mmm WITH TOUR CENTRAL LABOR UNION X AND THE N. C. FEDERATION NOW! — Working For A Better Understanding Between North Carolina AFL Unions and Employers of Labor Charlotte Labor Journal * ; > . .... . A Newspaper Dedicated To The Interesta of Charlotte Central 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 pres*, the labor movement would not be wrhat 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. 39 CHARLOTTE, N. C- THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1947 Subscription $2.00 Per Year CHARLOTTE LABOR CONDEMNS ANTI-CLOSED SHOP LAW FOR NORTH CAROUNA WORKERS AFL Sees Danger In Flood Of Punitive Labor Bills Asserts Such Measures And Lower Production Miami, Fla.—Launching organized labor’s, first major of fensive against oppressive legislation, the AFL Executive Council warned Congress that enactment of the punitive measures now pending would shatter existing peace on the industrial front and could precipitate a new wave of strikes. The Executive Council issued a sweeping blast against the anti-labor bills now |looding the Congressional hoppers as the AFT* leaders concluded their first season of their mid-winter meeting here. Promising to analyze these bills more specifically later and to expose the fallacies and dangers they contain, the AFL chieftains confined their opening statement to a general indictment of this type of legislation on the following counts: 1. Tnstwtd sf entering stsihs>, IB>^WN—d regulatory laws would have the opposite effect. 2. They would interpose bureaucratic federal agencies between employers and their employes and usher in a new system of government controls that would be more op pressive to the American system of free enterprise than anything the Nation has ever before experienced, even in war tjme. 3. They would jeopardize immediate prospects of real izing full and uninterrupted production, which is the key to future prosperity. 4. The sponsors of such legiislation are either ignorant of the dangerous potentialities contained therein, or are motivated by a vengeful desire to cripple and destroy the trade union movement, regardless of the great harm caused to the Nation in the process. Would Striie Repudiating this kind ox ap proach to the solution of labor management problems, the Ex cutive Council promiaeed toi draft a legislative program of ita own for submission to Congress. The objectives of this program, the Council said, would be to “raise the standard of living of our country and to strengthen the protections at our social security | astern against the hazards of old age, illness and destitution.” Moving to other business mat ters, the Executive Council ap proved an application for the granting of an international on ion charter to the Airline Dis patchers Association, a small group of highly-skilled techni cians in air transportation. The Council authorized an ed ucational program to offset at tempts to influence ex-servicemen against unions. It also voted a $20 weekly, increase in pay for full-time organizers on the AFL staff. The Council also had under con siaeration an invitation irons tne International Transport Work ers’ Federation, with headquar ters in England, to affiliate with that organisation—a bid regarded by some reports on the lalyor scene as carrying important sig nificance in the politics of world labor. It is the understanding of the AFL leaders that the transport workers regard the Wrold Fed eration of Trade Unions in the same unfavorable light with which this organisation has been viewed by the AFL, which refused to participate in the WFTU on grounds that it was dominated by the Soviet. In announcing that the AFL Council was “sympathetic” to in vitation of the transport work ers, President Green said the. bid was being passed along to the un ions directly concerned. These groups include the railroad craft unions, the teamsters, and the street car and bus employes, whose combined membership runs above tfiOOfiOO. AFL Experts See Better Days Ahead Washington, D. C.—Ths current year should bo a period of high pormise for American workers if collective bargaining can be pursued to establish wage in creases without raising prices and if living costs can be reduced, it was declared in the AFL Monthly Labor Survey for January. Emphasising the chief ta#k of American workers this year is to raise “real wages,” the report saw grave danger to American labor if it makes unusual de '*• mands upon management. It de eland flatly that industry cannot afford a 15 per cent wi|« to* crease this year and asserted saeh a proposal by the CIO "is a moot irresponsible policy.” Reviewing the outlook for 1947 the report said in part: "This is to be a year of prom ise and of danyer for American workers. Promise because wise policies can raise workers’ living standards to the highest level ever reached Danger: because industry has a difficult adjust (Contiseed oa Page 4) Green Praises St. Louis Unions For Good Work • St. Loius, Mo.