Newspapers / The Charlotte Labor Journal … / Sept. 25, 1947, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
■IIE tr ■IITI to Tnr CwpiinM to Pretest Ajiiisl All ARTIUI01 Bills! LABOR JOURNAL VOL. XVU; NO. 20 CHARLOTTE. N. C„ THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 25. 1047 Subscription $2.00 Per Year DENHAM WILL NOT BUDGE ON‘RED’ RULING Executive Council Maps 1948 Political Campaign AFL LEADERS DEMAND ACTION TO HALT INFLA TION, CALL FOR 4-POWER PARLEY TO PLAN PEACE, REAFFIRM NEED FOR LABOR UNITY Chicago.—The AFL Executive Council voted to launch an intensive political campaign in 1948 to defeat labor’s enemies and bring about repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act. President Willianl Green predicted at* a press conference that the forthcoming San Francisco Convention will over whelmingly endorse the council’s recommendations and vote a substantial fund to carry them out. \ While the council’s specific plans will not be made public until its report to the convention is released, Mr. Green outlined the general program as follows: 1— To conduct a vigorous reg istration drive go that all 'work ers and those friendly to labor’s cause will be qualified to vote in the 1948 elections. 2— To create special committees operating in every election ^ward and precinct to see to it that qualified voters in the ranks of labor go to the polls and cast their ballots on election day. 3. To set aside election day as a non-working holiday, either by legislation or by agreements with employers, so that all wage earners will have the opportunity to vote. Mr. Green declined to estimate how large a fund will be required to carry on these activities. He said that would be up to the con vention to decide. He indicated that the convention also will be asked to determine whether a seperate political organisation shall be created or whether the campaign machinery ehaU be op erated through city central bod ies and state federations of la bor. in reply to questions, nr. ureen said the extent to which the fed eration will enter primary cam paigns will depend on the circum stances in each case. “Make no mistake about it,” he said, “the Taft-Hartley Act will be the big issue in 1948 and we are certain that the voters in each congressional district will have an opportunity to\ register their mandate on that particular issue.” Told that Senator Robert A. Taft, of Ohio, had declared that the Taft-Hartley Act, of which he was co-author, would not be a political issue in 1948, Mr. Green tartly responded: “If Senator Taft made that statement, he ia the only man in the country who sees in that way. So far as labor is concerned, the Taft-Hartley Act is the big issue. We will do everything in our power to defeat those members of Congress who voted for it and to elect a new Congress which will repeal that obnoxious law.” Other decisive actions of the Executive Council at its midsum mer session here neared conclu sion were: 1—An insistent demand for prompt action to halt inflation and reverse the alarming and contin uing price boosts which are lift ing the cost of living to record heights. 2—Sharp warning that the world is headed toward another war which the United Nations ap pears powerless to avert and an appeal for a new four-power con ference to reach a showdown with Soviet Russia and preserve worl3 peace. • 3—Reaffirmation of the AFL’s policy toward the CIO, with the flat declaration that organic unity and an actual merger of the two organizations must take place be fore there can be any collaboration on political, legislative and eco nomic issues. In explaining the latter deci sion, Mr. Green said: “In the present emergency fac ing the labor movement, the pri mary requirement is to end the division and disunity and bitter ness which prevail in the rank* of labor. There must be an end to raiding and the waste of Onion energies and financial resources in (Continued oa Page S) ANTI-LABGR FORCES ACTIVE IX STATES AND MANY ANTI LABOR LAWSJRE PASSED Washington, D. C.—The states took their part in the anti-labor crusade of 1947 by enacting vari ous types of laws restricting the activities of trade unions. Briefly reviewing these laws, the Labor Department issued an analysis of the action taken by the various states in the field of in dustrial relations. Legislation enacted included “right - to - work" or anti-closed shop laws, restriction of strike activities, prohibition of second ary boycotts and jurisdictional strikes, anti-picketing laws, and the regulation of labor relations in public utilities. In some eases omnibus laws covering a wide variety of subjects were enacted. Fourteen states adopted laws prohibiting he closed shop or oth er types of union security. Most of them provide, in general, that the right to work shall not be denied or abridged because of membership or nonmembership in a labor union. The majority of them ban contracts which require membership or nonmembership as a condition of employment. The severity of the restrictions varies considerably from state to state. The Massachusetts law does not prohibit the closed shop, as such, but does deny it under conditions in which it is shown that union members did not have an oppor tunity to exercise their full vot ing rights in consideration of the issue. Legislation tp restrict or regu late picketing or other strike ac tivity was passed in a number of states. Under the Deleware, North Dakota, and Utah laws, picketing is permitted only if the majority of the employes have voted in favor of a strike. In Delaware, Missouri, North Da kota. Oregon, and Utah a strike is unlawful unless approved by* a majority vote of the employes. In 11 states, laws were enacted making secondary boycotts illegal. North Dakota declared boycot ting, secondary boycotting, and sympathy strikes against , he pub lic policy and subject to injunc tion proceedings and damage suits. The Texas law prohibits