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VOL. XIX; NO. 19
CHARLOTTE, N. C„ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1949
Subscription Price 12.00 Year
Contract Worker
Security Spreads
Washington.—Despite the attitude of the steel industry,
there is nothing new in the recommendation of the Presi
dent’s special board of inquiry for insurance and old-age
protection for its workers.
Under collective bargaining agreements now in effect,
there are more than 3,000,000 workers covered by some
type of health, welfare, or retirement plans. In addition,
many unions and employers originated and control separate
benefit plans. _
The Executive Council of the
American Federation of Labor (
reported to the AFL convention
last year that, in 1947, AFL un
ions paid out over $60,000,000
worth of benefit claims under
various union-sponsored plans, j
Incorporation of “security” |
plans in union agreements has
spread rapidly in recent years. |
According to statistics of the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, only,
1,250,000 workers were covered,
by such programs in early 1947.
By mid-1948 the figure had ,
reached 3,000,000. Current esti- (
mates greatly exceed that num
ber.
Early union-sponsored “securi-,
ty” plans were financed entirely J
by members through dues or,
special assessments. After .World,
I, rising benefit costs, financial
instability resulting from the de-J
pression and the enactment of
the depression and the enact
ment of the Social Security Act
in 1935 led many unions to re
vise or end their self-financed
benefit schemes. Others have
continued and are still effective.
Some employers also have for,
many years made available, with'
and without employe -contribu
tions, direct medical services,'
hospitalisation and cash pay-,
ments during disability, as well:
as group life insurance and pen-,
sion plans. The railroads or
companies closely associated with
them were the first to set up for
mal plan for old-age disability,
relief.
Between 1900 and 1930, the
number of welfare plans spon
sored by employers increased
substantially. Organised labor,1
because it had no voice in the ad
ministration and was not pro
tected by contractual obligation,
did not whole-heartedly endorse
such plans.
A survey by the bureau of La
bor Statistics of 15.636 manufac
turing establishments in 1945 and
1946 showed that 47 per cent had,
insurance or pension plans for.
their workers. Life insurance
plans were found in 37 per cent,
health insurance insurance in 30
per cent and retirement pension
systems in 5 per cent.
Health and welfare programs
under collective bargaining have
been in effect, in isolated cases,
since the late ’20s, the bureau
said. Progress was .slow during
the 1930’s, and at the outbreak
of World Yar II relatively few
union agreements made provis
ion for such benefits.
The war period stimulated the,
growth of plans ahd also brought,
a number of existing employer j
plans within the scope of union:
agreements. Government con
trols during the war limited di
rect wage increases. Employers
were financially able to make con
cessions, and in most cases they
were willing to do so to hold
their employes. The result was
a burgeoning of insurance and
pension benefit plans.
Other factors contributing to
the growth of health and welfare
plans were favorable tax regula
tions and • growing feeling that
federal social security benefits no
longer were adequate.
PROFIT POSITION BETTER
IN BRITISH COAL MINES
London. — Britian’s nationalised
coal mines continued to show a
profit in the second quarter of
this year, but earnings declined
in comparison with the first quar
ter.
The National Coal Board, which
manages the mines, reported that
colliery profits for the second
quarter were 6,000,000 pounds, or
25.389.000 pounds against 7,200,
000 pounds in the first quarter.
The board’s surplus after provid
ing for interest and taxes was
2.400.000 pounds in the second
quarter and 3,800,000 in the firs|;
Taking the surplus for the two
quarters together an annual prof
it of about 6,000.000 pounds would
be indicated, compared with a
loss of 23,200,000 pounds in the
first year of nationalization and
a profit of 1,700,000 pounds in the
second year.
Veterans Should Gather
Dependency Information
Veterans planning to enter
school or job training under the
G. I. Bill this fall should begin
now gathering necessary evidence
of dependency for subsistence al
lowance purposes, if such evidence
is not already on file with the
Veterans Administration.
