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Give Year Loyal Support to Your Labor Publications Oldest Bona Fide AFL Newspaper in North Carolina VOL. XVIII; NO. 42 CHARLOTTE. N. C.. THURSDAY. MARCH 3, 1949 Subscription Price $2.00 Year TEXTILE WORKERS SET FOR SOUTHERN DRIVE Tuft-Hartley Repeal Nears Showdown; Anti-Labor Coalition Looms Committee May Approve Truman Labor Measure Washington. D. C„ March 2.—With public hearings over, the Senate Labor Committee is now hammering out the fi nal draft of the Thomas bill to repeal the Taft-Hartley Act and expects to report it out to the Senate within two weeks for debate and action. It is considered certain that the majority forces on the committee will approve a repeal measure satisfactory to organized labor. Only minor amendments to the adminis tration-supported Thomas bill, which was indorsed by the American Federation of Labor, are expected to be made. However, at least three minor ity members of the committee were reported working on sub stitute bills which merely "mod ify” the Taft-Hartley Act in stead of repealing it. Senators Taft, Ives and Morse—all Repub licans—are planning to wage bitter fights in the Senate to have that body adopt their pro posals instead of the committee bill. Efforts also are being made to get the three senators to agree to a single substitute bill. If that happens, there is con siderable danger of a coalition between Republicans and aeme Southern Democrats in support / of the Taft-Ives-Morse substi tute. AFL President William Green, Vice President George Harrison a*l other lpltfr , ladders wag preparing to undertake a vigor ous radio campaign to mobilise renewed public support for out right repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act. President Truman, himself, in his Jackson Day address, declared that he may be forced to “get on a train again” and take his case directly to the people, as he did during the last campaign, if Congress attempts to thwart his campaign promises and platform pledges for repeal of the Taft Hartley Act and the enactment 1 of liberal social and economic legislation. Meanwhile, it appeared likely that a Southern filibuster against the administration's anti-filibus ter rule for the Senate might crop up and delay all legislative action in Congress. (It has crop ■ ped up as of Monday of this week). Labor scored heavily in the fi t nal testimony submitted to the | Senate Labor Committee on the I Thomas bill, even though indus i try spokesmen had the floor most of the time. » At the conclusion of statements I submitted by representatives of the National Association of Man ufacturers and the United States Chamber of Commerce, Senator Morse bluntly accused them of t adopting an “un-Christian atti ,tude” toward labor and refusing islation which would give the na tion’s’ workers a fair break. This charge, coming from an inde. pendent Republican Senator whose views on Taft-Hartley repeal dif fer in many respects from those of organised labor, put a devas tating crimp into the validity of the testimony of the industry witnesses. One of the most effective wit nesses for T-H repeal was Ger hard Van Arkel, former counsel for the National Labor Relations (Continued On Page 4) President Hits ‘Diehards’ Blocking Liberal Laws Washingon, D. C., March 2.—President TVuman, in a slashing attack against “die-hard reactionaries/’ accused them of trying to cripple labor unions and thwart his en tire program of progressive social legislation. In his Jackson Day “victory dinner” address here, the President threatened to stump through the country to force congressional enactment of his campaign pledges if obstruction by “the special interests” continues. Mr. Truman emphatically repeated his support of the en tire Democratic platform, with special stress on repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, which was, he said, “an insult to the working men and women of this country.” The special interests, he said, “are using every trick they can think of to defeat our labor policy,” but he warned that they could not succeed because “all the oratory in the world won’t change a bad law into a good law.” Obviously hitting at Senator Robert Taft of Ohio, the President continued: ‘The same die-hard reactionaries who want to cripple labor unions have also started a campaign of confusion against all our other measures for the welfare of the peo ple. They say they are for extending and improving social security—but they call our proposals a bureaucratic system that will destroy the charactter of every American. “They claim to be in favor of housing—but they say our low-rent housing program is a mistake because it does too much for low-income families. “They make speeches about the American home—but they encourage landlords to lock out their tenants until rent control is repealed. “They say they are in favor of good wages—but they argue that the minimum wage should be held down to a, starvation level. “They claim to be in favor of developing our great river basins—but they raise the old cry of ‘super-state* against every practical step we propose.” He expressed confidence that, “despite efforts to con fuse,” the programs he espoused would be enacted. t /r /swY fair!,.. 