AFFILIATE WITH YOUR CENTRAL LABOR UNION AND THE N. C. FEDERATION NOW! r'"~ ; VOL. XVI; NO. 43 7 Working For A Better Understanding Between North Carolina AFL Unions and Employers of Labor Charlotte Labor Journal A New*paper Dedicated Ta 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. "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 is a traitor to tho cause."—Samuel Gompera. CHARLOTTE. N. C, THURSDAY, MARCH 6. 1947 Subscription $2.90 Per Year ■>ays Authors Of Anti-Labor Legislation resent ‘Defeatist And Negative’ Attitudes ! I Disputes Panel jsSelected Washington, D. C.—Announce ment by the Labor Department of selection of a panel of 160 labor • arbitrators, cleared for competence and impartiality by both labor and management, was hailed in industrial circles as a definite step toward motf wide spread acceptance of voluntary ar bitration throughout the Ameri can industrial Held. The announcement, made by Edgar L. Warren, director of the U. S. Conciliation Service, was re garded as a long stride toward further advancement of the prac tice broadly accepted during the jevar of umpire settlement of la *bor-management differences. Cre ation of a pool of accepted arbi trators, spokesmen, for both sides in the labor-management picture, said, was one of the most marked advancements toward voluntary arbitration. It is expected to eliminate charges of Labor De partment bias. Warren said. This panel is made up entirely of men recommended by regional labor-management advisory cem^ tnittees operating tat the i^fen legions of the Conciliation Service and by the National Labor- Man agement .Advisory Committee. Almost M percent of the agree ments between labor and manage ment, it is estimated, include clauses providing for the use of an arbitrator whenever the parties are unable themselves to settle differences arising over the inter pretation of the language of their contract. The General Motors, Ford and Chrysler contracts, the garments trades’ agreements, and many others provide for impartial umpires. The use of voluntary arbitra tion to settle disputes over new contract terms, however, is still comparatively new. “When an employer and a un ion have agreed voluntarily to submit their dispute to arbitra tion but are unable to. agree on the arbitrator,” Warren ex plained, “the Conciliation Service, 11J:« CARD fpu or Your family will Meed Your Social Security Card to Apply A for Social Security Benefits. A £&&£» GofUtdt ^ur Union Social Security Committee. Nearest Social Security Office. Federation Attacks Extension Of Laws To Import Workers Washington, D. C. — Vigorous opposition to pending legislation which would extend for one year, until June 30, IMS,' the emergency law permitting importation of foreign farm labor into the United States, was expressed'before the House Agriculture Committee by two leading spokesmen for the American Federation of Labor. | Walter J. Mason, AFL national legislative representative, and H. L. Mitchell, president of the National Farm Labor Union, sharply condemned the proposal as unwarranted, an injustice to veterans seeking work, and a plan which would prove extremely cost ly to American taxpayers. “The American Federation of Labor is firmly opposed to this or any other legislation providing for the importation of foreign la bor, particularly at a time when unemployment is increasing daily and is mow well over the two mil lion mark,* Mason told the com mittee. Mlt is our considered judgment that it will be a men ace to labor in this country aad become a serious threat to ear entire economy. “Since IMS Congress has ap propriated over *1P0,00©,P00 to this program. The coot of recruiting, transporting, bousing and guar anteeing of wage to foreign work ers for another year would cost in the neighborhood of $28,000,000 to $60,000,000. Surely, it is not tenable two years after the end of hostilities to spend this addi tional sum on a vra^thne emerg ency problem which no longer exists, Particularly is this tree in view of the fact that the major 1 portion of foreign labor recruited under this program is provided for large corporate farmers, beet sugar industry, and to some ex tent commercial processors. “The farm wage rates for tbs entire country on January 1, 1*47, averaged $4A3 per day without board. Rates per day without board were about $8 in the Pa cific states and averaged less than $4 in the South. The lowest rates are paid in the east-south central states, whree they aver aged $3.28 * per day without board. (Farm Labor Bulletin January 13, 1P47, United States Depart ment of Agriculture.) “Although the Department of Agriculture maintained that this > program has not brought about I a reduction in wage