—John I. Roll in**, executive secretary of the Central Trades and Labor Union of St. Louis and Vicinity, has received a letter from AFL Pres ident William Green warmly fe licitating that organization on the splendid labor record it has proven by its survey of labor management relationss in that area. Some months ago it was sug gested by a daily newspaper in that city that a committee be established to adopt a plan for settlement of labor disputes. Not satisfied that such a committee was needed, the Cenrtal Trades Union undertook a survey of its total agreement* (companies) negotiated, 10,117; without strikes, 9,069; with strikes, 488; percentage without strikes, 95.6; percentage with strikes, 2.2; pos sible man-days to be worked, 27399,406; actual man-days worked, 27,608,128; man - day* lost as result of strikes, 811,283; percentage of man-days actually worked, 98.9; percentage of man daps lost, 1.1. "Wu here in St. Louis feel,1* Mr. Rglling* informed Mr. Green, "that there is available adequate machinery to aid employers and unions in reaching agreement through negotiations, and no ne cessity for a local committee for settlement of industrial disputes. We have excellent conciliation service in this area, staffed by e.. eient people." la his letter of commendation, Mr. Green said: "I And this an exceptionally worthwhile study. To give facts of this kind to the American pub lic is an important service, and I can only hope that more cen tral labor unions will follow youf example. When the public knows the constructive work of the AFL and our ability to secure gains for workers without a strike, it will bring to us greater recogni tion of the value of our organi sation in the Nation’s life." BUS EMPLOYES 6BGANBE Atlanta, Ga. — More than 800 bua employes in the Atom Bomb area at Oak Ridge, Temu, mem* Ren of the Amalgamated Associ ation, of Street and Electric Em ployes have been organised. The employes of Leo Coach Lines, Al bany, Ga., and the LaG range Coach Co., employes have also joined the Amalgamated and have been placed in Division 732 of At lanta. i! Text Of AFL Statement The Executive (found! is highly gratified by reports from all over the natioip>that the reconversion of labor-manage ment relations to a peace-time basis is constantly, improv ing. An era of good feeling is setting in on the industrial front. Unions and employers are showing a returning con fidence in their ability to cope with the mutual problems through peaceful collective bargaining and without any need for outside intervention. Today industrial strife is definitely on the wane. The number of current strikes and lockouts is almost negligible. America faces a great op portunity of establishing lasting labor-management peace and sustained full production. The chief disturbing factor in the situation at present is the threat held out by Congress of enacting sweeping legislation which would entirely disrupt the normal pro cesses of collective bargaining and stir up widespread in dustrial unrest. Demands for such legislation have gained support be cause of the wave of strikes and lockouts which took place last year after the war ended. The Executive Council wishes to emphasize that the industrial disturbances of 1U46 were not a normal development but a passing phe nomenon resulting from a national economic upheave!. The change from a wartime to a peacetime way of life could not have been accomplished without severe dislocations in the way of prices, wages and labor-management relations. It would be a tragic mistake, for Congress to use the ab normal occurrences of 1946 as the basis for reorganizing by ill-considered’and punitive legislation the whole system of free and effective collective bargaining which has been built up step by step over more than half a century and which has been built up step by step over more than half a century and wnicn represents the only democratic process of assuring a square deal to workers, employers and the public as a whole. The Executive Council intends at this session to analyze the major legislative proposals pending before Congress with detailed attention to their specific provisions. At the moment we wish to make only a few* genera] observations on these bills: - 1. That, instead of reducing strikes, they would have the opposite effect. 2. That theyi would usher in a new system of Govern ment controls that would prove more oppressive to the American free enterprise system than anything our nation has ever before experienced. , 3. That they would jeopardize immediate prospects of < realizing full and uninterrupted production which is the key to postwar prosperity. I 4. That the sponsors of such legislation are eUher ig j norant of the dangerous potentialities contained therein or • are motivated by a venegeful desire to cripple and destroy I the trade union movement regardless of the great harm it would cause to the nation. j Instead of a negative and destructive approach, the Ex 'ecutive Council urges Congress to adopt a broader and more profound view of the needs of the American wage earner. Y Even a casual glance at what is happening in other coun tries throughout the world should prove that Toryism only breeds class warfare and is not the answer to America’s future. To protect our free way of life and to promote the welfare of the American people, we must raise the standard ot living of oijr country and strengthen the protection^ of our social security system against the hazards of old age, illness and destitution. The Executive Council plans to draft a legislative program carrying out these objectives during its current session. . 