CEMENT WORKERS GIVE SS.1M TO LLPE
George Mean? (left), eeereUry-tr—orer of the APL end Laker's
Iwra f«r Political Education, receives check far W.1H far the
ItuH fram President William Schoenberg ef the Cement Lime *«*d
Gjrpeam Workers Union daring SL Peel caavsatien.
GREEN CONGRATULATES HUMPHREY ON SPEECH
AFL President William Gfeon (right) congratulates Senator Hubert
B. Hupkni, grout Mlnemte Hheral, on •fhting call ta action?
■lie ta tMh coureutiou at, St. PnL i
JUDGES PICK WINNER OF CLERKS' CONTEST
of Labor’)
Keenan, director
and APL President William Green, both
RoTorlgo. East St, I pals. I1L, aa winner of
Iff "Tk» Advocate,” official publication af Urn Retail Clerks Intama
far Political
pick entry of
Dan
tieaal Association. Looking on are Retail Clerks’ PreaMent. Va
and Secretary-Treasurer
right
Jai
A. 8nffridge.
MAINE PRES. SWAPS VIEWS WITH BRICKLAYER
PrtMMM boqiam Lorabjr of Um Maine Federation of Labor
awapo rim with^ J«ta J. MHrpj^aorreUrjr-treMurer of Bricklayer*,
/
/
St. Paul. — AFL StenUiy*
Treasurer George Meaay called
opon organised labor to adopt a
three-point program to aafegwid
trated onslaughts of the enemies
of progress.
In a stirring address before the
annual convention here of the
AFL Building and Construction
Trades Department, Mr. Meany
purged:
1. Intensified effort by labor in
the political field with victory in
the 1960 congressional elcetieas
as its immediate objective, but
with permanent political power
for labor as an essential long
range goal.
2. Broadened and
publicity programs by labor to
counteract and offset the vicious
propaganda campaign, nationwide
in extent, which big business is
carrying on against labor and
against everything for which la
bor stands.
9. Organisation of all unor
ganised workers so that labor’s
strength will be able to prevail
over any employer opposition.
Highlighting the department’s
convention waa Mr. Kenny's plain
spoken and bloat appeal for eoss
plete co-operation in the political
Hold from a group which in the
past has been reluctant to get
too deeply involved in politico.
"Remember, the purpose of our
enemies is to defeat us in the
political field and then to clamp
even more restrictive legislation
upon us We must meet that chal
lenge. The building trades are
he most important group in or
ganized labor and they are the
nost important target of these
attacks. Already, the building
trades have felt the injurious
effect of the Taft-Hartley Act.
You must join in the fight to re
peal it through political arfion.
I urge your complete co-operation
with Labor’s League for political
Education both nationally and lo
cally."
Lashing out against newspaper.
kMHp and magasine {campaigns
a^Unat labor, Mr. Manny charged
that the current attack against
"statism” and the "welfare state"
hre thinly disguised and indi
rect attempts to break down pro
gressive programs operating in
behalf of the nation's workers.
"What would they do away
with!” he asked. Social Securi
ity? Federal aid to education?
The GI bill of rights? They
don’t explain. They don’t dare
get specific.
"They forget that our democ
racy' is based upon our constitu
tion which set forth plainly that
one of the basic purposes of our
government is to promote the
general welfare of the people."
Mr. Meany pointed out that the
opponents of the “welfare state"
never mention the huge amounts
of federal aid extended to the
nations railroads, the airlines,
the shipping industry and the
"But the minute the govern
ment steps in and spend govern
ment money to help the workers,
we immediately hear protests and
cries about the welfare state,"
Mr. Meany charged.
At the opening of the conven
tion, Richard J. Gray, president
of the department, declared that
housing construction, already pro
ceeding at a record rate, must be
stepped u& to an average of at
least a million and a half unite a
year for the next ten years if
the nation’s acute need for new
homes is to bo met adequately.
Rent controls are being under
mined far and wide, he charged.
Increases of as high as 880 per
cent have boon imposed on ten-,
ants in some states and commun
ities where all pretexts at con
tinuing controls have been aban
doned, he reported.
Mr. Gray also criticised the
Amy Engineering Corps for at
tempting to evade the Bacon
Davis Act provisions for payment
of prevailing wage rates on mil
itary construction projects. Wide
spread wage-cutting has resulted,
of the Labor Department’s Bureau
he said.
William F. Patterson, director
of Apprenticeship Training, told
the convention that despite ana*
expansion of apprenticeship train
ing in the past few years. Ameri
can industry “is replenishing its
skilled forces at a rate of only
60 per cent of its future needs.”
Jess Larson, head of the Gen
eral Services Administration, re
ported to the convention that the
government has a backlog of 100
Hoffnaa Talcs to Ropoftors at CoavaatMB
January Rallies Will Start
Gompers Memorial Campaign
St. Paul. — The American Fed
eration of Labor ordered a two
pronged drive for 1960 to organise
a million new members and to re
peal the Taft-Hartley law by elect
ing a liberal Congress.