77UG A/S STICK AW Ay/ X / Sts* 9m MACWMfSF-IAM. Fleming Asks U. S. To Acquire Needed Public Building Sites CALIFORNIA EMPLOYMENT IS LOWEST IN TEN YEARS San Francisco, Cal.—In Janu ary of this year the sharpest drop in California factory employment since 1939 was reported by the State Director of Industrial Re lations, Paul Scharrenberg. He described the reductions as both seasonal and nonseasonal. The percentage of layoffs amounted to about 5 per cent, cut the number of production work ers from 480,700 in December to 457,600 by the end of January. Mr. Scharrenberg said the pri mary steel industry appeared to be an exception to the downward trend. In industries making durable goods, the layoffs were greatest in lumber, iron and steel fabri cating machinery, furniture and shipbuilding. Food products and apparel were most affected in the nondurable goods industries. CARAMAR WORKERS SAY PAY HIKE IS ESSENTIAL WORKERS SAY Toronto.—Canadian wage-earn ers are campaigning vigorously for pay increases this year in or der to combat the severe reduc tion in the value of the worker’s wage dollar which has taken place in recent years. Soaring living costs are cre ating dissatisfaction and unrest, the Canadian Trades and Labor Congress declares. It is “urgent ly necessary,” the Congress adds, to secure substantial wage in creases during 1949 “in all indus tries and trades.” Canadian workers are not shar ing equitably in the vast pro duction improvements made dur ing the past decade, the CTLC charges. While labor in Canada, in seek ing higher wages, has to appear before government boards and plead for just treatment, a brief prepared by the CTLC points out that industry is “practically un controlled” and increases prices “arbitrarily." Washington, D. C.—A $40,000, '000 program for the purchase of sites and preparation of plans i for currently needed federal build ings throughout the country was advocated by Maj. Gen. Philip B. Fleming, Federal Works Admin istrator, testifying before a Sen ate Subcommittee on Public Works. “For years I have been preach ing to the States and their polit ical subdivisions that they ought to have plans on the shcl ’ pre pared, ready to go when the time comes when employment is needed in the construction indus try," General Fleming said. “I would be remiss in my duty if I did not take the same position with respect to the Federal gov ernment. “It takes a considerable period to acquire a site and design ade quate plans for a Federal build, ing. I recall that when I was executive officer of the Public Works Administration at the start of the Roosevelt adminis tration and when we had $3,000,- ' 000.000 for a public works pro gram it was 18 months before we had 100,000 men at work on that program because we had to go through a process of acquiring sites and preparing plans. "So, on this proposed legisla tion, since I have preached it for States and political subdivisions, I think we certainly should ac quire sites and complete plans in the Federal government. We can not prepare plans unless we have the sites, because we cannot pre pare plans for an unknown site. “While our construction indus try is at present almost fully oc cupied, although we do find peo ple in the building trades now looking for jobs, the time will come, I am very much afraid, when we will not have as full em ployment in this industry as we have today. Some of the unem. ployment could be taken up with public buildings, Federal public , structures and Federal and non Federal public works. “Our population since the last building program has risen about II or 12 per cent and in some sections a great deal more. Post* (ConUaaed On Page 4) SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS INJUNCTION AGAINST FIRM VI0LAT1M6 LABOR STATUTE Washington, D. C.—The Su preme Court ruled that the Fed eral Wage-Hour Administrator may use a civil contempt action to force an employer to pay back wages which the administrator contends were unlawfully with held. Justice Douglas delivered the 7-2 ruling. Justice Frankfurter wrote the dissent, joined by Jus tice Jackson. The ruling specifically affects the Jacksonville Paper Co., of Jacksonville, Fla. A United States District Couit in 1943 enjoined the company from violating the minimum wage and maximum hours provisions of the Federal wage-hour law. Three years later the administrator asked the District Court to hold the company in civil contempt on the ground that it used vari ous practices to violate the law. The District Court found viola tions by the company. It said, however, that since its earlier judgment had not pointed speci fically to any particular practices as illegal, the court could not find the company in contempt. “To constitute civil contempt,” the District Court said, “there must be some evidence of a will ful and intentional violation of a court order.” GLOVE WORKERS OBTAIN FIVE PER CERT INCREASE Ballston Spa, N. Y.