CHARLOTTE LABOR JOURNAL
VOL. XIX ; NO. 16
CHARLOTTE. N. C„ THURSDAY, AUGUST 25. 1949
Subscription Price $2.00 Year
LLPE TO ASK TWO DOLLAR CONTRIBUTIONS
FOR THE COMING 1950 ELECTION CAMPAIGNS
- — — - — " ■ ■■■■■■■■ ■ -—--—: * a
Labor Dept Gets Employment Service
As Senate Votes Reorganization Plan
Washington—The United States
Employment Service, kicked
around like a football for yean,
has finally been booted back to
the Labor Department.
This eras accomplished when
the Senate upheld President Tru
man’s proposal to transfer the
agency, together with the Un
employment Insurance Service,
from the Federal Security Agen
cy to the Labor Department.
The move, long supported by
the American Federation of La
bor, came as a victory for the
Administration after its earlier
defeat in efforts to create a new
Department of Public Welfare.
The all-too familiar coalition of
reactionary Republicans and
I Southern Democrats killed this
i_ proposed reorganisation plan by
a vote of 60 to 32. —
Secretary of Labor Maurice J.
Tobin, hailing the transfer of the
new functions'to his department,
declared the action wan “* great
step forward in bringing about
greater efficiency in government
and in strengthening the nation’s
economy.” He said that steps
would be taken soon to return to
the department other labor func
tions in a program to rebuild the
agency “to its greatest useful
The Administration triumph
scored on a 57-32 vote, meant
that six of the seven reorganisa
tion proposals submitted by
President Truman in line with
recommendations of the Commis
sion on Organisation of the Ex
ecutive Branch of the Govern
ment, headed by former Presi
dent Herbert Hoover, would go
into effect. These included:
Transfer of the Bureau of Pub
lic Roads to the Department of
Commerce.
Reorganization of the Post Of
fice Department, with greater au
thority vested in the Postmaster
General and greater assistance
provided for him.
Transfer of the National Se
curity Council and the National
Security Resources Board to the
Executive Office of the President.
Make the chairman of the Civil
Service Commission the executive
officer of the commission.
Make the chairman of the Mar
itime Commission the chief ex
ecutive and administrative officer
of the commission.
The measure to put the bureau
of Employment Security and af
filiated services, as well as the
Federal Advisory Council and
functions of the Veterans Place
ment Service Board, into the La
bor Department had the strong
support of Hubert Humphrey of
Minnesota. Its chief opponent
was Senator Irving Ives of New
York .
RETAIL CLERKS WINNING
NUMBER OF ELECTIONS
Lafayette, Ind.—Evidence that
the Retail Clerks International
Association. AFL. is aggressive
ly pursuing its announced or
ganizing drive was pointed out
by James A. Suffridge, secretary
treasurer. He cited the fact that
during July the International As
sociation was on the ballot in 37
board-supervised elections. Of the
37, 32 were won, four were lost
and one ended in a tie.
Since May 1, when the organ
izing campaign began, the asso
ciation has been on the ballot in
80 elections, 46 of them for union
recognition and the remainder
seeking union shop authorization.
A total of 75 per cent of the 80
ended in victories for the AFL
Retail Clerks.
PITTSBURGH PLANS
LAMB DAY CELEBRATION
Pittsburgh.—Plans for s huge
Labor Day parade in protest
against the failure of Congress
to repeal the Taft-Hartley Act
were announced here by the Pitts
burgh Central Labor Union and
the Joint Council, No. 40, of
the International Brotherhood of
Teamsters.
Committees in charge of the
demonstration predicted the pa
rade would be the greatest show
of worker strength in the history
of the Tri-State area.
All of the 250,000 local union
members of the AFL in the Pitts
burgh area will be called upon to
participate.
This Labor Day parade will be
the first to be held in Pittsburgh
since prewar days.
In deciding on the demonstra
tion, its sponsors declared a firm
conviction that there can be no
hope of future progress nor the
enjoyment of the free way of
American life for the wage earn
ers of our country while Taft
Hartleyism in any of its devious
forms remains on the statute
beoks.
The full impact of these rea>
tionary laws have not yet been
felt by labor generally but as time
goes on their various provisions
can stifle the growth of organised
labor, weaken the trade union
movement in the land and make it
increasingly difficult for Amer
ican men and women to keep their
heads above water.
At the same time, President
James L. McDevitt, president of
the Pennsylvania State Federa
tion of Labor, said:
“The answer to labor’s sharp de
feat on T-H repeal lies in more
and intensified political action be-!
tween the nation’s working men
and women and their union or
ganization.
