I /
CHARLOTTE
LABOR JOURNAL
VOL. XVII; NO. 50
CHARLOTTE, N. C., THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1918
Subscription $2.00 Per Year
LOWER WITHHOLDING TAX
EFFECTIVE MAY 1 UNDER
LAW PASSED OVER
TRUMAN’S VETO
Washington.—“Take-home” pay
for the average American work
er will increase on May 1 when
employers start to withhold taxes
at the lower rates provided for
in the new tax law enacted by
Congress over the veto of Presi
dent Truman.
Disregarding Mr. Truman’s
warning that the tax cut will
serve to weaken the United States,
crushing majorities in both the
Senate and House voted approval
of the measure. w
The $4,800,000,000 reduction in
taxes for 54,000,000 taxpayers si
effective retroactively to January
1 of tihs year. Refunds for the
extra tax collected through the
withholding process from that
date until May 1 will be paid in
March, 1949, when final income
tax returns for the calendar year
1948 are filed.
Some 7,40,000 taxpayers in the
lowest brackets will l>e dropped
from the rolls entirely! The re
maining 47,100,000 Will benefit
from* ihcnsiml eaamjpl&m* and'w
cat in the tax doe after all other
benefits have been figured.
The law allows:
.1 An increase from $500 to
$600 in the personal exemption
for each taxpayer and dependent.
2. A special extra exemption
to bring the total to $1,200 for
those who are blind or 65 or more
years of age.
3. Extension of the so-called
“community property” principle,
now ini force in 12 states, to all
48. Husbands and wives may
now split up tehir combined in
come for the purpose of figuring
taxes, even if one spouse earns
all the money. This can result
in tax savings ranging from 2.93
per cent to 40.5 percent in addi
tion to all other cuts in the law.
4. Approximately 7.400,000 tax
payers who earn less than $700
are removed from the rolls alto
gether.
5. There is a 12.6 per cent cut
on the first $2,<g)0 of taxable in
come (after deductions and exem
ptions). There is a 7.4 per cent
cut on that part of tne income
above $2,000 and up to $136,700.
Above $136,7000 the cut is 5 per
cent.
- 6. A new national system for
gift and estate tax liability is es
tablished, including a community
property provision.
WINS WAGE INCREASE
New York.—The AFL's Sea
farers International Union won
wage increases ranging from
%V0J62 to $32.27 a month for em
ployes serving on dry cargo ships
operated by six shipping con
cerns.
Paul Hall, secretary-treasurer of
the onion, said “several thousand”
men would be affected by the
agreement readied under a wage
reopening clause in a contract ex
piring July 31.
The union will seek the same
terms from 28 other companies,
Mr. Hal] declared,. and will soon
commence negotiations with ope
rators of passenger vessels. -
t' 'A'
AFL President William Green, with key in hand, and
group of AFL leaders as they opened national headquarters
of Labor’s League for Political Education at 1525 H. St.,
SL, across from the White House, in Washington, D. C.
Attending meeting of state federation of labor representa
tives to discuss setting up o( state branches of LLPE were
v the following, from left to right: Reuben G. Soderstrom,
x president. Illinois Federation; John Reid, secretary, Michigan
Federation; Car! Mullen, president, Indiana Federation; and
William Nagorsn*. secretary, and George A. Haberman,
president, both of the Wisconsin Federation.
TAFT-HARTLEY INJUNCTION HITS AFL UNION
A prize example of gross injustice perpetrated under the
Taft-Hartiey Act was afforded the nation when the De
partment of Justice teamed with a recalcitrant corporation
to obtain an injunction against the Atomic Trades and
Labor Council, an AFL group representing a thousand
workers at the atomic bomb laboratory at Oak Ridge, Tenn.
The injunction, issued by Federal Judge George C, Tay
lor at Knoxville, restrains .the union workers for 80 days
from quitting their jobs—even though they had offered to
arbitrate their dispute with the Carbine and Carbon Chem
ical Corporation, which operates the plant for the Federal
Atomic Energy Commission.
The workers at the laboratory have a union contract
with the Monsanto Chemical Corporation which formerly
operated the plant. When the Carbide and Carbon Chemi
cal Corporation recently took over operation, it sought to
change provisions in the contract in order to make them
conform with contracts the corporation has with other
unions in other plants.
This would have meant, union officials charged, sharp
reduction in standards. Sick leave benefits would be cur
tailed, vacation standards cut and a 15 cent wage differen
tial in favor of laboratory workers w;hich has been in ef
fect traditionally because of the hazardous nature of their
jobs would have been wiped out.
Union negotiators protested vigorously against these
changes, but found the company stubbornly unwilling to
negotiate or to arbitrate the issues. At the request of the
government, the union agreed not to strike and to maintain
the status quo pending attempts to resolve the dispute, but
these failed.
At this point, with threats of court injunctions in the
air, a telegram was sent to President Harry Truman
by James A. Brownlow, secretary-treasurer of the AFL
Trades Department and Kenneth Scott, representative of
the Atomic Trades and .Labor Council.