—An 8 per cent wage increase for employes of the Acksand Knitting Co. hero has been announced following ne gotiations between the company and Local 137 of the AFL Glove Worker^ Union. Earl Willi, local president, said the old contract would be con tinued “with some changes an<j adjustments.” The new contract, which includes a union shop agreement, would become effec tive Feb. 1, he said. Executive Board Calls For $1 Minimum Wage Atlanta, March 2.—The United Textile Workers of Amer ica, AFL, Executive Council, concluded its mid-winter ses sions in Atlanta with resolutions urging the organization of all textile workers in the South and a $1.00 per hour minimum wage law. “Our Southern Organizing Drive,” said Anthony Valente, international president of UTWA AFL, “is the most important job ahead of us. We have been overwhelmed with requests for organization in recent days.” DANIEL T. CRUSE TO AID SHISHKIN IN PARIS Washington, D. C.— Daniel T. Cruse has been appointed as trade union relations representa tive on the staff of Boris Shish kin, chief of the labor division of the Office of the Special Repre sentative in Paris. This was an nounced by Economic Co-opera tion Administrator Paul G. Hoff man. Cruse, who is president of Local V94 of the International Brother hood of Electrical Workjprs. AFL, Chicago, has left for Paris to take up his new duties. He will be responsible for maintaining close relations with Europear trade unions with a view to bring ing to them a better understand ing of the European Recovery Program and enlisting their co operation in the plan. From 1944 to 1947, Cruse wai labor relations adviser to the Chi cago regional administrator of the Office of Price Administration. He had long experience in labor relations problems, having repre sented electrical workers on the Illinois Central railway system under the National Railway La bor Act and employes of the Postal Telegraph Company un der the Wagner Act. The resolution urging the or ganization of all Southern textile workers condemned the “raiding” CIO tactics and charged that the CIO was seeking to bolster its faltering drive by efforts to take over AFL locals. The UTWA-AFL Board called for re-enactment of the Wagner Art with certain amendments. One amendment was the demand for the extension of the non communist affidavit to employers 1 as well as union officers. The I UTWA-AFL Board was not op posed to this Taft-Hartley fea ture if it would apply to employ ers also. It .was understood that support of this requirement was forthcoming because it would exclude 11 CIO Unions stilt under communist domination or which are pro-communist would not be able to use the services of the NLRB. The UTW' Council lashed out at thf Soviet satellites of Hun gary and Bulgaria and denounced them as Communist gangster “states for their destruction of freedom of worship, the right to religious organisation and free, dom of conscience, as exemplified in the trial and sentencing of Cardinal Mindzenty in Hungary and the trial of the Protestant leaders in Bulgaria. The Board also went on record in favor of the North Atlantic Pact which is currently up for discussion between United States and Canada, and the western (Continued on Pago )) Picket SignsNow Identify Enemies Of Chi Printers Chicago, March 2.—Identification of strikebreaking typ ists by name and address on union picket signs has proved effective in the International Typographical Union's’ strike against the major Chicago daily newspapers. Since the printers struck on Nov. 24, 1947, the papers have continued to publish, substituting for movable type a <ew process. Typists write stories in flush columns on vari type machines. The stories are then pasted up into pages, the pages are photographed, and the picture is printed. Three weeks ago, the union began experimenting with a picketing technique beamed directly at the varitypiats who were scabbing on the union printers. Though begun on a small scale, it will be extended if the publishers persist in their stubborn resistance to the union’s demands, said John Colbert, strike committeeman. The experiment began with the varitypists in only one department of one newspaper, the classified advertising de partment of the Chicago Tribune, biggest and richest of the five struck papers. Varitypists crossing the pickets’ line of march in front of The Tribune Tower one fine morning saw their names and addresses in large type on the pickets’ signs, along with Jack London’s definition of a scab. A busband who saw his wife’s name on a picket sign asked the pickets if they would remove it if he went into the building and brought her out. They would. He did. . Several varitypiats quit outright. Several others report ed themselves ill, and did not show up for work. The Tribune, self-styled champion of freedom of the press, complained bitterly when the union turned on the pressure with a picketing and card-passing campaign near the homes of a few selected varitypists. Still going strong after 15 months, the printers’ strike is probably the longest continuous strike of its size by any skilled craft in history, although the same local union’s strike against the huge Donnelly printing house, begun in 1905, never has been called off officially. Issues of wages and jurisdiction are still the principal obstacles to settlement of the strike against the dailies.
