Newspapers / The Charlotte labor journal … / Nov. 3, 1949, edition 1 / Page 1
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V , VOL. XIX; NO. 26 _CHARLOTTE, N. C, THURSDAY. NOVEMBER S, 1949 Subscription Price $2.00 Year GREEN OPENS AFL PUSH FOR MORE HOUSING Millions Added To Buying Power By 75c Wage; New AFL Contracts Signature Makes Minimum Pay 75 Cents W ashingten.—A FL President William Green (right) sad Rich ard J. Grey (over Mr. Green’e shoulder) watches with Seeretarr of Labor Maurice J. Tobin as Preaident Truman signs the law raising the legal minimum wage from 40 to 7$ cents an hour. AH workers engaged in essential interstate commerce must be paid at least 75 cents an hour beginning neat January 24. Postal Workers And Others Share In Wage Increases WASHINGTON-—Additional purchasing power for mil lions of AFL members and other workers totaling more than one-half billion dollars annually are provided by: ttk (2) (3) Thousands of new contract increases recently negoti ated by AFL unions. This "shot in the urn” for the nation’s economy means more jobs, better living, higher prod ac tion and consumption spread throughout the country. It resulted largely from the ef forts of the AfL to raise the Is- | gal minimum wage from 40 to 78 cents by. congressional action; to amend government wage laws to raise salaries, and to win pay in creases and other benefits in con tract negotiations with private employers. The AFL will continue its drive for broader coverage of the min * imam wage law. AFL unions will insist on more money and other benefits in contract negotiations the remainder of this year and in 1950. AFL President William Green headed a group of AFL officials who witnessed President Truman’s formal signing of the amend meats to the Fair Labor Stand* ards Act raising tbs legal mini mum wags from 40 to 78 cents an hour. The now minimum goes intj effect January 28. With Mr. Grom were Richard J. Gray, president of the AFL Building Trades • department; James A. Brownlow, secretary treasurer of the AFL Metal Trades department, and Harry OUeilley. AFL director of or ganisation. Mr. Truman said that the law “is a major victory in rur light to promote the general welfare of the people of the United States.” He said he regretted that its coverage had been lim ited by restrictive provisions. The AFL’s 68th convention in St. Paul voted to tight "in the next year to expand the coverage (Continued On Page 4) Small Town Unionists Show Need To Vote By DAN SMYTH Chicago Correspondent of AFL News Service OGLESBY, 111.—The people of Oglesby, a small town of 42,000 ‘citizens and two grammar schools, have given a demonstration in miniature of the effectiveness of political action in accomplishment of labor’s aims. The AFL Trades and Labor Council had trouble for sev eral months with the Oglesby school board over a union teacher’s grievance. So the council put up its own slate of candidates and elected a new school board. The teacher’s grievance is now considered settled. Mrs. Helen Mecum, the teacher, is a member of the Tri Cities Teachers’ Federation, a local of the American Feder ation of Teachers. The same local also represents teachers at LaSalle and Peru, UL Illinois has a state teachers’ tenure law under which three years of teaching experience qualifies the teacher for perma nent status. The first two years sure considered probation ary, during which the school board may drop the teacher without formal charges or a trial. Last spring, at the end of Mrs. Mecum’s probationary pe riod, the Oglesby school board decided to dismiss her. The union objected. The matter was presented to the Trades and Labor Council which supported Mrs. Mecum. Wayne C. Butler, superintendent of schools, and the board charged organized labor was challenging their^right (OntiaMd Os P»*» 2) i Rents Up Again As Living Costs * Take Big Jump WASHINGTON. — Residential rents continued their uninterrupt ed steady increase m September as the cost of living took its sharpest upward jump since last March. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the retail prices of goods and services for moderate income urban families advanced one-half of 1 per cent between August IB, and September 15. This matched the biggest monthly in crease of 1949 recorded last March 15th. Foods rose eight-tenths of 1' per cent; fuel, electricity and refrig eration nine-tenths of 1 per cent; house furnishings four-tenths of 1 per cent; misellaneous goods and services three-tenths of 1 pet cent. Clothing declined two tenths of 1 per cent. The over-all consumers’ price index on Sept. 15 was 169.6 per cent of the 1936-39 average. This was 3 per cent lower than a year ago but still 27 per cent higher than in June 1946 and 72 per cent above August 1939. The rise in food prices pushed them back to the level of last •June and the increase in prices of Other. ■»«*<* •xoune wined out lbs deelineTvyS^Kur months. But there was no change in the trend of residential rents. These have been moving upward monthly for more than two years. The rise has not been so sharp as in some of the other groups in the index but it has been unbrok en. Economists say the end of the rise is not in sight because a tremendous housing shortage still exists and because federal rent controls are ending in many places, both conditions tending to push rents even higher. Housing Expeditor Tighe E. Woods announced that in six months under the 1949 housing act he had ‘ ended rent controls over 2,268,046 units. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said this resulted in rents con tinuing upward. Mln anticipation of more gen eral decontrol, the bureau has in creased the frequency of its rent survey,” the bureau revealed. "In the three-month period ending September 15, higher rents were reported in 10 of the 11 cit ies surveyed. Rents in Jackson ville, Fla., rose 9.3 per cent be tween June and September with most of the rise following remov al of controls on August 5. Be tween August and September rents in Houston. Tex., rose 2.4 per cent in advance of termina tion of controls to become effec tive October 19.” PHILIP HANNAH SPEARHEAD OF OHIO LABOR’8 DRIVE TO DEFEAT VOTE LAW CHANGES COLUMBUS Ohio —Philip Han nah, secretary-treasurer of the Ohio Federation of Labor, is co chairman of the newly formed United Labor League of Ohio spearheading the drive to defeat proposed changes in the state’s voting laws in November. The league represents 1,200.000 trade unionists in Ohio belonging j to the Ohio State Federation of Labor, Ohio CIO Council, United Mine Workers, International As sociation of Machinists, Commu nications Workers of America, Brotherhood of Locomotive Fire men and Engine men, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. Brother hood of Locomotive Engineers, Or der of Railway Conductors, Bro therhood of Railway Clerks and Maintenance of Way Employes. Advertising “Slickers” At Work In Charlotte Territory According to information given The Charlotte Labor Journal by many of The Journal’s advertisers advertising solicitors are calling upon local business firms via telephone either telling the advertisers they, are representing The Labor Journal or else giving the prospective advertiser that impression, although the solicitors are working on another publication. The Charlotte Labor Journal warns the local merchants and other business firms to be sure and inquire thoroughly into this brand of false solicitation in order that they will not be misled to place their advertising in a publi cation vaguely representing itself to be The Charlotte Labor Jburnal. Be sure to look at your invoice when you receive it and make sure that it bears the name of The Charlotte Labor Journal. If you have bought an advertisement believing that you were giving it to The Charlotte Labor Journal and are presented with an invoice bearing another paper's name you were misled and have every right to refuse to pay for H and if you will furnish The Charlotte Labor Journal with the necessary information that will aid in prose option The Journal will stand all costs involved in prosecut ipg any and all imposters using its name in their dishonest solicitations. , Abo, anyone telling you that The Charlotte Labor Jour aal is no longer an American Federation of Labor newspa per is doing nothing but misinforming you. The Journal has been an American Federation of Laboranewspaper since 1931 and expects to continue to represent the American Federation of Labor. Please report to The Journal any hear to the contrary. >«rlotte Labor Journal is *w» or udot since it was founded In publisher and the present associate ed kmg periods of rough sailing but it has course, as charted in the beginning, Be alert! Do not bo misled by those who may misinform you to further selfish alms! Our telephone b 5-1778. Call us If in dqubt regarding any solicitation you receive. Many advertisers tdl us they are receiving telephone so licitations from as far away as New York from a labor«ub lication chiming to represent North Carolina Labor by hav ing a large circulation here. Do not be misled and spend your money unwisely, for thb cannot poaslbly be true. The Charlotte Labor Journal has always maintained n pol icy to aoi knock any legitimate North Carolina Labor pub lication, but henceforth its policy will be to “fight fire with fire.” If others in our ranks motivated with a desire to de stroy one of North Carolina's oldest and most patriotic labor institutions continue to pursue such a libelous policy to further their selfish gains, then The Chariot tej Labor Journal will be compelled to defend itself against al such prevaricators. The Journal thanks you for your past support and patronage and solicits your continued good will for Labor and The Journal Our first aim is to serve even greater in the future. H. A. STALLS, Publisher. OFFICIALS GREET EACH OTHER AT DINNER AFL Pic* President Matthew Well (left) and J. Scott Milne, aecretarjr-treaanrer of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Worker*, aha It* hand* at one of the many dinner* held daring 9t Paul convention by local union*. WASHINGTON.—President William Green opened the biff new AFL push to get a minimum 16,000,000 homes built in the next 10 years, and to keep effective rent con trols until the supply of low-price housing units can be equalized. Mr. Green sent a letter to all central labor unions calling their attention to the housing program adopted by the 68th AFL conven tion in St. Paul and urging them to mobilise their full support for its realisation. “I urge each central labor body, if it has not - already done so, to establish a housing committee," Mr. Green wrote. "Because the AFL Housing committee is very much concerned with these ques tions. I would appreciate it if you would notify Harry C. Bates, chairman of that committee, of the name of the chairman of your local committee. In addition. Mr. Bates as well as myself would like to be kept informed on AFL activity on housing in your com munity." Mr. Green quoted from the convention; statement of policy “Recent developments in the Reid of housing make it abund antly clear that AFL unions must maintain particular vigilance on these matters during the coming year. “The most practical method of handling problems of housing is through community-wide activity by local trade union groups. In particular we urge each central body and each building trades council to establish a housing commitee. “These housing committees would have the following func (Continued On Page 4) Invite Trutnan to Gompers Dinner WuMutM.—APL gMNtirf-TMMiMf Curl* Manny. hft. President William Green Usee White House smiling aftsr receieing President Truman’s assurances to attend the Samuel Gompera Cen tenary Memorial Dinner on January S in Washington's Hotel Statlsr “if engagements and work permit.* Million Members Sought Thru State Federations By CHARLES J. MacGOWAN President Boilermakers Brotherhood, APL Vice President and Chairman of 68th Convention Committee on State Organizations The aims of the AFL’S Samuel Gompers Memorial Or ganisation Drive in I960 an set forth by Vice Presi dent MacGowan in this summary of the convention's ac tion in St. Paul broadcast by Voice of America. The American Federation of Labor will embark on a gi gantic organizing campaign next January to enroll at least a million new members during 1950. This drive was ordered by unanimous vote of the 68th convention. It is our purpose to conduct this organizing campaign at the state level, through the various state Federations of Labor. Coinciding with it will be a political drive to pre vail upon all of the 8,000,000 members of the American Federation of Labor to make certain to register and vote in the 1950 congressional elections and elections for mem bers of the state legislatures. Labor has been taking such a beating in Congress and the State legislatures in recent years through the enact ment of repressive and restrictive laws that the trade union movement is determined to launch a concentrated effort to correct the situation and obtain justice for the nation's workers. So we are going back to first principles—organize the unorganized and get out the vote. In order to qualify to vote each citizen must register. Un forunately many millions of our citizens in the past have neglected to do so. The American Federation of Labor, through its political arm, Labor’s League for Political Edu cation, will undertake a nation-wide registration drive next year and will do its utmost to bring out the highest possible registration and a record-breaking vote in 1950. Needless to say, the convention again called upon Con gress to repeal the Taft-Hartley Act. The delegates were informed that since the act went into effect, 56 court in junctions have been sought n labor-management disputes, but of those only two were against employers. The 54 were (Continued On Page t)
Nov. 3, 1949, edition 1
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