secondary strikes and secondary picketing. In Massachusetts, boy cotts which force the commission of an unfair labor practice are unlawful. California, Massachusetts, Mich | igan, Missouri, and Pennsylvania enacted laws calling for, the set tlement of jurisdictional strikes through the arbitration technique, through recourse to the injunctive process, or by order of a state agency. Labor relations in the public utilities field was considered by 10 states which passed laws con taining restrictions in strikes and providing severe penalties for any violations. Strikes by public employes were banned by laws enacted in 4 states. In Minnesota, employes tof charitable hospitals are in (Please Tam to Page 4) Industrialist Warns Enemies Of Labor i Washington, D. C. — Robert Wood Johnson, one of America's leading industrialists, sounded a warning to his fellow business leaders. Mr. Johnson, chairman of the board of Johnson A Johnson, manufacturers of surgical dress ings, cautioned businessmen that continued hostilities between la bor and management may result in doom for the free enterprise system. In a recently published book en titled. “Or Forfeit Freedom,” Johnson argues that to avoid dis aster, “we must chart a new course in which labor, manage ment and the public will join ef forts, putting our economic sys tem to work at peak efficiency.” “If we don’t get private enter prise going, we shall have some other system forced upon us, not by revolutionaries from’ Europe, but by popular demand,” he in sists. “Americans have seen what their productive power can do; they will never again submit meekly to the misery and stag nation of the 1930’s.” Condemning the brutal tactics used by some business leaders in the past to combat unions, John son pointed out that many of these leaders still rule private corporations. “That explains why some of these men continue to bedevil un ions,” he says. Warning against the spread of class warfare now engaged in only by small minorities of labor and business leaders, Johnson says: “One way to bring it about U to impose such drastic controls on labor that the majority will join the relatively few now en gaged in open conflict.” Mr. Johnson does not confine his criticism to the activities of business leaders. He is critical of what he regards as poor prac tices on the part of some unions and their leaders, but he believes that genuine labor management corporation can overcome many , of the faults he detects. While critical of some of la bor’s policies, Johnson still main-1 | tains that “the basic ills of the business system stem from busi ness itself.” He warns employers against I trying to crush unions on the pre text that they have “bad” leader-! ship. He asserts: “Unions will not be knocked out j by anything short of a revolution that will first destroy all em ployers.” “Workers may be bitterly dis appointed with this or that union but they have not lost faith in un ionism. On the contrary, they are more convinced of the neces sity of unionism than ever be fore." Another highlight in' Johnson's program is his advocacy of an 87 % cent minimum hourly wage. No family in America, he argues, can subsist on less than $35 weekly. Johnson’s program also calls for elimination of monopoly; re 1 duction of prices to the lowest possible levels; construction of modern, healthful plants to re place eyesores, and many other reforms. In short, he says, business must be guided by a code of "total service” to the people, and labor, must do its part unstintingly or private enterprise will not sur vive. MARGARET TRUMAN OK’D AS MEMBER OF AFL UNION New York City.—Margaret Tru man, daughter of the President, became a member of the AFL American Guild of Musical Art ists, when her application for membership was accepted by the union’s board of governors, a union spokesman said. Miss Truman, who has made one public appearance as a con cert singer and a radio broadcast, will receive her membership card “soon,” the spokesman said. EMPLOTERS FRIO Tn BE mum MMY OF THE WISE SWO_HOUR LAWS Washington. D. C.—The Labor Department announced that more than half of the establishments inspected under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Public. Contracts Act violated provisions of the taws. The inspectors of the Labor De partment looked over the books of 40,350 establishments and found that 20,570, or 51 per cent, were in violation of the major provisions of the two laws, mini mum ware, overtime or child la bor. A total of 550,000 establish ments are covered by the two laws which affect some 21,500, 000 persons. Thus, the number of places inspected were 7 per cent of those covered. These in spections were made on the basis of complaints and studies indicat ing industries where violation ex isted. The inspectors examined the books of the concerns for a four year period. William P. McComb, adminis trator of the two laws, said that more than $18,000,000 in illegally withheld wages was found due 311,236 underpaid employes. Of this amount $8,864,000 was paid at the request of the divisions or on court order by nearly 15,000 of the violating employers. The re maining 5,000 employers failed to pay the back wages due under the/ acts. The announcement stated that the inspections also showed the following results: “Most violations—affecting ap proximately 14,000 employers and 175,000 employes In the restitu tion—resulted from failure to pay for overtime work beyond forty hours a work-week at the rate of at least time and one-half the em ployes’ regular rate of pay, as required under the Wage and Hour Law. “Of the employers making res titution over 2,700 owed back wpges to some 37,000 of their employes who at some time dur ing the period covered by the in spections had not been paid in (Please Turn to Page 3) TIME EXTENSION SAVES DISMISSAL OF 5.000 CASES BY NLRB Washington. D. C.