United Mine Workers Make Great Contract Gains WIRE ar WRITE <• Tor Goagrassaea ia Pratast Agiiast M AHTI - LABOR Rills! HARLOTTE . a d^o journal VOL. XVII; CHARLOTTE. N. C., THURSDAY, JULY 10. i94< Subscription $2.00 Per Year Southern Goal Operators Sign Pacts With Miners LARGE PAY BOOST. CUT IN HOURS, WELFARE HIKE, ARE REPORTED S.i—■ — ■■■ Washington, D. C. — The United Mine Workers Union signed a new contract, described as the “most beneficial” in the union’s history, and voted to return to work im mediately in the Northern coal mines. At the same time it was reported that the Southern operators, who formed the hard core of die-hard opposi tion to the UMWA’s terms, had capitulated and oniered their representatives to sign the agreements, and that at least ten of the f3 Southern operators had signed. Thus the threat of a nation-wide soft coal strike van ished and the coal miners gained the greatest collective bargaining advance in years. Pay increases provided for in the new pact are 46 cents an hour or $8.06 a day. - A near masic daily wait of $13jM is established and working hours are reduced from 9 to 8 with the lunch period increased troat. II minute* to a half hour, fa ad dition, UMW president Johu L. L€W1| I Iff pr MR| V crease in the royalty paid for the miner's health and welfare fund. The UMW escapes some of the harsh terms of the Taft-Hartley Act by the inclusion of a clause • stating that the miners will work when they are "able and willing to work," and through the elimi nation of penalty clauses and the "no strike” guarantee included in previous contracts. The dues check-off is continued, but on a ■ voluntary basis to conform to the requirements of the new law. The UMW- ’policy committee unanimously ratified at a night meeting the contract drafted at conference* between Mr. Lewis and the Northern coal operators during the July 4 weekend. No working time was lost between the expiration of the union’s con tract with the Government and the negotiation of the new con tract with the private employers because* the miners were on their annual vacation during the in terim. The agreement provides a wage increase of 46 cents an hour for the miners and other important concessions. . The agreement calls for a one year contract although th^ope rators had asked for a twio-year agreement. Other terms are as follows: A six-and-a-half-hour workday at the face of the coal. This Is arranged by having an eight-hour day from portal to portal in place of the prgsent nine-hour day. It would cover about one hour for travel time below ground and half an hour for lunch. The present lunch period is 15 minutes. The union welfare fund will be doubled. At present 5 cents a ton is deducted for this fund. At the 1947 production rate this means close to $30,000,000 a year The new agreement will provide about $60,000,000 a year. The operators agreed to the Federal safety code. The contract makes permanent the welfare fund originated under the UMW’s agreement with the Federal government. It will be administered by a three-member hoard of trustees composed of un ion and employer representatives and a neutral party selected by them. Mr. Lewis was designated the miners’ trustee and Ezra Van Horn, the employers’ trustee. Watt Workers’ Detente to letenatieial Later Meet Washington, D. C. — President Truman named Robert J. Watt, the AFL’s International Repre sentative, as American labor del egate to the International Labor Conference at Gwnsva/ Swltser land. His advisers are: James M. Duffy, AFL, East Liverpool, Ohio; H. W. Fraser, Railway La bor Executives Association, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; John T. Kmets, United Mine Workers of Ameri ca, AFL, Washington, D. C.; Pet er T. Schoemann, AFL, (Washing ton, D. C.; P. L. Siemiller, In ternational Association of Ma chinists, Chicago, Illinois; John R. Stevenson, AFL, Indianapolis, Indiana; and J. H. Sylvester, AFL, Chicago, Illinois. The conference lb composed of two delegates each from the gov ernment! of the 52 member States and one delegate each represent ing management and labor of the member States. Its principal function is the formulation of in ternational social standards in the form of International Labor Con ventions and in Recommendations. If a country ratifies a convention adopted by the conference it as sumes the obligation to take measures to bring its legislation into line with the convention’s provisions. Machinery is avail able to enforce the application by a country of the terms of a con vention it has ratified. • The matters with which the conventions deal cover a wide range. They include hours of work, the minimum age for em ployment, the working conditions of women and young workers, workmen’s compensation, social insurance, minimum wage-fixing machinery, social standards in non - self - governing territories, holidays with pay, industrial safe ty, statistics and subjects relat ing to immigration. By refer ence from United Nations the subject of trade-union rights is also on the agenda. ' MORE VETS SEEK TO BUILD Washington, D. C.—Although dropping off steadily since last fall, veterans’ applications for loans to build homes under the JGI bill rose 25 per cent in April over figures for the previous month, the Veterans Administra tion disclosed. “Seasonal factors" were attrib uted to raising the March total of 41,000 loan applications to 61',*00 for April. Total home loans ap proved during April were 6^,000 and only 2.281 defaults on loans were recorded. "" * ..!■ ■■!