Winding up its 68th annual con
vention, the AFL welded this strong
platform of action on the domestic
front to a program of world ac
tion backing up the formation of
a new democratic free international
trade union organisation and sup
porting a firm United States for
eign policy to repel communism
and fascism in Asia, Europe 4nd
Latin America.
The convention sounded a cry
for a new battle against the Taft
Hartley law,. Its repeal was. listed
as the paramount issue of a broad
1960 platform. The convention’s
dosing sessions brought these out
standing developments:
1. Plans to start in January
a drive for a million new members
as a tribute to Samuel Gompers,
first AFL president, and to co
ordinate it with the political edu
cation campaign for repeal of Taft
Hartley and election of a liberal
Congress.
2. Adoption of an international
relations program supporting for
mation of a new free democratic
world labor organisation next
month in Ldndon and urging
against appeasement or commun
ism and fascism anywhere.
5. Unanimous reelection of AFL
President William Green. Secre
tary-Treasurer George Meany and
all other members of the Executive
Council
4. Adoption of proposals to get
the Senate to liberalise the social
security bill paaaed by the House
of Representatives; to get congres
sional enactment of a broad na
tional health program, and repeal
of taxes on sales, pay rolls, amuse
ments.
6. A change in the convention
meeting time to the third Monday
in September annually and receipt
of invitations to go to Houston,
Texas; Cleveland, or Miami in I960.
6. Speeches by Secretary of
Defense Louis A. Johnson and
Maritime Commission Chairman
Philip Fleming, praising AFL co
operation in building the national
defense. Both pledged continued
cooperation with the AFL.
7. Endorsement of a shorter
work week to spread jobs and re
duce unemployment.
8. Further moves to induce the
International Association of Ma
chinists to reaffiliate with the
AFL and to merge all organised
labor under the AFL banner.
Link Driven as Memorial
The convention undertook a drive
for a million new members next
year as a means of paying tribute
to the memory of Mr. Gompers on
the 100th anniversary of his birth
in 1860. It directed “complete co
ordination of political activity with
the expansion of organisation
among the unorganised.”
"These two gigantic efforts,” the
convention said, "cannot help but
increase the prestige and member
ship of the AFL and at the same
billion dollars worth of needed
public works projects which could
be put into operation to avert an
economic collapse, but only a
small percentage of these have as
yet reached the blue-print stage.
time protect the welfare and de
mocracy of all organized workers.”
The AFL expressed disappoint
ment with the filore of the 81st
Congress to repeal the Taft-Hart
ley law in accordance with the
mandate given by the 1948 elec
tions.
"If the 81st Congress persists
in its refusal to act affirmatively,”
the convention said, "we are pre
pared again to take our appeal to
the people of this country and tc
make Taft-Hartley repeal the para
mount issue of the 1960 congres
sional election campaign.
"Though defeated in our first
attempt because our adversaries
had a few more votes in Congress
than we, it is our determination
Join P.
president of the International Aaaodatioa of Fire
one of the eeren hats worn to the St Pnnl eon.
' ‘ - * - - ^ itional Ladies’
Union
isinff
of the
of
organ.
to redouble oar efforts in wipin
oat this majority and elect to Cor
cress men who will heed and can;
oat the will of the people. Bor
rowing a phrase from President
Troman’s meesage to this conven
tion, ‘Toft-Hartley repeal is Amer
ica’s unfinished business now, not
the business alone of the labor
movement, but that of every fair
minded citisen of our land’.”
All Officers Kedected
President Willian Green, Secre
tary-Treasurer George Meany and
the 13 vice presidents were unani
mously reelected by acclamation.
In accepting election for the 23tl
time, Mr. Green recalled that wher
he first was called to head the
AFL there were less than 2,000 000
members. He recounted the na
tion’s cycle of wars and economic
changes during which the AFL
grew steadily to 8,000,000 mem
bers.
"The cause of labor is a religion
to me,” Mr. Green said. "I shall
give in the future as in the past
all I have,* the best I have,’ il
my service for the good of labor.”
The 700 delegates gave him a
standing ovation.
The election climaxed the highly
iucCfeshful convention featured by
a succession of important speakers
and a round of social affairs that
took onion officials into many af
fairs in St Paul, Minneapolis and
surrounding cities,
f Weary delegates held a final
night session to hammer out the
final planks in the AFL’s progress
ive 1060 platform. Here is a
thumbnail summary of some of the
more important actions:
Economic developments—Deval
uation of the pound sterling by
Great Britain and concurrent work
stoppages in coal and steel indus
tries in this country have occurred
with unpredictable consequences
but our free enterprise system can
absorb shocks if free to readjust
and plan new expansion.
National health insurance — It
now appears that Congress may
adopt certain portions of this pro
r W’‘(Continued On‘Page 5)
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