—Robert N. Denham, general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, stood pat on his ruling that all top officers of the AFL and the CIO must file the non-Communist affidavits before any affiliated unions may appear before the NLRB. Meanwhile, Denham gave union officers until October 31 to file the required oaths that they are not Communists, provided they request such an extension. Under the dead line originally set the NLRB would have throw’n out dearly 5,000 cases this week for non-compliance with the edict HIGH MATERIAL PRICES RETARD BUILDING OF NEW AMERICAN HOMES Washington, D. C.—The United States is building only about half the homes it needs because of high prices of materials and con struction. This was attested to by the Government’s top housing Experts who appealed before a Senate House Committee on Housing. Included in the group were Hous ing Expediter Frank Creedon, Raymond M. Foley, administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency, anfd H. E. Riley, chief Labor Department statistician on construction. The housing problem must be solved, and speedily, the authori ties warned, because a genera tion or children ft frowTng up under such "vicious” housing con ditions that not only their own welfare but that of the nation is threatened. The picture u it now stands is something like this, according to the experts: The United States needs 1,500, 000 new homes a year to provide a minimum of decent housing for its citisens. The market will take only about 820,000, however, because prices are so high that only this num ber can be sold. There are not enough materials now to produce even one million now dwellings a year. Based on the index of 1927 in other words using prices of 1927 as 100 per cent—wholesale building material prices now av erage 177 per cent. But lumber, for example, is now 269 jjej" cent, and has increased 169 per cent. High prices in large part go back to the old law of supply and demand and profit. There are certain shortages. These are primarily soil pipe, nails, gypsum and lumber. Creedon told the committee that in some cases boards of directors m any given industry hesitate to give the go-ahead signal for in creasing production facilities for fear of over-expansion. Congres sional conferences might resolve such doubts, he declared. Another important factor, the round table found, are antiquated building codes in some 2,000 cit ies. Some experts estimate that adoption of better building codes would cut building costs immed iately by 5 to 10 per cent, and cause'"feven greater cuts, in the future. Restrictive practices on the part of both management and labor contribute to building costs, the round table said. The current labor force in the building trade is inadequate — 1,700,000 workers. The number of apprentices, more than 100,000, is also inadequate. In some cases management is unwilling to train enough apprentices. Production is slowed by lack of enough young blood in the labor force. l This is particularly true of the masonry trades, where census figures show the average age of the worker is from 52 to 55. Denham stood by his interpre tation despite AFL protests that it illegally discriminates against unions over which AFL officers have no control. He said: ‘*1 don’t want to appear stub born about this. But I have giv en long and careful consideration to the Taft-Hartley law and there isn't any other ruling to be made tffi the non-Communist affidavit requirement as I see it. Maybe the courts will differ with me. But no one yet has been able to convince me that I’m wrong. There appears to be no solution to the existing stalemate, as long as Denham maintains his stand, prior to the AFL convention set for October 6th in San Francis co. While moves have been made to test the validity of the Den ham ediet, there is no assurance of a break in the immediate fu ture. A. Pamvay, hied a strong petition with the NLRB calling for revo cation of the interpretation. He acted in behalf of several AFL unions which claim their rights before i the NLRB are illegally denied them by the ruling. In another test, the Interna tional Brotherhood of Electrical Workers appealed to the NLRB a decision of an NLRB- regional director that the union was in eligible to utilize the board’s services because of the action taken by the AFL Executive Council in refusing to sign the required affidavits. I he executive Council refused to comply with the interpretation and branded the Taft-Hartley law as “reprehensible, vicious, and de structive of the civil and legal rights of workers.” Two Republican Senators, Taft and Aiken, challenged the cor rectness of Denham’s ruling. Senator Taft said there is no “legislative history” of the law which would justify the inter pretation. Senator Aiken termed the ruling “silly” and called for an amendment to the law to mod ify and clarify the provisions re lating to the Communists affi davits. t The pressure brought by unions influenced Denham to postpone the original deadline for the sub mission of the affidavits by those unions willing to sign. They complaned that too little time had +>een allowed for all national and local officers to obtain the forms and file them with NLRB in the time allotted. LAW SEEN FORCING POLITICAL ACTION Atlantic City, N. J.—The Taft Hartley law compels the Ameri can Federation of Labor to enter the political field, according to Louis P. Marciante, president of the New Jersey State Federation of Labor. Addressing the opening session of the federation’s 69th annual convention at the Hotel Ambas sador, Mr. Marciante bitterly de nounced the act before the 800 delegates. “As the faw stands today, un ions that attempts to live under it will be mutilated, and those that do not will be destroyed,” he de clared. “The AFL, which has shunned politics in the past, Is now con (Con tinned On Page 4)
The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 25, 1947, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75