Such evidence can be held by
the veteran until entering train
ing, submitting it to the VA
with the completed certificate of
eligibility. *
The VA especially reminds those
veterans who have had previous
G. I. Bill training, that increased
subsistence payments cannot be
granted prior to the date all sat
isfactory evidence is received by
the VA. Therefore, veterans
with additional dependents to
claim should secure the proper
documental evidence to submit to
the VA immediately.
Satisfactory evidence of mar
riage consists of (1) a certified
copy of the public or church rec
ord of the marriage, and (2) a
completed VA form titled “Dec
laration as to Marital Status.”
In the event the veteran, his
! wife, or husband or both have
been married previously, certified
copies of the divorce decrees or
death certificates which termi
nated all previous marriages,
mu3t be submitted with the evi
dence of the present marriage.
For a minor child, acceptable
evidence consists of (1) a certi
fied copy of the public record of
birth or the record of baptism,
either of which must show the
names of the parents, and (2) the
certified copy of public or church
record of marriage of the parents.
In the case of adoption, a certi
fied copy of the court record of
adoption is necessary.
Evidence of dependency of pa
rents includes (!) a certified copy
of the public record of birth of
the veteran or the church record
of his baptism showing the name
of the parents, and (2) an “Af
fidavit of Dependency” (a VA
| form) filled out by the parent or
. parents and sworn to by a notary
{public.
Hotel Union
Completes Its
First Institute
Cincinnati. — i mrty-five key
hotel and retaurant union mem
ber* from points as far apart as
Juneau, Alaska, and Miami, Fla.,
have just completed the first la
bor education institute in the 68
year history of their union.
They are members of the AFL's
Hotel and Restaurant Employes
and Bartenders International Un
nion. With 430,000 members, it
is third largest of the AFL inter
national affiliates.
Successful completion of the
pioneer education project, held in
co-operation with the School for
Workers of the University of Wis
consin, was announced here by
R. Hu Davis, the union’s director
of research and education.
Expenses of the school, Davis
explained were shared by the
international headquarters here
and local unions of students
awarded scholarships. The parent
union met tuition and living ex
penses, while the locals paid
transportation costs for the stu
dent.
Rank-and-file members as well
as local officers were represented
in the group, which included
cooks, waiters and waitresses,
bartenders, hotel service work
ers and dining car employes from
all parts of the U. 8. and Canada.
Students received *69 hours of
classroom instruction, in addition
to numerous evening seminars, at
the hands of a faculty which in
cluded teachers from the Univer
sity of Colorado and the Univers
ity of Chicago as well as Wis
consin and the union’s own staff.
Subjects taught at the school
ranged from the economics of the
hotel and restaurant industry
through courses in collective bar
gaining, labor legislation, labor
history, methods of union educa
tion and internal union problems
“Special emphasis was placet
on the low-wage structure of the
hotel and restaurant field,” Davis
said, “and its direct bearing upon
the general economic stability of
the country. The entire nation
suffers when most of the 1,600,00
workers in this industry are paid
wages which will not support the
standards of living the nation
needs to remain on a high level
of prosperity.”
Graduates of the school, Davis
said, returned to their homes ex
pecting to inaugurate labor edu
cation programs of their own as
the first step toward setting up
a national education program
reaching into every one of the
union’s 800 local unions.
“Success of this first institute.”
he pointed out, “indicates a wide
interest among organised workers
in gaining information through
planned education activities which
will help them in controlling the
course of events which bear di
rectly on the lives of working
people everywhere.”
.Green On West Coast
Leading American workers in their observance of Labor Dajr at the
San Diego Labor Day Jubilee. AFL President William Green was
assisted by royalty. Shown above with Mr. Green are Pat Gergen.
Mission Bay Festival Queen (at his left), and her maids of honor.
| ■— , ' " " V ' - ' ~
Discharge For Cursing
Overruled By Examiner
By Du Suyth, Chicago Corre
Nm Service
Marion. Ind.—Ruling that use
of profanity is no longer proof
of moral irresponsibility Louis
Plost, a trial examiner for the
National Labor Relations Board
recommended reinstatement of a
woman employe discharged by
the Indianapolis Glove Co., of
Marion.
