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CHARLOTTE
VOL. XVIII; NO. 37
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< HARLOT TL. N. THURSDAY. JANUARY 27. 1949
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Subscription $2.00 Per Year
Executive Council To Weigh Legislative Action
Only Four Days Left Of
March Of Dimes Drive
Have you contributed your dollar or your quarter or
your dime to the March of Dimes campaign yet? If you
haven’t only three days remain of the campaign, unless
the campaign directors decide to continue the drive on for
another week. There has been some talk of this, due to
the fact the amount of the total contributions is far short
of the $100,000 goal set by the National Foundation for
Mecklenburg county.
Do you remember the terrible epidemic which swept our
State and county last year? Has that been so long ago
until you have forgotten all about the hundreds and hun
dreds of victims who were smitten by polio? Let’s hope
that we will never witness such an epidemic again in our
history. At the same time we do not know what is in
store for our community this summer. Come forth with
your contribution to this worthy cause in order that you
may do your part to help those who are now in the hos
pitals. The cost to maintain the present patients runs
around $5,000 per month, and you see for 12 months about
$60,000 is needed to hospitalize them. This, of course,
does not provide anything for those who may become
victims this year. The demand is great. Your help is
sorely needed. Let your dollars slide into headquarters
today!
A large list of gifts, donations of Charlotte and Meck
lenburg county firms and individuals, is on file at the head
quarters office and these gifts will be awarded to the win
ning contributors when the campaign comes to a close. Top
ping the list will be a four-door Buick Custom Roadmaster
Sedan, which will be^ awarded the contributor who submits
the lucky line to complete the Jingle, which accompanies
this article. Altogether more 4han $15,000 in prizes are to
be given away by the donors. An impartial list of judges
has been selected to select the contest winners.
Anyone is eligible to compete. All he or she needs to do
is add the last line of the four-line jingle, the first three
lines of which appear in the accompanying entry blank.
The line contributed may rhyme with any of the other
three, officials of the contest announced.
All entries should be mailed to March of Dimes Head
quarters, 127 East Fourth Street, Charlotte, N. C.
The prizes off erred in the jingle contest are:
First—1949 new Buick Sedan, valued at over $3,000.
Second—Complete Basic American Central Kitchen, in
stalled, donated by A. K. Sutton, Inc.
Third — Complete Laundry Assembly, consisting of ofie
deluxe Bendix washer; one deluxe Standard electric ironer;
one deluxe dryer, gas or electric, together with another
prize; one hydraulic Kaiser dish washer, all the gift of the
Southern Appliance Company, and can be seen on display
at Bridges Furniture store.
There are several other prizes. See the sample jingle at
the bottom of this column, complete it and let your con
tribution be in dollars instead of dimes.
The following are the county workers who are assisting
County Chairman Mrs. Ralph Miller:
Mrs. Joe Craig, Oakhurst; Hugo Sapp, Davidson; Mrs.
Lee Kearns, Long Creek; Berdette King, Hickory Grove;
Mr. and Mrs. Byrum Faires, Robinson; Mrs. A. B. Connell,
Arlington and Clear Creek; Mrs. Carl McEwen, Mint Hill;
Mrs. Lucille Thompson, Mint Hill; Miss Gladys Warnock,
Huntersville and Mrs. R. H. Atwell, Cornelius.
Perhaps there are many people who do not know that
there are many polio victims of the 1948 epidemic who are
in the hospitals here and throughout the State. The local
and national funds were exhausted in providing atten
tion for the stricken ones by last fall, and the National
Foundation has assigned larger quotas to North Carolina
counties this year than ever before because of the great
number of polio cases in this State. Your dollars and
dimes will certainly be used to aid those victims who re
main to be cared for and also others who may be attacked
by the disease will require the same careful attention.
Turn your dimes into dollars and march forward doing
your part to aid these unfortunate ones!
COMPLETE THE JINGLE AND HELP FIGHT POLIO
Complete this jingle, enclose your contribution and
mail to March of Dimes Headquarters, 127 East Fourth
Street, Charlotte, N. C.
