AFFILIATE
WITH YOUR
CENTRAL LARO*
UNION
AND THE
N. C. FEDERATION
NOW!
VOL. XVI; NO. 18
CHARLOTTE LABOR JOURNAL
UNA
Working For ' A Better Understanding Between
North Carolina AFL Unions and Employers of Labor
-'LABOR
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 America n Federation of Labor.
CHARLOTTE. N. C.. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12. 1946
“Were it not for the labor
press, the labor movement
would not be what it ia to*
day, and any man who
tries to injure a labor pa
per ia a traitor to the
canse.”—Samuel Gompers.
\
Subscription Price $2.00 Per Year
Spartanburg, Columbia
And Charleston Named
Points In Ca
II
paign
Announcement was made this week by President Earl R.
Britton of the South Carolina Federation of Labor that three
new State offices have been opened by the South Carolina
Federation of Labor and that the South Carolina Federation
plans to do all possible to co-operate with the Southern organ
ization campaign now under way.
une oi tne oil ices set up is in
Spartanburg. It is located in Car
penters Hall, 141 1-2 East Broad
street. The telephone number is
4181. The South Carolina director
of organisation, J. L. Kinney,
president of the South Carolina
Carpenters Council, is in charge of
this office, and Mrs. Dorothy Gas
ton, who is attached to the staff of
the United Garment Workers of
America, has also been assigned
to the Spartanburg headquarters.
Mr. Britton states that meal of
the Piedmont section of South Car
olina will be handled through the
Spartanburg office.
At Columbia another office has
been set up in Carpenters Hall at
1111 Hampton avenue, and C. O.
Gamble, second vice president of
the S. C. Federation ts at .-resent
directing organising efforts for
the central part of South Caro
lina from that office. A full-time
secretary, Mrs. Griffith, has been
employed for Columbia. The
phone is 4-4483.
For Charleston the executive
board of the S. C. Federation has
just appointed W. H. Arnold at
Carpenters and Joiners Local No.
159 -aa an organiser for the
Charleston district, which includes
Georgetown and Beaufort. The
Charleston office is set up tem
porarily in Carpenters Hall on
King street. However, announce
ment will be made next week as
to where the Charleston permanent
headquarters will be. In the
meantime this office may be
reached over phone 2-0066, this
being the carpenters’ listing.
Mr. Gamble, in charge of the
Columbia office, is the full-time
business agent for Columbia Local
No. 282, I. B. E. W.
53,000 ARMY WORKERS
SLATED FOR DSMISSAL
Washington, D. C.—According to
Maj. Gen. C. H. Boneateel, president
of the War Department Manpower
Board, President Truman’s econ
omy program will call for the dis
missal of approximately 53,000
civilian employes.
According to instructions from
the Budget Bureau, the total num
ber of civilian employes would be
cut to 519,500. On July 31 the War
Department had 572,579 civilian
employes throughout the country.
In the New York City area 21,595
civilian employes will be cut to 13,
421.
The all-time high of civilian em
ployes was reached in June, 1943,
when 1,360,547 were on the pay
roll. Shortly before V-J Day, the
number had been reduced to 1,138,
000. The Navy recently announced
that its corps of 433,000 civilian
employes would be reduced to 428,
000 by Oct. 1.
-
TIME CHANGE IS MADE
IN PROGRAM FOR COAST
Washington, D. C.—Announce
ment was made by AFL officials
that the regular “Labor-USA"
radio program, heard on Pacific
Coast Stations of the American
Broadcasting Co. from 2:45 to 3
p.m. (Pacific time) each Saturday,
will be heard ftom 5:30 to 5:45 p.m.
on the West Coast beginning Sep
tember 28 through November 23.
The change to a later time in the
broadcast is expected to be more
convenient to Usteners.
DELEGATE NAMED
TO NATIONAL MEET
BY LOCAL A.F.G.E.
At this week’s meeting of the
Charlotte Lodge No. 795, Ameri
can Federation of Government
Employes, W. M. Belch, lodge
president, was named to represent
the Charlotte local before the Na
tional convention which meets in
St. Paul, Minn., beginning Sep
tember 16. President Belch has
also been named to represent
Lodge No. 812, U. S. Naval Depot,
Norfolk, Va., at the convention,
and also he will serve as a repre
sentative from Charlotte Lodge
796-A.
plans, $© leave hare
.Paul in time for the
opening of the convention and will
remain there throughout the sev
eral days meeting.