Meanwhile, moves were initiated on Capitol Hill to forbid
by new legislation any strikes by workers at atomic bomb
plants. It was presumed that this proposed legislation
would establish some machinery for the peaceful settlement
of disputes by negotiation and arbitration.
UNIONS’ AGREEMENT ON
JURISDICTION PERMITS TEL
EVISING OF STAGE SHOWS
New York.— An agreement be
tween two AFL unions avoided :
a possible jurisdictional dispute
! which would have interfered with
| plans for televising scenes from
! current theatrical performances
J now running on Broadway.
The AFL’s International Broth
! erhuod of Electrical Workers and
| the International Alliance of The
1 atrical Stage Employes agreed on
a virtual 50-50 split within the
1 various job classifications involved
in producing the elevision broad
casts.
The first program will original
from the Alvin Treater when part
of the play “Mr. Roberts,” and
backstage interviews will be tele
vized over the Columbia Broad
casting System. Each of the 2
unions will furnish practically
equal numbers of cameramen,
control men and other technicians.
On a wide front, both these
AFL internationals have been
seeking jurisdiction in the televi
sion field. The IATSE claims it
is kindred to the entertainment
of screen and stage, while the
IBEVV claims it is kindred to ra
dio. Among video technicians
represented by the IATSE are
those in the DuMont Studios,
while IBEW has the television
technical staff at CBS.
The even split on the new show,'
firts to emanate from the stage
employes “home grounds,” was
worked out following conferences
between 1A President Walsh and
IBEW President Dan W. Tracy.
Since both of tehm are interested
in television’s progress, neither
wanted to obstruct the “Tonight
on Broadway” program. The un
ion arrangement, at present, is
limited to the first three weeks.
After that, it may be extended or
altered.
For some time, Walsh and Tracy
have been attempting to resolve
jurisdictional problems between
their two organizations. Recently
they signed an agreement settling.
a dispute of many years’ standing
in the Hollywood film studios.
There, as in most such settle
ments. specific job classifications
were assigned to each union.
UNCLE SAM RETURNING
LEASED WAR HOUSING
Washington.—More than 40 per
cent of the privately-owned prop
erties leased by the government
during the war for conversion in
to housing for war workes have
now been returned to their own
ess, the Public Housing Admin
istration announced.
A total of 8,830 properties,
many of them previously of non
residential nature, were leased in
the Homes Conversion Program
and remodeled into dwelling units
for 49,613 war worker families.
More than 3,600 leases have now
been terminated.
All good unionists will want
to go to the Union-Industries
Show! It’s a date! Meet me in
Milwaukee in 1948.
JNCW i orK.—i-atmv unions aim
civic groups joined in criticism
of the night-stick swinging tac
tics used by New York police
against union pickets stationed
around the Curb and Stock Ex
changes here where members of
Local 205 of the AFL’s Office
Employes International Union are
on strike.
David Dubinsky, president of
the International Ladies Garment
Workers Union, said the situation
revealed a “shocking state of af
fairs” and requested the New
York Police Commissioner not to
allow the use of the police as a
strikebreaking agency.
The ILGWU president an
nounced at the same time that
he was sending $5,000 in con
tributions as strike support to M. •
David Keefe, president of Local
205; the union whose members
are on strike. Of that sum $2,500
was given by the ILGWU Cental
Office and $2,600 by the .
York Joint Board of the #vi<*e8
makers, Union, ILGWU. * ^p“
Price
“This strike deserves t fuiiy
support of the entire laborts jn
ment,” Mr. Dubinsky said. re„
a time when indfcstrirl v sub.
are enjoying the benefits
ent wages and job security
from collective bargaining i.?*
ion protection, white eollaii^ *
ers at the financial he* at^8'
America and the world li *
just cause. Their claims \ Jn\%,
from real need. The position
taken by the Wall Street leaders
in forcing their woncers to strike
for minimum protection cannot be
to0 strongly condemned."
The strike took place after of
ficials of the financial stock ex
changes remained adamant in
their refusal to grant wage in
creases and the union shop.
Employes of the exchanges had
previously won union shop au
thorization elections contacted by
the National Labor Relations
Board by overwhelmingly large
majorities. This expression of
desire *»n the part of the em
ployes for a union security pro
vision made no impression on the
employers, however, since the
Taft-Hartley law does not com
pel them to actually grant the
union shop.
MAYOR PROCLAIMS
UNION LABEL WEEK
Sacramento, Calif. — Recogniz
ing the importance of the contri
bution of labor to the community,
Belle Cooledge, mayor of this
city, issued a proclamation desig
nating the week of May 10-16 as
Union Label Week.
This action follows the lead of
the AFL Executive Council which
voted enthusiastically at its last
meeting in Miami to sponsor the
observance of Union Label Week
in connection with the Union-In
dustries Show which will take
place in Milwaukee, Wiaconsin
from May 10-16.
Declaring that the city of Sac- **
ramento has co-operated closely f
in ips working relationships witkK
organized labor, Mayor Cooled*,
said “the union label sta**' ~d "*
any product has becom^o be
nized as a badge of ho* ats.