Tuesday of this week and spent several hours at the Labor Tem ple conferring with Earl R. Brit ton, campaign director for the two Carolines. Mr. Googe left in the after noon for Greenville, S. C., where he was scheduled to meet with labor officials in that city in connection with the current mem bership campaign. Mr. Googt aspects to return to Charlotte at an early date to confer with the Charlotte offi cials and also be present at the general labor mass meeting which has been called for Au gust 25 in this city. He will de liver one of the main addresses. Efforts are being made to have several noted labor speakers present to address the gather ing. From Greenville Mr. Googe | expected to return to Atlanta | and from there he will proceed | to Birmingham. Ala., where he has called a meeting of the Southern Advisory committee for August 5-6. He is chairman | of the advisory committee, which | is composed of State Federa ! tions of Labor and Central La* bur Union officials from all sec tions of the South. Southern Director Googe re ports that the South-wide drive is progressing satisfactorily up to date, and that hundreds of new members are being enrolled all over Dixie during the initial stages of the membership cam paign. The mass meeting called for August 25th in Charlotte will be held in connection with the AFL activities in Charlotte and sur rounding territory. MEETING PLACE CHANGED DUE TO INABILITY TO SECURE MEETING HALL SUFFICIENTLY LARGE TO ACCOMMODATE LARGE CROWD EXPECTED TO AT TEND MEETING. Announcement was made Tuesday by President C. A. Fink of the North Carolina Federation of Labor that the August 12 convention of the State Federation will be held in Durham instead of High Point. The change in meeting place was brought about due the the inability of the High Point enter tainment committee to find an auditorium in High Point suf ficiently large to accommodate the large gathering that offi cials expect to convene for this year’s meeting. PRESIDENT FINK VISITS CHARLOTTE. President Fink was a visitor to Charlotte Tuesday of this week conferring with Southern Director George Googe and local labor officials relative to both the State Federation meeting and the Southern membership campaign of the AFL which is now getting into full swing throughout Dixie. Mr. Fink stated that he expects one of the largest gatherings of delegates and visitors and labor officials at the Durham meeting in the history of the North Carolina Federation of Labor. The sessions will be held at the W’ashington Duke hotel, which will be official headquarters. According to announcements all sections of the State will be represented and Charlotte is to have full quotas of dele gates on hand. ‘Bogey-Man ’ Of Labor Hit In Metal Trades Bulletin I MOBILE TEAMSTERS WIN ELECTION Mobile, Ala.—Employe* of the Haas Davi* Packing Company of Mobile,, who last week elected «m American Federation of Labor to act as their bargaining agency, have met and drawn up a contract for wages, hours and working con ditions. The contract has been submitted to management and ne gotiations will begin immediately by Teamsters and Chauffeurs Lo- j cal No. 991 and the Amalgamated Meat Cutters' and Butcher Work- 1 ers. MASSACHUSETTS’ JOBLESS ! AT PEAK OF PAY FOR IDLE Boston.—The Massachusetts Di vision of Employment Security re ports that the payment of $58,404, 856 in the first six months of this J year, is an all-time high in unem ployment benefits. Approximately i j 62 per cent, or $35,917,531 of the I total, went to war veterans as re j adjustment allowances, and the re { maining 38 per cent constituted a new civilian peak. The high point for veterans was reached in March when 81,219 checks, totaling $1,619,049, were paid and peak benefits to civilians were reached in May when 52,984 checks, totaling $1,098,956, were distributed in a week. Policy Committee To Meetln Birmingham Atlanta, Ga., Aug. 1.—Chairman George L. Googe of the Southern Campaign, American Federation of Labor, lias issued a call for a meet ing of the Policy Board, the gov erning authority of the Campaign, for Monday and Tuesday, August 5th and 6th at Birmingham, Ala bama. The Board will meet at the Bankhead Hotel. This meeting will be a working session to implement the plans and programs of the International unions and the State Federations of Labor and the A.F. of L. itself. The Policy Board is made up of 45 leaders in the American Federa i tion of Labor throughout the South. The American Federation of La bor1 has strong, effective, and es tablished labor union machinesy in every state in the South. These State Federations, of Labor in the fourteen states included in the A. F. of L. drive represent in their membership 200 City Federations of Labor, eight thousand local un ' ions and an individual membership GEORGE L. GOOGE