VOL. XX; NO. 33
SOUTHERN LUMBER WORKERS’ WAGES RISE
Single Federation For U. S. Labor Urged By Machinists' Union Chief
President A1 Hayes of the LAM last week called cn all
American unions to unite their tremendous forces in a
single labor body. “The time has come/’ he warned, “to
practice the unity we preach to others.”
speaking Deiore l.uuu trade
union laaden, from every branch
of organized labor, assembled for
the Samuel Gomper memorial
banquet at Chicago, Mr. Hayes
declared, “The obstacles which
stand in the way of over-all la
bor unity at the present time,
as serious as they can be made
to appear, are petty compared to
the obstalces which our disunity
creates in the path of all tabor*
William Green, president of the
American Federation of Labor,
and Philip Murray, president of
the Congress of Industrial Or
ganizations, also participated in
the Gompers memorial program,
sponsored by Roosevelt College.
In his address, Mr. Hayes enu
merated the price all labor is
paying for disunity in its nego
tiations with ^management. in
loss of progressive social legis
lation, and in the defense of de
mocracy both in this country and
in the world struggle against
Russia. —
Pointing to the situation cre
ated when two or three of more
separate unions compete with
each other in an organising cam
paign, Mr. Hayes asked:
How can any union so conduct
its campaign that it does not un
dermine the foundations of soli
darity on which organized labor
stands? How long does It take
to heal the mounds of campaign
competition bitterness? How tong
before the Victorians union can
claim a united group? And what
about the effect pf Ibis division
and bitterness 'at mting
table?
"unce upon a time consider
able energy and money was
spent by anti-union employers
to shatter the allegiance of their
employees to the principle of or
ganisation. They would attempt
to divide and rule. Now-a-days
we divide and shatter our own
principles with no prompting
from a hostile boss.”
Asserting that labor has been
on the defensive since the end
of the last war, the IAM presi
dent pointed out that progressive
New Deal legislation which so ben
efited all ordinary Americans is
now being attacked by those who
always opposed the advance of
common people as lhti-American.
“On every front progressive ideas
meet new and growing resist
ance,” he declared.
As a consequence, Mr. Hayes
said, labor has to expend all of
its energy and much of its re
sources to hold its grounds or to
make inch-length advances. He
contrasted the present anti-labor
political climate with the recent
“pro-labor ^ climate which at its
peak gave labor the most favor
able position it had ever enjoyed
in the United States.'
“How much of our predicament
is due to our own disunity can
be measured by the strength we
still maintain in our divided con
dition," he declared. “How much
stronger we would be to deal with
(Continued On Page S)
UNIONS UR6E0 TO
UTNJZE ILL PUBLIC
REUITIONS FACILITIES
NEWARK. N. J. — Unions
must educate the public to a
better understanding of their
problems.
Tools, and techniques for ac
complishing this purpose were
studied at an all-day symposium
conducted by the Institute of
Management and Labor Relations
of Rutgers University and the
AFT. Essex Trades Council.
Pointing up the need for local
union action in this important
public relations field, only one of
the 75 delegates present said his
union had a publicity chairman
and two others reported their lo
cals published monthly bulletins.
A filmstrip, “Public Relations
for Labor,” was shown by Prof.
Irvine L. H. Kerrison, who is in
charge of the Rutgers labor pro
gram.
‘‘Public relations means hard
work,” he said in giving a de
tailed explanation of what labor
public relations is aad how un
ions can do public relations which
is mainly “getting along with
people.”
In tjbe panel discussion “Work
ing With Radio” led by Harry
Stark, extension associate, Rut
gers labor program; Lou Frankel,
manager Station WFDR, Now
York, explained the steps in 4k
nJhng writing a labor radio
Ben Levin, president Branch
540 Letter Carriers, and vice
president New Jersey Labor Ra
dio Council, told the delegates
that “the time cost of radio is
small if someone in yonr organ
cation can produce the script.”
Irving R. Rosenhaus, president
SUtion WAAT-WATV of New
ark, said anions should use the
smaller local radio stations to
get their message across to the
public and should use entertain
ment freely for such a program.
Three labor editors spoke at
the conference luncheon which
was in charge of John J. Voh
den, president Essex Trades
Council. They were Damon Stet
son, Newark Evening News;
Murray Kempton, New York
Post-Home News, and Victor
Reisel, nationally • known labor
columnist for 154 American news
papers.
“Labor does a great job in com
munity service," H. Bruce Palmer,
vice chairman Newark Welfare
Federation, stated in the discus
sion on “Putting Across Labor's
Interest in General Community
Service”
Richard P. Donovan, AFL la
bor representative on the Newark
Welfare Federation, told of the
AFL goals in the United States
in civic affairs. He said com
munity welfare work by unions
should be a year-round program
and that members should be edu
THANKS!
To Officers and Members of All Organizations
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,
Their Families and Friends
I want to take this opportunity to convey to each
and every one of you the sincere thanks of the officers
ami administrative committee of Labor’s league for
Political Education for your excellent support and co- .
operation during the recent campaign.
We have lost some very good friends in both houses
of Congress, and some of our enemies have been re
turned. However, despite these setbacks the returns
show that the ratio of friends retained in an off-year
election is very good.
Returns also show that we cannot relax, but rather
that we should intensify our efforts to bring a true
discussion of the many issues confronting the work
ing people of this country to our members, their fami
lies and friends. v
Again thanking each and every one of you for the
splendid assistance you rendered, I remain
Sincerely and fraternally,
JOSEPH D. KEENAN, Director
Labor’s League for Political Education.