The employe. Edna Ruggles
was a member of the Interna
tional Glove Workers Union
(AFL). which brought unfair la
bor practice charges against the
company after her dismissal
Plost held she should be returned
to work and given back pay for
lost earnings since March 15,
1948.
(
During hearings, the company
! said use of “excess and loud pro
I fanity” was one of the reasons
! for firing the young woman. But
| the examiner found her vulgar
i expressions “consisted of disre
spectful references to the ances
try of an inanimate piece of ma
chinery, the use of the ward
‘damned’ and the like.”
Her utterances, he continued
“were clearly imprecations which
sprang from vexation, impotence,
' annoyance, anger, frustration, and
1 spoken under sudden impulse, and,
1 as Such, were not tn any sense
I real blasphemy.”
I
i
|
language resulting from such
causes is not intended to indi
cate disrespect for the Deity,
Plost went on. Common usage
has obscured the original meaning
of the words. He developed this
thought:
i “The day when a curse was
i designed and intended to call
VACATION’S IND
If you don’t want your vacation to and liko this,
ramambar this: Spaad kills! Ona out of avary
tbraa fatal motor vahicla acddanta involras az
eaaarra apaad. Ikka it aasy and Ur ml
voronn-iM im
N your •wnl
down the wr*th of Heaven. upon
any object, animate or inanimate
has happily passed. Today, the
words of imprecation, curving and
plasphemy survive in our speech
shorn of their real meaning.
“Time was when even the one
of such ‘swear words,’ devoid et
blasphemous intent or meaning,
had a proper and respected place
in our language. Their use mas
a great art. reaching its noblest
perfection, both by word and in
flection. among men whose lives
were bound to beasts of burden
“In the armies of the past, the
cavalry man, the artillery man
but most of all the mule skinner,
mastered the art, and raised it
to great heights.
“But, alas, the coming of the
gasoline engine has removed the
living spur to expressive, non
blasphemous profanity until now
only a pale substitute survives.
“The words are remembered
but the music has been lost.”
I -■
“UNION LABEL WEEK"
NOW ON THE CALENDAR
Thi* week, A. J. Ratchford,
superintendent of the Shenandoah
Public Schools, notified I. M.
j Ornburn, Secretary-Treasurer of
the Union Label Trades Depart
ment of the American Federation
of Labor, that “Union Label
week” is being placed, on the of
I ficial calendar of those Pennsyl
* vania schools. He requested a
I representative of the Union Label
1 Trades Department to address the
I high school pupils on the subject
'of “Union Label Week.”
| “I note that the American Fed
eration of Labor is designating
the week of September 3rd
through the 10th, as ‘Union Label
Week.’ ” Mr. Ratchford said, and
added, “I commend you for this
action particularly since there are
so many other organizations that
have already set up designated
weeks for the purpose of creating
better public relations. For a
number of years, 1 have assem
bled many of these special weeks
and I am taking the liberty of
sending you a sample of our
monthly calendar which lists cer
tain weeks and special days for
whatever recognition the princi
pals and teachers find it proper
to give them, and I am very hap
py to be able to add ‘Union Label
Week’ to this diet.”
Dedicates Building
For Boilermakers
Kansas City. — AFL President William Green declared
that “an overwhelming victory for the cause of progress”
will be assured “if the members of our trade unions and
their families and friends make certain to register and to
vote on Election Day next year.”
Asserting that the I960 congressional campaign is al
ready under way, the AFL leader said that labor has the
votes required to oust anti-labor foes from Congress and
to break up the reactionary coalition which hss been sabo
taging President Truman’s legislative program.
LOUISVILLE FIRST TO
SI6N UP FOR 1950
UNION INDUSTRIES SHOW
Director I. M. Ornbum, of the
Union Industries Shows, an
nounced this week that the City
of Louisville, Kentucky, was the
first exhibitor to sign a contract
for display space for the next
labor-management exhibition to be
held during May, 1950, in Phila-'
delphia. Louisville participated |
in the exhibition held, last May,
in Cleveland and fiuyor Charles
Farnsley indicated at that time
that he was so enthusiastic over
the American Federation of La
bor’s annual event that he wanted
Louisville to be the first city to
sign up for the next show.