“The defeat of organized labor j
by the 81st Congress in its effort
to repeal the T-H law will weld
organized labor into a smooth run- j
ning political organization by 1950.1
In Pennsylvania, 700,000 members
of the American Federation of
Labor will answer this challenge
at the polls. A successful 1949
campaign is vital to prepare labor
for the 1950 test.”
JOBS FOR WOMEN HUNTED
BY DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Washington—The Women’s Bu
reau of the Labor Department
said it was making a field study
in ten cities to determine the
amount of parttime employment
available for women.
Its agents have visited Rich
mond, Va., and are now in San
Francisco. The employment sit.
uation also will be studied in
Syracuse, N. Y.. New York.
Worcester, Mass., Dallas. Tex.,
Milwaukee, Wis., Columbus, Ohio,
Des Moines, Iowa and Denver.
The information will be made
available to vocational counselors
college placement agencies and
various women’s organisations.
THE BRIGHT SIDE
Two Irishmen were using dyna
mite in a stone quarry when one
was killed by an unexpected ex
plosion. His friend was given
the job of conveying the news to
the widow.
“Mrs. Flanagan.” he began. “Is
this not the day the man will be
calling for your husband’s life
insurance.”
“Sure, it is that,” replied Mrs.
Flanagan.
“Then, ’tis yourself that can be
snapping your fingers at him,”
the friend responded cheerfully.
wrows TMiarr
few
12 French Trade Unionists
Here To Study U.S. Methods
Washington. — Twelve French
trade unionists are among the
froup of 17 representatives of
France’s heavy electrical equip
ment industry which arrived in
New York recently. The croup;
is the first frofn France to cornel
to the United States under the
Economics Co-operation Adminis
i—«tion’s industrial technical as
sistance project to study produc
tion meti.?Hs here.
The French as’.-'gation was met
by ECA officials and represents- j
tives of the French Embassy,'
after which it proceeded to Phil-!
adelphia. A three-week seminar1
will be conducted for the men
there, including lectures, confer
ences. industrial motion pictures,
etc. This program will be sup
plemented by plant visits. Bert
M. Jewell and Clinton S. Golden,
ECA labor advisers, will address
the group during the seminar.
Labor relations is high on the
list of interests expressed by the
men during advance planning for
the trip. Opportunity will be af
forded for them to meet with un
ofTicials and rank and filers
ion
during their stay. They will study
trade union organization and
methods, collective bargaining and
contract negotiations, grievance
procedures, etc. In addition they
will observe apprentice training
methods, safety programs, wel
fare and working conditions in
the plants.
Four of the union men are
members of Force Ouvriere, the
moat recently formed free trade
union in France. They are: Hen
ri Carillan, Maurice Chagnet,
Marcel Collot and Jean Franci.
The Confederation Generate
des Cadres is also represented by
four men. They are: Etiene Be
nard. Roger Damisch. Oscar de la
Chancellerie and Roland Koch.
The remaining four labor men
are members of the Confederation
Francaise des Travailleurs Shre
tiens. They are: Pierre Bouda.
Amdre Guldemann. Henri Lar
rieu and Robert Pernod.
Leader of the team will be
Henri Noel of the Association of
Heavy Electrical Industries in
France. Andre Pons, who will
represent the French Productivity
Committee, will act as secretary.
Other members of the team
are Marcel Depelly, Richard de
la Harp and Eugene Maury.
The cost of the project will be
borne jointly by ECA and the
French government.
WOLL SENDS 91.— FOR AID
TO ECUADOR
New York City. — Matthew
Woll, chairman of the AFL’a
Free Trade Union Committee,
sent a check for $1,000 for the
relief of victims of the disastrous
earthquake in Ecuador.
“In token of our solidarity
with people and workers of Ecua
dor in their hour of tragedy and
suffering,” Mr. Woll airmailed1
the contribution to Gonzalo Mai- !
donado Jarrin, president of the
Confederation of Labor of Ecua
dor for the help of those desig
nated by the con'-deration.
VETS WARNED AGAINST
FAKE REFUND BLANKS
Washington. — Veterans were
warned that swindlers were ped
dling bogus application blanks to
veterans for filing claims for re
funds on National Service Life
Insurance. ^
The Veterans Administration
said that the blanks which are
reported being sold for 60 cents
to $1 each, would not be accepted
when a $2300,000,000 dividend
was divided among 16,000.000
World War II veterans beginning
next January.