The Charlotte lodge was reor
ganised some time ago and has
, been making excellent progress
since its reformation, Mr. Belch
states. His organization is said
I to be representative of about 5,000
governmental workers in Charlotte
' and vicinity, making it one of the
largest unions affiliated with
Charrlottc Central Labor union,
when it has reached its member
ship peak.
Mr. Belch
Friday Tor St
U. S. LABOR GROUPS INVITED
ON TOUR OF ARGENTINA
j Washington, D. C.—Plans to in
i vite a group of American labor
leaders to Argentina to see how
labor unions function in that coun
try were announced by Dr. Oscar
Ivanissevich, Argentine ambassa
dor, following a telephone confer
ence with President Juan D. Peron.
The American group, the envoy
said, would number about lb and
| the trip would occupy between 10
I and 14 days. The ambassador said
1 he would ask the AFL to nominate
prospective visitors from its or
ganisation.
Under plans outlined by Dr. Ivan
issevich his government would (iro
vide a plane for the mission, which
I would be flown to Buenos Aires
where they would be greeted by J.
M. Freire, Minister of Labor. The
itinerary would include visits to
the chief manufacturing areas, con
ferences with union leaders and a
tour of ranches and wheat farms
to observe conditions of farm labor.
AFL leaders had no immediate
comment on the proposal.
' D. C. LABOR GROUP PLAN8
5STH BIRTHDAY BANQUET
Washington, D. C.—Plans are
under way in the Washington Cen
tral Labor Union (AFL) for the
1 celebration of its 60th anniversary
October 19, highlighted with a ban
quet at the Mayflower hotel. The
organisation has some 100 affiliat
ed locals with a total membership
of 200,000 in the Capital area.
President Truman, members of
. the Cabinet and other high-ranking
Government officials have been in
vited to attend the celebratioa, in
which 1,900 local labor represen
tatives and civic groups will par
ticipate.
S. C. Federation Officials
AFL Retains Right To Speak
For American Labor In ILO
GOVERNMENT SELECTS
MOST REPRESENTATIVE
WORKERS’ SPOKESMAN
Washington, D. C.—In a
smashing victory for the
American Federation of Labor
the United States Government
granted the AFL the right to
nominate the American work
ers’ delegate to the world con
ference of the International
Labor Organization, which
will open September 19 in
Montreal.
Informed of the decision,
AFL President William Green
immediately named Robert J.
Watt, international AFL rep
resentative, to continue his
service in this post.
Mr. Watt has been the official
delegate of American labor in the
councils of the International Labor
Organisation for the last 10 years
and is a member of the ILO gov
erning board. He will go to Mon
treal from the Electrical and Paint
ers’ convention in California.
Commenting upon the decisions
of the United States Government
to continue to recognize the AFL
as the most representative spokes
man for all of American labor, Mr.
Green said:
“The decision was just, and in
accord with the provisions of the
constitution of the ILO, which pro
vides that the workers’ delegate
be selected by the most represen
tative organisation in each nation
affiliated with the ILO.”
Secretary of Labor Schwellen
bachs’ decision, announced by As
sistant Secretary of Labor David
A. Morse, came as a severe blow to
CIO leaders who contended they
should be given equal recognition,
and that the post of American
delegate should be alternated be
tween the two organizations on an
annual basis.
From the moment this issue was
raised, Mr. Green pursued a mili
tant course, based upon the con
tention that the AFL, representing
the great niajoriy of American
workers and a participant for 19
years in ILO councils, should con
tinue in this role. \
The action was regarded in many
quarters aa a death blow to CIO
hopes of building up to a position
of importance in world labor af
fairs and placing the AFL far in
the forefront.
In making the announcement,
Mr. Morse said the CIO would be
"invited” to send “advisers” to the
AFL delegate. CIO President Mur- ^
ray, irked by the Government’s de- '
cision, refused.
The decision marked a complete i
reversal of Mr. Schwellenbach’s
earlier position. Some months ago
he notified the AFL of his plan to
place the post of delegate on a ro
uting plan between the AFL and
♦he CIO.