My contribution is in dollars this time
Instead of the usual dime;
To fight polio harder than ever
Because .
SUBMITTED BY
Address .
1
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— CopjrnfM 1H» TW MACHIMttT—LKM.
AFL Prepares To Protect
Workers If Slump Comes
WASHINGTON— I
The American Federation of
Labor is studying a proposal for
a 30-hour week as a means of
spreading employment and main
taining 60,000,000 jobs in the
event of a slackening in the pres
ent business boom.
This was announced by Daniel
W. Tracy, president of the AFL’s
International Brotherhood of Elec
trical Workers and head of the
AFL’s shorter workday commit
tee, which was created to study
the employment problem.
“We don’t know how long pres
ent employment will continue,”
Mr. Tracy added, “but we must j
be prepared to move toward a
shorter work week when the
Marshell European recovery plan
and the rearmament program
are no longer sufficient to carry
us along.”
He declared that the drive for
a shorter work week was only in
the “preparedness stage,” and that
the union had a “tremendous ed
ucational job” both among lal>or
and management to “sell” them
on the idea.
While there had been some
slackening in employment and
some cutbacks in production re
cently, he said that economic
conditions generally were expect
ed to remain good enough to de
lay the start of the real drive
until the AFL's convention next
October.
A series of layoffs rcentjy de
veloped in the textile, shoe and
other "soft goods” industries. The
railroads also have been laying
off men because of a drop in rail
traffic.
The ultimate goal of the AFL’s
program is to maintain 60,000,
000 jobs and to stave off the kind
of mass unemployment that re-*
suited from the depression in the
1930’s.
The “watchdog” committee, Mr.
Tracy said, was made up of the
research staffs of the AFL, the
Electrical Workers and other un
ions. The group will make its (
first report at a meeting of the
parent union’s executive cpuncil
in Miami on January 31.
The committee was authorised
by the AFL’s 1948 convention.
It is studying the possible im
pact on employment of any cut
back in the European Recovery
Program or a cut in defense
spending if peace should be re- j
stored to the “world.
In addition, the committee is
weighing the probable effect on
the job market of rmproved pro
duction methods, including time
and motion studies, incentive sys
tems and similar proposals for
boosting output per man.
Mr. Tracy said that the AFL
was not opposed to these methods
as long as they did not destroy
the worker’s earning power and
as long as the union had a voice
in setting wage standards.
He held that the fears of some
industrialists that a shorter work
week would lead to a drop in
production were groundless. In
fact, the drive for a 30-hour work
week, he said, very well might
guarantee a better distribution
of the increased production stem
ming from mechanisation of in
dustry.
LABOR ARBITRATION CASES
REPORTED UP 21% IN YEAR
New York.—An increase of 21
per cent in the number of labor
disputes settled through resort to
the American Arbitration Associ
ation was reported for 1948 by
the association.
The number of disputes in
creased in 194H, compared with
1947, the organization said in its
twenty-second apnual report,
which said that the arbitration
record in such circumstances was
evidence of ’’substantial recogni
tion" of the value of AAA pro
cedures by both management and
labor.
Union Industrial
Show To Be Gala
Event This Year
Washington—The Union Indus
tries Show of 1949, sponsored by
the AFL’s Union Label Trades
Department, and under the direc
tion of I. M. Ornburn, promises
to be one of the most brilliant
attractions of the coming year.
This was apparent from a
statement released by Mr. Orn
burn on plans for the show which
will be held this year in the gi
gantic auditorium in Cleveland,
Ohio, from May 18 through May
22.
Commenting on the forthcom
ing gala event, Mr. Ornburn de
clared:
“The luxurious dwptays of un
ion label goods and interesting
demonstrations of union services
will dramatise the art, skill and
utility of the wondrous products
made by manufacturers which
(Continued on Page 4)
WINTER MEETING TO PLAN STRATEGY ON
DOMESTIC, FOREIGN ISSUES
Miami.—The AFL’s Executive Council will meet here Sat
urday for its annual mid-winter session to map plans for
the implementation of the broad social program which the
AFL adopted at its 67th convention held last November
in Cincinnati.