■■«■ I - II , BULLETIN NO. 1 (This information issued by the American Federation of Labor ex plaining the Taft-Hartley Act was prepared by the office of its General Counsel, Joseph A. Pad way.) Now that the Taft-Hartley Bill has become the law of the land, every' labor union in tne country uni oe faced with the tremendous tasx of understanding the very numerous and complex changes in the law and of adjusting their operations to these changes. In order to aid in this difficult task, the office of the General Counsel of the American Federation of Ijabor, will from time to time pre pare and distribute bulletins and memoranda advising our affiliates of their new obligations and of various steps they should take to protect their interests. This first bulletin is intended ' to anticipate and answer the mere important practical questions im mediately confronting labor un ions, including questions arising under those provisions of the new law which became effective when it was passed on June 23. At the outset, some comment must be made respecting the ap plication of the Taft-Hartley Act to the building trades industry and other local industries. As is wea known, the old Labor Board, as a matter of administrative discre tion, did not apply the Act to such industries. However, that cannot be relied upon as a guar antee that the new Board will follow the same practice. 1. What to the state* at ex isting agreements containing ^ All existing closed-shop, onion shop, maintenance-of-membership, or other union-security agreements entered into prior to June 23. 1947, are valid and enforceable for the full term of the agree ment, even though that agreement has two or three or more years to run. It is important to note, however, that if any such exist ing agreement is renewed or ex tended, automatically or otherwise, at any time after August 22, 1947, then the union-security pro vision U nd longer operative. Therefore, its is recommended that any presently existing agree ments containing union-security clauses which have more than a year to run be left untouched un less it is deemed more important to obtain a new agreement at the expense of union security. 2. May Unions negotiate new dosed - shop or union - security agree smuts? The new law on union-security agreements does not go into ef fect until sixty days after the enactment of the law, namely, August 22, 1947. Accordingly, until August 22 unions will re tain the same freedom they now have to negotiate any type of closed shop or union-security agreement but these can be made only for a period of one year. In the case of any existing un ion-security agreement having no more than ten months to run, it is suggested that unions attempt to renegotiate or renew; such agreement prior to August 22, 1947, thereby getting the benefit of the added year of union se curity. I 3. What la the status of chttk off provisions? All check-off agreements' ex | ecuted prior to June 23, continue in full force and effect until the expiration of auch agreements or until July 1, 1948. whichever date occurs first. Check-off provisions, unlike closed-shop provisions, may not be extended or renewed or negotiated after June 23, 1947. liter June 23 the new regulations on chock-off agreements which re quire individual authorizations go, into effect as do all agreements executed after that date. Any check-off agreement made after June 23, 1947, whether it be a new agreement or an extension or renewal of an old agreement, | must comply with the new lawj relating to checkoff provisions in order to avoid both criminal and Injunctive proceedings. After June 23, 1947, the only J lawful kind of chock-off agreement .hat may be negotiated is one whereby the individual employes. involved have given to their em-1 ployer written, individual authori sations, which authorisations may be revoked after one year or at :ne expiration of the agreement, whichever occurs first. What is rendered unlawful are the so-called “automatic” check off provisions whereby the em ployer, without the individual writ ten authorisation of each of the employes invoked, makes direct payments to the union. Such agreementa, if made after June 23, constitute a crime subject to a ft no-of $10,000 or a year's im prisonment, or both, and in ad dition, are subject to immediate injunctions without any of the protections of the Norris-La Guardia Act. (To be continued in inter issues) CALIFORNIA LABOR EDITOR8 PLAN PRESS CONFERENCE Sen Francisco. Calif. — Repre sentatives of AFL Councils pub lishing newspapers in nine coun ties. met to organise the North ern California AFL Labor Press Conference. Jimmy Hicks, editor of the Sac ramento Valley Union Labor Bul letin, was elected chairman, and Louij Burgess, editor of the East Bay Labor Journal, was elected Secretary-Treasurer. The officers of the conference were instructed to recommend that a similar organisation be set up in southern California, with a view to holding a state wide conference and working out meand of strengthening the AFL press throughout the state. VETO OF LABOR BILL ASKED New Brunswick, N. J. — The Cify Commission called upon ■sident Truman to veto the TOft-Hartley labor bill in the name of “fairness and decency,” declaring that the measure is nothing more than a vicious at tempt to reduce all of labor to a state of complete ineffective amts. The resolution added that the few labor abuses that exist could have been eliminated with single and specific legislation. House Freezes Tax For Social Security Washington, D. C.—The House passed unanimously a bill to freeze the social security pay rol’ tax at 1 per cent until I960. Representative Reed