AFL officials declared, and in
this were firmly backed by the
AFL Executive Council, that they
would refuse to participate in the
ILO on this basis. They took the
clear-cut stand that the ILO con
stitution required each nation to
consult with its most representa
tive labor organization in the se
lection of the workers’ delegate.
The AFL offered to submit proof
that it is the most representative
workers’ organization in America,
and, though the CIO conceded this
point, it insisted that, nevertheless,
it was entitled to representation
also.
When it came to a showdown,
Mr. Schwellenbach withdrew his
previous decision and announced he
would recommend that President
Truman appoint an AFL member. I
In making this final ruling, it
was reported that Mr. Schwellen
bach yielded to. White House pres*
sure, although President Truman
told a press conference that the
matter had not yet reached him.
In a resolution condemning the
original plan to route U. S. labor
representation in the ILO, the Ex
ecutive Council said in part:
“This would be a shocking de
parture from principle and prece
dent. It seems inconceivable to the
Executive Council that the United
States Government should jeopar
dize iu integrity by following such
a course.
“For the Government t© make
ttuch a decision on an arbitrary
basis, contrary to the facts and
merely for the purpose of political
appeasement, would be a violation
of its commitments under the
treaty which mads the United
States a member of the Interna
tional Labor Organisation.
“This is more than a mere ques
tion of rivalry between two labor
organizations. The honor and in
tegrity of the United States Gov
ernment in its dealings with other
nations are involved. These are too
precious to be bargained for a
mess of political pottage.”
NLRB HEAD DENIES
FREE SPEECH' GAG
Atlantic City.—Free speech is
still sacred in America and there is
nothing in the National Labor Re
lations Act which would change
this, NLRB Chairman Paul M.
Herzog assured 600 delegates to
the 60th annual convention of the
Printing Industry of America.
Declaring that it “haa not yet
been the fate” of the NLRA to be
accepted by everyone, Herzog said )
“It is our opinion, as reflected in
repeated decisions, that it was not
the intent of Congress, through the
labor act, to forbid an employer to
express opinions as to labor unions,
so long as his expressions do not
constitute acts of threats of dis
crimination or intimidation, or de
nial of his employes’ uninhibited
exercise of their right to organize
free from employer interference.
Mr. Herzog said that the object
of the concern of the NLRB mem
bers in so-called “free speech”
cases is interference with a right
rather than with an utterance con
cerning that right. He said that
the right involved is the right that
holds that employes are entitled to
and shall be protected in the selec
tion of unions of their own choos
“The prescription, therefore,
runs against coercion rather than
against expression," he declared.
“The question in every such case
is whether, in fact, the employers’
conduct does or does not constitute
coercion. If it doeb, he cannot suc
cessfully invoke the Constitution of
the United States. If it does not,
that same Constitution provides
him with an impregnable shield.”
The home—your hone—is the
bulwark of the aatira.
VfW Votes To Back
Labor On Housing,
And Anti-Red Issues
Boston.—The Veterans of Foreign Wars, representing
1,800,000 veterans of three wars, in‘session here, threw its
whole-hearted support behind the American Federation of
Labor's stand against Communism and for prompt passage
of the Wagner-Ellender-Taft long-range housing bill.
Resi>onding to a militant address on these and other issues
by AFL ’President William Green, the convention passed
resolutions urging President Truman to recall Congress to
pass the housing measure and demanded legislation to "abol
ish and prohibit” the Communist Party and other subversive
groups from appearing on any ballot within the United States
and its possessions.
On the housing issue, the con
vention overwhelmingly overrode
an earlier resolution presented by
its special housing committee,
which had proposed that no action
lie taken until the W-E-T measure
had been carefully studied by the
VFW legislative council.
In its anti-Red action, the con
vention sharply condemned the
“cancerous growth of Communism
and Fascism” and demanded that
“false servants” of the Government
who lend aid and comfort to advo
cates of either doctrine be ferreted
out and dismissed.
In his address to the convention,
Mr. Green sounded an urgent ap
peal also to the ex-servicemen to
join with organised labor in com
batting “reactionary forces” seek
ing by State and Federal legisla
tion to shackle and retard the union
labor movement.