20,000 On Air Networks | Benefit By New Contract New York City—Inert—■ of 20 to 30 per cent in the pay rnte of union members ore provided in n contract signed by the Amer ican Federation of Radio Artists and the . four national networks. The agreement is the culmination of four months of negotiations. The new agreement will be ret roactive to November 1 and will continue through October, 1948. Its benefits will be shared 1*y 20, 000 members of the AFRA, an iffiliate of the AFL. The most controversial provi ■ion of tho now poet relates to stations affiliated with tho net works. Originally the union had sought a clause prohibiting a net work from feeding programs to a station declared “unfair” by the union, a stipulation that the Mt works had' insisted amounted to a “secondary boycott” or "the un ionising by employers of other employers,” * The final provision ■ accepted by the networks, as summarised by the union in a statement, follows: (Continued on Page S) . 4 Central Labor Union Passes Resolution To __ ... Combat House Bill A resolution strongly con demning House Bill No. 229. a proposed anti-closed shop measure for North Carolina, was unanimously passed by Charlotte Central Labor Un ion at its regular weekly meeting this week, in a meet ing hall in Labor Temple which was filled to capacity I with the delegates from Charlotte A. F. of L. un ions. This was Charlotte Labor’s answer to the pro posed anti-labor measure which was signed by Repre sentatives Scott of Beaufort, Martin of Martin, and Hath-j away of Gates counties, or ^ any other anti-closed shop! proposal which may be intro duced before the 1947 legis lative session. It was the sense of the dele gates attending the CLU meet ing that there is absolutely no necessity for such a hysterical law in North Carolina due to the fact that North Carolina employ ers and workers have through the yeara been able to amicably settle their differences through collec tive bargaining, in the greater majority of cases. The discussion also brought out the fact that Governor Cherry in his message to the 1947 session of the Gen eral Assembly reported that la bor-management relations in North Carolina during his' term of office have been very satisfactory as a whole. The letter ordered sent to the North Carolina legislative repre sentatives, together with the resolution, follows: Charlotte* N. C. February «. 1947. Hon. Joe L. Blythe. Senator. Hon. Harvey Morns. Hon. Frank K. Sims, Hon. E. D. Tonniaon. Hon. Janies B. Vogler, Mecklenburg County Representa tive*. North Carolina General Assembly. Raleigh. N. C. Gentlemen:* Enclosed please find a resolu tion virogously condemning and branding as un-American any anti-cloeed shop proposal which may be introduced before the 1947 session of the North Caro lina General Assembly, but spe (Please Turn to Page 3) TW A Pilots Assured $1,000 Per Month Chicago.—Member* of the Air Line Pilot*' Association (APL) on Trans World Airline*' four engined Constellation and Sky master planes, won the unanimous approval of a three-man arbitra tion board in a pay and rules dis pute which puts the pitpta into the 91,000-a-month salary brac ket First pilots flying "trsns-world airline overseas routes will re ceive from $926 to 91,100 a month, depending on seniority, on the basis of 900 flyling hours a year. This is sn increase of 910 a month. Additional flying will be paid at 913-00 an hour. Their co-pilots will receive 9290 to 9020 a month, an increase of |t with an additional 900 a month for those qualified in celes tial navigation. Ort domestic routes, first pilots flying Constellations will be paid on a formula involving base, hour ly and mileage pay. On the basis of 80 hours et flying a month, this will produce about 91,000 a month, a rise of 900. Their co-pilots will receive 940 more, for a total from 9280 to |4<0 a month. The decision, announced by Frank M. Swacker, a lawyer of New York, board chairman and neutral memlfer, was filed with the Federal District Court here. It is binding on both parties for at least a year, and its pay swards are retroactive to No vember 15, 194®, wnen tlM arbi tration agreement waa signed. The agreement ended a 25-day ■trike of pilots, which grounded 116 planes. Besides Mr. Swacker the board included Robert N. Buck of West field, N. J. for the pilots, and • George A. Spater of New Talk, counsel for the line. The dispute involved wages and rules only of personnel flying the company’s Skymasters and Con stellations, about 260 of the lias’s 1,400 pilots and co-pilots. Company representatives said the increases would cost the air line about |16,000 a month. In announcing the award Mr. Swacker said he was “impressed by the fairness shown by repre sentatives of both the pilots and the carrier not merely because of the effect on this one case, but because it affords a Aria basis for continuing good employe re lations in this young aad aggres sive Industry.1* The award provides that the company pay pilots’ trip ex penses; moving expenses overesaa and within the international divi sion after two and one-half years at one base; sickness and in jury benefits of 75, per cent of pilot’s salary the first seven days and full pay thereafter; foreign cost of living" differentials equal ly with other TWA employee, and month’s vacatiorf for pilots *»eted overseas and two weeks for those here. ^