“A majority of the exhibitors
who participated in the 1949
Union Industries Show will make
reservations toe display sp— in
the 1950 exhibition to be held
in Sonvention Hall in Philadel
phia.’* said Mr. Ornbum, “and
with this wonderful response
from our old friends and also the
in Convention Hall in Philadel
exceilent prospects for new ex
hibitors the success of the 1950
Show Is guaranteed.”
IBEW WINS PAY B008T <
FOR 19,000 in 4 STATES
Cincinnati.—Between 8,000 and1
10,000 members of the AFL’s In
ternational Brotherhood of Elec
trical Workers will get a general
wage increase of 10 cents on hour'
under a new contract with 25 con
tracting firms in Ohio, Kentucky^
Virginia and West Virginia.
The announcement was made by
Gordon M. Freeman, a vice presi
dent of the union.
He said new wage rates in 14
classifications would range from
81.22 an hour for “ground la
borers” and $2.12 for “journey
man mechanics.”
LEO E. GEORGE, PRESIDENT,
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF
POST OFFICE CLERKS, SAYS:
LEO E. GEORGE
“Real co-operation, as well as
self preservation, requires that
onion wages be spent for union
products. The fair employer is
one who employes union labor.
Every person is an employer
when he purchases anything that
requires labor to produce. It is
essential, therefore, that every
union member insist upon the
Union Label, Shop Card, or But- i
ton when spending union wages." |
Stov
I
Mr. Green spoke at dedication
ceremonies of a splendid new of
fice building here erected by the
AFL’a International Brotherhood
of Boilermakers, Iron Ship
builders and Helpers of America.
He participated with Charles J.
MacGowan, president of the un
ion, and representtatives of labor,
government and civic life.
One floor of the new and im
posing edifice will be occupied as
the national headquarters for the
Boilermakers Union. The remain
ing space in the 9-story structure
will be leased out in accordance
with the union’s plan to utilize
the building as a sound invest
ment of union funds.
In his address of dedication,
Hr. Green paid tribute to the
outstanding record of the union,
in service to the nation during
the last war, with particular em
phnii mfKMi tfcs
achieved In the output of Victory
and Liberty ships from the West
Coast shipyards. He said:
“I know of no other union
which can boast of a more in
spiring record of all-out service
and all-out devotion to the cause
of victory.
“Now and in the years to come,
this modern edifice will stand as
a symbol of the constructive
achievements and the remarkable
progress which your organisation
has attained in behalf of its mem
bers and the nation as a whole.
It is a fitting monument and tes
timonial to the enduring benefits
of sound and free trade union
ism."
Assailing the twin forces of
Comramunism and reaction which
seek to undermine these benefits,
Mr. Green pledged that the Amer
ican labor movement will stand
as an impassable barrier against
offensives launched from either
quarter.
On the domestic front, Mr.
Green aeid that the attainment
of labor’s program for an ex
panding economy with higher
standards of living for all Amer
ican citizens would forestall any
trend toward a depression which,
he said, would prove “a tragedy
for all mankind.”
He charged that the foes of
labor have launched a desperate
propaganda campaign to mislead
the American voters and to ob
scure the real issues in the forth
coming election campagin. He
added:
“Last November, we placed our
case before the American people
for decision and the results ap
peared to be a c.Var mandate in
favor of labor’s position. How
ever, the diehards in Congress
thus far have paid very little at
tention to the election results.
And so, in the American way and
in the American tradition, we are
going back to the people in the
congressional elections next year
for a completely unmistakable
verdict
“I ealj upon all American work
rrs everywhere to dedicate them
lelves to their high responsibility
u good citizens. Let each of us
)ledge to discharge those respon
■ibilities by casting our ballots
>n Election Day and thereby do
>ur part toward keeping our bo
free and strong.”