“There is no need for me to recite
to you the long list of specific in
stances in which the American Fed
eration of Labor has thrown its
support behind the cause of the
veterans during the last year,” he
said. “The record is clear and
speaks for itself.
“Today labor needs and asks for
your co-operation. An active cam
paign now is under way in state
legislatures and in the National
Congress by reactionary forces to
put through restrictive legislation
to shackle the attempts of the trade
union movement to raise the Amer
ican standard of living.
■ mia is a dangerous trend—dan
gerous not only to the workers
throughout the Nation, but to our
national welfare as a whole. The
free enterprise of labor is a basic
part of our whole free enterprise
system. A free America cannot ex.
ist without free labor.
‘‘The antilabor forces which are
launching these legislative assaults
| think they are heading in the di
rection of fascism, but they may
succeed in driving America toward
i communism. We of the American
Federation of Labor want neither.
We believe in democracy and in fair
| and equal treatment for all.
| “During the last war, you proved
; that the soldiers of a free country
| can outfight the armed forces of
totaiitarians. Likewise, we of la
bor proved that free workers can
out-produce the slave labor of to
talitarianism. This teamwork that
proved unconquerable during the
war will also help us to win the
peace, to keep America free and to
create in our land a proper stand
ard of living for all our people."
Calling for support of the Wag
ner-Ellender-Taft bill, Mr. Green
told the convention:
“The emergency legislation for
veterans’ housing, so acutely need
ed, was firmly supported by the
American Federation of Labor, but
it did not succeed in supplying the
new homes which were needed.
“Reports were circulated, blam
ing labor for the failure to build
enough housing. Your leaders in
vestigated this propaganda and
found it completely untrue.. Hous
ing Expediter Wyatt publicly pro
claimed that the building trades
unions had waived conditions of
long standing to speed the veter
ans' home construction program
and that labor was making special
efforts to supply the skilled labor
necessary.
“The facts are that there is no
labor shortage today in the con
struction industry, nor is there
likely to be. The real bottlenecks
preventing the fulfilment of veter
ans' housing needs are the continu
ing shortage of construction ma
terials and inflation of real estate
values which has resulted in the
hr king of new homes far beyond
the reach of moat servicemen. Also
there has been a lamentable surplus
of confusion on the part of the
large number of federal agencies
which are participating in the di
rection of the housirig prgram.
“I urge the Veterans of Foreign
Wars to join labor in supporting
this bill because it provides for the
encouragement of large-scale hous
ing projects at prices that the ma.
jority of veterans can afford. Un
der this bill, the. construction in
dustry will again be able to under
take the building of rental housing,
which is not now being produced."
TRACY RETURNED
TO PRESIDENCY OF
ELECTRICAL UNION
San Francisco.—Dan W. Tracy,
who returned the presidency of the
International Brotherhood of Elec*
trical Workers <AFL) in 1940 after
serving for seven years to become
Assistant Secretary of Labor, was
re-elected president of the organi
sation -at its annual convention
here.
He defeated the incumbent pres
ident, E. J. Brown, by a. vote of
80,928 to 77,428. The convention
unanimously re-elected G. H. Bug
nazet as international secretary;
William Hogan, treasurer, and
Charles M. Paulson, chairman of
the executive council.
Mr. Tracy resigned from the La
bor Department in March, and
since that time has been labor re
lations counsellor of the Interna
tional Labor Organization.
AFL AUTO UNION WINS
PAY RAISE IN MILWAUKEE
Milwaukee, W'is.—Local 232 of
the International Union of United
Automobile Workers of America
with the Briggs A Stratton Corp.
here which represents many dis
tinct gains for the union.
According to Anthony Doria, in
ternational secretary-treasurer of
the UAW-AFL, some of the better
ed conditions were: improved sen
iority rights, an added week of
vacation with pay for employes
with five years or more of seniority
with computation of vacation pay
also to take in overtime earnings;
wage increases of 18 1-2 cents an
hour or 18.7 per cent, whichever is
greatest for all employes, which
will mean a minimum increase of
18 1-2 cents an hour and a possible
27-cents an hour for higher rated
employes.
All wage increases, with the ex
ception of the tool room employes,
are retroactive to February 1,1940,