The top leaders of the 8,000,000-member AFL will have
a host of important questions placed before them of both
domestic and international significance.
11.000 Production
Workers Dropped
In Calif. Layoffs
San Francisco. — Factory em
ployment in California declined
by almost 11,000 production work
ers between November and De
cember, according to the Cali
fornia Department of Industrial
Relations. The drop in employ
ment was due not only to the
decline ini seasonal employment,
such as canning, food processing
and, lumber, but also to sig
nificant losses in furniture and
iron and steel. Employment in
manufacturing in December 1948
was 478,200 or 2,200 below that
of December 1947.
Every branch of the durable
goods industry, with the excep
tion of ship-building and aircraft,
either decreased- or remained un
changed between November and
December.
The Los Angeles County' indus
trial area was almost unaffected
by the decline in employment as
gains in the food products indus
tries offset losses in other groups.
Area factory employment amount
ed to 244,000 production workers,
or 600 above that of December,
1947.
Employment in the San Fran
cisco Bay industrial area, how
ever, showed a decline of 900, to
109.000 in December. 1948, and
was almost 12,000 below the year
ago total.
The State Department of Em
ployment reported that the num
ber of Bay area workers receiv
ing unemployment benefits was 6
per cent higher than in December,
1947. Despite the settlement of
the maritime and waterfront dis
putes, the number of workers re
hired aws less than the number
1 laid off in other fields in Decem
ber.
in auatuon to me council ses
sions. meetings have lwen sched
uled for the AFL’s international
relation^ committee, and for the
administrative committee of La
bor’s League for Political Edu
cation.
First on the legislative agenda
for the council is a discussion of
the proposals placed before Con
gress for the repeal of the Taft
Hartley law and the enactment of
i new labor legislation. It is ex
pected that the council will take
all possible steps to assist in
bringing about the early repeal
of the anti-labor law and the re
enactment of the Wagner Act
prior to any action on new labor
1 statutes.
i
In addition the council will give
full consideration to the inflation
crisis which, despite the reported
drop in some prices, still consti
tutes a serious threat to the av
erage wage earner and to the na
tion’s economy. The big question
will be whether the AFL leaders
will go so far as to support Pres
TflWit Truman’s request for stand
by price controls.
Other legislative questions of
great importance to the AFL are
those dealing with the extension
of the social security system and
improvement of the benefits pay
able under the present law; the
proposal for the adoption of a
new national health insurance
plan to provide adequate medical
care for all; the lifting of the
minimum wage; and housing and
rent control legislation.
In the international relations
field the council will discuss the
recent split in the ranks of the
World Federation of Trade Un
| ions and will consider the big
question of whether a new dem
| ocratic world labor organization
1 can be formed.
In a review of United States
foreign policy, the council is ex
pec ted to urge the continued
building up of a strong national
! defense force, and the continua
tion of the Marshall Plan as a
! means of bringing about a stable
Europe. In addition, the group
' may discuss the President’s pro
1 posal for the development of new
! areas of the globe to promote
world peace and prosperity.
The council will hear a report
on labor conditions in the Canal
Zone which will be submitted by
i Anthony E. Mats, president of the
International Brotherhood of Fire
men and Oilers, who with Sera
fino Romualdi, the AFL’s Latin
American representative, made a
recent inspection trip of that
area.
On the political front, a dele
gation representing the state fed
erations of labor in the southern
states will discuss with the coun
cil ways and means to push for
the repeal of the anti-labor, “lit
tle Taft-Hartley laws" rammed
through state legislatures by
foes of the labor movement. This
drive is gathering momentum
with some successes already re
ported in various states.
The LLPE committee is expect
ed to discuss plans for the vast
educational program planned by
the AFL’s political arm during
the next year in preparation for
the most important congressional
elections in 1950.
PRIZES TOTALINGMORE THAN $15,000 WILLBE AWARDED BY LOCAL FIRMS