Officials said that the peddlers
persuaded veterans to buy the
false blanks by telling them
they would receive their retuna
checks first if they got their ap
plications in early. There is no
validity to the assertion, the of
ficials said.
The applications will be pro
cessed in a group when they are
all received.
The agency said that its genu
ine application forms would be|
available August 29 at post of
ices, VA offices and at veterans’1
organizations. They will be free, i
HOOVER, 75, SAYS U. S.
IS NEAR COLLECTIVISM
Palo Alto, Calif.—Age cannot
wither nor custom stale the in
finite sameness of Hooverism.
On his 75th birthday, the for
mer President, now regarded by
Wall Street as an elder states,
man .delivered a speech in which
he said America is now “on the
last mile” toward collectivism.
No, it’s not news; it’s just
Hoover again.
AS WE SEE IT
i
The following is excerpted from
interviews by Philip Pesrl, di
rector of publicity* for the AFL,
with AFL President William
Green and Joseph D. Keenan, di
rector, Labor’s League for Politi
cal Education, on the AFL’s ra
dio program. “As We See It,”
broadcast over the American
Broadcasting System:
By WILLIAM GREEN.
President. American Federation
of Labor
Unemployment is always seri
ous to the individuals who lose
their jobs and to their families.
But from a national basis, it has
not reached dangerous propor
tions. nor is it likely to do so.
The unemplyment totals have now
gone over the 4 million mark, the
highest figure since pre-war days.
But there are two other very
important considerations to take
into account. , « j
First, unemployment has become
acute only in a very few indus
tries and in very few localities.
It is spotty rather than general.
Secondly, the number of people
employed in America is still
near the sixty million level,
which is far above the pre
war times. Finally, the latest
reports we get show that unem
ployment has leveled off.and is
likely to decline in the coming
months.
There is a great deal of con
crete evidence piling up to justi
fy optimism. For instance, build
ing construction throughout the
nation is enjoying its greatest
boom in history and that makes j
business for many different kinds
of factories. Also, Congress has
just approved another large ap
propriation for the European Re
covery Program, and that means'
a flood of new orders for export. \
Aside from this, retail stores
which have allowed their inven
tories to shrink to a low level
are beginning to buy for the Fall
and Christmas seasons in large
volume and as a result, manu
facturing trades are accumulating
substantial backlogs of orders for
production.
Despite these favorable signs,
it is never safe to gamble with
the well-being and security of our
fellow-citizens. Action is neces
sary to reduce unemployment
promptly where it exists and to
guard against any future emer
gency. The Executive Council
adopted a three-point program of
action along these lines.
First, we voted full support
and endorsement to * President
Truman’s directive to govern
ment agencies to concentrate and
pinpoint federal purchases in
communities suffering from fac
tory closings and unemployment.
Second, we urged Congress to
authorize the preparation of a
shelf of necessary public works
projects which could be put into
operation promptly wherever un
employment flares up.
Finally, we called upon Con
gress to approve pending legisla
tion permitting the government
to make low-interest loans to co
operatives and other non-proAt
groups for the construction of
moderate-rental apartment units
for millions of workers and other
citizens in the middle-income
groups, who need new housing
badly but can’t afford high rents.
To put it bluntly, I feel that a
great deal of the recent “reces
sion" talk was a deliberate prop
aganda campaign undertaken by
big business for the puropse of
discouraging further wage in
creases. But organized labor has
not been fooled!
Our unions are continuing to
seek moderate wage increases
wherever they are justified. And
I want to emphasize right hare
that it is very necessary and im
portant for our national economy
to continue to lift our standard
of living. When you get right
down to basic facts, the only de
pendable, cash market for the
products of American factories
and farms is the purchasing pow
er of the working population of
our country. Full employment
at high wages mefens prosperity
for all. But when employment
and wages shrink, purchasing
power also dries up and our whole
economy is endangered.
Soviet Russia is just waiting
for that to happen as a signal
to move. For the sake of world
peace and the preservation of hu
man freedom, we must never al
low that to come about. The
American Federation of Labor is
determined to do everything in its
power to prevent a depression and
all the calamity it would bring
with it.
I
In our struggle it is tragic that
we are handicapped by the Taf»-|
Hartley Act. which makes it im-1
possible for trade unions to func- j
tion effectively. Today free
trade unions are the moat effec
tive defense the world has against
the spread of Communism, far
more effective, in my opinion,
than the atomic bomb. But big
business was so shortsighted as
to weaken that defense by pre
vailing upon Congress to adopt
the Taft-Hartley Act. Thus far
we have failed to bring about re-;
peal of that law. But we are j
going to redouble our efforts in(
next year’s political campaignj
to elect a Congress which will re
peal the Taft-Hartley Act. That
will be organized labor’s Number
One objective in the coming year.