rate*, there ia no assurance that the,contin uation of this pniraak^ill not preserve a statua quoybflow the wages that might Wobtained by domestic farm labor if normal competition were permitted. “The supporters of thia bill are organisations representing large commercialised farm interests of this country. They expect Con gress to continue a program which will subsidise large scale farm operations at the expense of Unemployed domestic farm la* borers. This would make it pos sible for them to maintain a sub standard wage in this industry through a threat of bringing ia foreign laborers. • “It is the opinion of the Amer ican Federation of Labor that serious consideration should be given to the possibility of utilis ing the funds and provisions of this bill to recruit and furnish domestic labor from depressed rural regions for use in peak sea sons in areas of scare labor sup plies.” Mitchell, echoing Mason’s warn ing, told the committee: “This Mil, which would permit continued importation of foreign labor for exploitation on the large scale industrialised farms of the nation, is the most wasteful and extravagant piece of legislation i that this Congress may bs called upon to consider. “During the war there could be some justification for bringing in workers from Mexico, the Brit ish West ladies, and other for eign countries, to help out ia arena where severe labor ahor “Over a million American ex servicemen are now back on the farms and available for such em ployment as may be offered to them. Surely Congress ia not going to continue a program that will take jobs away from these ex-servicemen and give them to foreign nationals instead.” NEBRASKA CLOSED SHOP BAN IS CHALLENGED BY THE A. F. L. Lincoln, Nebr. —•, A test suit challenging the constitutionality of Nebraska’s anti-closed shop amendment, approved last Novem ber, has been filed here by the American Federation of Labor. Vote Bans Pay Suits Washington, D. C.—Legislation declaring “null and void” the |5, 786,000,000 Nation-wide accumula tion of portal-to-portal pay claims —and prohibiting any further such portal pay actions—has been approved by a Senate Judiciary subcommittee. It is expected to go before the Senate within a ' week. The subcommittee, acting unani mously, declared Congress should act promptly to “cure the situa tion” which it said threatens “financial ruin” of many employ ers and serious effects in Federal, State and local revenues. Tho bill would outlaw present claims arising from activities per formed outside the working day as understood by contract, custom or understanding, and bar such claims in the future. ~ Besides prohibiting what it calls windfalls,” the bill would require that all claims for wages and overtime under the Wage-Hour Act must be instituted within three years after the claims arise. The hill is in two main parte: ' 1. Barring the portal 'suits. 2. Making them unprofitable. The second part was written, Wiley explained, as insurance against the first part being knocked out in court, it would be inoperative otherwise. But if it is invoked, the second section would: 1. Bar collection of extra dam* 2. Require that euita be filed by * workers individually, rather than in croups. 3. Relieve the employer af paying the claimant’s attorney. 4. Shift the buaden of proof to the employe. 6. Recognise past settlements and permit future ones. The subcommittee, which also included Senators Cooper (R* Ky. and Eastland (D., Mias.), said it believed the retroactive section would stand the test in court. In addition, the report said, it is clear that Congress can cut of future portal pay claims, la that connection, the group laid down this fyiwfflstios "In general, time spent by an employe in activities engaged in before the commencement of and after the tormiaation of his scheduled work day will not bo compensable working time in the future unless compensable by reason of a contract, custom, practice or understanding." The report made it clear that portal time of the United Mine (Workers will not be affected by the bill because it is covered by contract. The bill does net attempt to define what constitutes work, but the sub-committee gave seeso clarifying examples of the effect of its provisions. JANUARY FIRE LOS8ES SHOW SHARP INCREASE . New York—The National Boned of Fire Underwriters report a sharp increase in fire looaea in the nation during January. The esti mated looses fop the month to taled $57,180,000, an increase of 1441 per cent over the same month in 1945. Waste by fire in the year ♦»>«* ended with January was $568,- ' 859,000 or 23.5 per cent greater than in the previous twelve months and 77 per cent greater than in 1939. It was the I yearly increase since 1939.