Southern Campaign Director j of nearly two million. The American Federation of Lp bor is building its Southern Cam* paign around this well-knit organi zational structure. The Birmingham meeting will review the effectiveness of the co ordination of ft* far-flung struc ture and make plans for further acceleration of the program as it gathers momentum toward its ob jective of a fifty per cent member ship gain. * All of the one hundred and six National and International Unions which make up the American Fed eration of Labor have locals and memberships throughout the South. These International and National Unions maintain organizers, rep resentatives and officers in the southern territory at all times. There are 400 of these agents or i representatives currently stationed I in the South. The greatest volume of A.F. of L. organizational work In its Southern Campaign will be carried on by this corps of expe rienced representatives, all of whom have come from the ranks of Southern unions and of South ern industry. The State Federations of Labor will assume responsibility for ex tending the A.F. of L. program ; EARLE R. BRITTON Carolims Campaign Director within their respective states, co operating with the organization projects of the National and Inter national Unions. Each state will direct the activities of its own or ganising staff. In the 200 cities in the South where the A.F. of L. has city labor federations the area re* sponsibility for organization work will be assumed by these City Fed erations. The entire organization struc ture, long established, well-knit, made up of life-long citizens and wage earners of the communities of the South heads up to the Policy Board on which is represented of ficials of the National and Inter nationa Unions by occupational groupings and the ranking officials of all the 14 State Federations of Labor. George Googe, Southern repre- i sentative of the American Federa of Labor, is chairman of the Policy Board and the official representa tive of all co-ordinated A.F. of L. interests in the campaign. Mr. Googe supervises and deploys the 70 organizers employed directly by the A.F. of L. This backlog of organized A.F. of L. structure, experience and man-power is supplemented by some 2,000 local union officials i and business agents employed lo-j (Pleas? Tara Is Page 4) Washington, D. C.—Emphatic protest against .efforts of anti* labor legislators, in both national and state groups, to crucify Amer ican organised labor on the altar of “Big Business’* by raising a “Bog ey-Man” as expressed in the latest issue of the Bulletin published by the Metal Trades Department of the AFL. In a bristling reply to the so called “Big Business” spokesmen who have been screaming about “Big Labor's" strikes and requests for wage increases to meet sky rocketing living costs, the Bulletin assailed members of Congress and state legislatures who have brush ed aside labor’s pleas to concen trate on greater wealth for giant corporations. In blunt language it declared: “The anti-labor spokesmen have their axes sharpened, and are ready te chop down any and every gain made by labor. Let there be no mistake about it, these anti-labor forces will try to destroy or make ineffective every gain made by labor. To them, the time is now here. This is the time for attacks on labor. They may use all sorts of honeyed words about their un dying belief in collective bargain ing and trade unionism, but they are anti-labor in their hearts, let’s make no mistake about it. It is their deeds, not their hypocritical words, which count. And their deeds are clearly and unmistakably anti-labor. “Never do these anti-labor prop agandists, however, refer to the well-known machinations of Big Business, which have been respon sible for the shortages of those things which have become essential to the American standard of living. Never do they refer to the sabotage of production, the withholding of goods which are kept in warehous es, the holding back of goods, to compel price increases, at the ex pense of labor and the consumer. They go out of their way to make it appear that it is solely labor’s fault that there are shortages. “If the truth were told, the re sponsibility of labor for holding up production reconverted to peace time needs, is absolutely insignifi cant, compared with the deliberate, planned and determined efforts of Big Business in refusing to pro duce, until they got the laws, writ ten as they wished, before the war, snd the cash terms they demand now, during the post-war reconver- • lion. The lockouts of labor and the consumer by Big Buaineas put any itrikes by labor far into the in causing actual shortages of (Ploaso Tura to Page
The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Aug. 1, 1946, edition 1
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