By JOSEPH D. KEENAN.
Director, Labor's League for
Political Education
The Taft-Hartley Act prohibits
the expenditure of funds from
union treasuries in connection
with national election campaigns,
so the American Federation of
Labor was compelled to form a
separate organisation, Labor’s
League for Political Education,
in order to protect the funda
mental democratic right of its
members to participate effective
ly in the election of the people
who run our government.
We have a much broader pur
pose than the repeal of that leg
islation. We want to elect rep
resentatives of the people who will
faithfully carry out the will of
the people, instead of serving as
tools for big-money interests.
I think the record of the last
five consecutive presidential elec
tions shows that the voters of
America want a government with
a heart, a government with a de
sire to improve their welfare, a
government which is ready and
willing to do something to bet
ter the American way of life.
However, the record of the past
few years also shows that a coali
tion of reactionaries from both
political parties. reactionaries
who believe in a do-nothing pol
icy, who consider every human
welfare program as a step toward
statiam, have been able to block
enactment of our liberal program.
It is our purpose to prove to the 1
American people that the mem
bers of Congress who oppose im
provement in the social system, ;
who oppose an effective housing
program, who oppose a decent :
minimum wage and who are »
against every other liberal re- ;
form, are the very same crowd ]
that voted to handcuff labor with 1
the Taft-Hartley Act. '
Toronto, Canada. — Labor’s
League for Political Education,
:he AFL’s political arm, adopted
t program designed to raise
runds to help defeat antilabor
:andidates and to elect labor’s
friends in the 1950 general elec
tions. ■*
This was the highlight of the
Anal sessions of the regular mid
summer meeting of the AFL’s
Executive Council which com
pleted work on its report to be
submitted to the AFL convention
in St. Paul. Minn., on October 3.
The administrative committee
of LLPE approved plans for so
liciting $2 voluntary contributions
from AFL members and persons
sympathetic to organized labor to
Anance its election campaign ac
tivities. <4
Joseph D Keenan. LLPE direc
tor. said the league hoped to
raise at least 11,000,000 through
the voluntary contribution drive.
The action of the committee ap
proved recommendations made by
a political conference held in
Washington this summer at which
representatives from state and
city affiliates of the American
Federation of Labor considered
general strategy to be followed
by LLPE.
In other action, the council de
cided to send a delegate to Lon
don for the meeting, on Novem
ber 28, of the constitutional as
sembly of the new international
federation of free trade unions.
The delegation, composed of five
delegates and as many alternates,
was not named.
It is expected that democratic,
free trade union centers from 60
nations will send representatives
to the conference to complete the
organisation of the new labor
federation to take the place of
the near-defunct, Soviet-domina
ted World Federation of Trade
Unions.
Commenting on tne qieeting,
AFL President William Green
told a press conference that for
mation of the new free labor
group will be the “most effective
barrier against further Soviet ag
gression.’’ He said that free
trade unions, organized in a
worldwide unit, could foil the
Russian strategy of extending its
sway over smaller nations by
taking over the labor movement
within those countries.
Mr. Green said that the new
organization would be open to
all national union centers which
could demonstrate that they were
free of government domination
or interference.
In another development, the
Executive Council voted to pur
chase time on a national radio
network to present an AFL news
program. The program will be
started next year and will give
AFL members and the general
public the opportunity to hear
labor’s views on news events and
current issues presented by well
known commentators. The pro
gram will be heard five nights a
week. The AFL will sponsor the
program for three nights weekly,
with the remaining two periods
offered by Labor’s League for Po
litical Education.
Turning to the political front,
Mr. Green told newsmen that
LLPE, in the 1950 election race
for Senate seats, would be shoot
ing mainly for Senator Robert A.
raft of Ohio, who helped sire the
obnoxious Taft-Hartley law. Other
;hief targets would be Senators
Donnell of Missouri, Capeheart
>f Indiana and Milliken of CoL
trade.
Mr. Green announced that the
Executive Council was “reason
ibly satisfied” with the efforts
nade by ' the Canadian Trades
ind Labor Congress to clean the
Communists out of that organi
Eation. The council heard a re
tort tm this situation presented
>y the anti-Communist element
rithin the TLC.
I