.. ■ -- ■ -■
cated for community work bo*
cause “food human relation* is
needed by unions on a local lev
el." Edward Slater, secretary
treasurer, Essex Trades Council
directed this panel.
J. C. Rich, editor the Hat
Worker, and Carl Fisher of Lo
cal 111, Chemical Workers, of
Bound Brook, described the tech
niques for the publication of a
local union newspaper.
“A country weekly is success
ful because it is interested in
persons and local matters, q local
union newspaper should have the
same technique,” Mr. Rich said.
In describing how he issues a
mimeographed local union paper,
Mr. Fisher said this paper’s
1600 circulation is distributed
through 60 shop stewards which
means that the paper gets direct
ly into the hands of the union
members. He urged all the un
ions to issue such bulletins be
cause of the benefits within the
union and as an aid to better
community service.
Lewis M. Herr man, editor New
Jersey Labor Herald and state
assemblyman, in the discussion on
“Labor’s Stake in Public Rela
tions,” urged the delegates to in
augurate a 6-point program:
1. Appoint someone to furnish
information to the press regu
larly.
2. See that your publicity
chairman or officers read local
newspapers regularly and if a
derogatory item appears have
someone send the paper a letter
to-the editor stating the facts
without venom.
3. Send items to the labor
press as this is also read by
management.
4. Tell your story through the
utilisation of the small local ra
dio station.
6. Organize public forums and
speaker’s bureaus to get your
story across to service clubs,
church and other public groups.
IAM OFFICER GETS POST
Washington. — P. L. (Roy)
Siemiller, Chicago, general vice
president International Associa
tion of Machinists, was sworn hi
November 27 a* director of man
power for the Defense Transpor
tation Administration.
Wages
Do you remember the hue and cry that went up from
some sections of business when Congress more than a year
ago increased the minimum wage to 75 cents?
The complaint frequently heard then was that while
some business firms could afford the increase, it would vir
tually drive traditionally low-wage industries out of busi
ness. Some of the loudest complaints came from the
Southern saw-mill industry. «r '
Well, the 75-cent minimum wage has been in effect
nearly a year. What has happened?
This question has been answered by William R. McComb,
Wage-Hour Administrator in the Department of Labor.
McComb made a special study and he found the industry
was able to pay the higher rate with scarcely any trouble
at all. Here is what he says:
“Higher wage rates appear to have been absorbed
through increased efficiency, increased mechanization, the
large volume of business in the industry, and increased
prices for the industry’s product.”
- In fact, McComb found, the industry is ow profiting as
never before.
—The Machinist.
Truman OKs Child Program
President Truman urged the nation to “press right
ahead” with ways to help children and young people to
become mentally and morally stronger, and to make them
i better citizens. This is “more important now than ever,”
he said in a speech before the Midcentury White House
Conference on Children and Youth, which was attended by
upwards of 30 AFL officials from all over the country.
Mr. Truman said in part:
"Our teachers—and all others
who deal with our young people
— should place uppermost the
need for making our young peo
ple understand our free institu
1 tions and the values on which
they rest. We must fight against
the moral cynicism — the mate
rialistic view of life—on which
communism feeds.
"We must teach the objectives
that lie behind our institutions,
and the duty of all our citizens
to make those institutions work
mere perfectly. Nothing is more
important than this.
“And nothing this conference
can do will have a greater effect
on the world struggle against
communism than spelling out the
ways in which our young people
can better- understand our dem
ocratic institutions, and why, we
adust fight, when necessary, to
defend them.
"When the White House
con
ference was held in 1940, the na
ture of the defense problems
which lay ahead was not very
clear to those who participated.
But in the years that followed,
we found that the defense pro
gram created many problems of
migration, divided families, work
ing mothers, inadequate housing
at defense centers and military
camps, lack of community serv
ices and of facilities for educa
tion and child welfare.
“Today we know much more
about these problems, and our
recent experience in tyring to
solve them is fresh in our minds.
I know that the work of this con
ference will give us some impor
tant guide lines as to how wo
can handle these matters best.
“Our defense effort is all-im
portant, but we must do every
thing we can to see that It does
(Continued Oa Page •)
Enactment of the new 75 cents per hour minimum wage
legislation in January, 1950, resulted in an average wage
increase of 11 cents per hour in the southern sawmilling
industry structure, it was announced today by Brunswick
A. Basrdon. Regional Director of the U. S. Department of
Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics in the South.
TYPOS WIN 2 OF 3
ARBITRATION CASES
AGAINST N-SENTINEL
Knoxville Typographical Union
No. Ill has been awarded two
oat of three decisions handed
down in arbitration proceedings
this week against The Knoxville
News-Sentinel.
The two decisions awarded to
the union concerned payment for
vacation at premium rates over
and above base rates. Arbitra
tor for all three cases was Dr.
Prank B. Ward.
In commenting on the clafm
for vacation pay based on bonus
rate for key personnel, Dr. Ward
said:
“It Is the assumption of the
fifth member of the Joint Stand
ing Committee that vacations
with pay are intended either as
rewards or as opportunities for
revitalisation or both; that they
are not intended as penalties.
There is nothing in Section 14
(a) that would suggest that ‘va
cations with pay’ means vaca
tions with less than full pay.
Depriving the vacationing em
ploye of any part of what he
would customarily receive daring
a similar period would mean that
he would not be receiving full
vacation pay.” *.
K, The second decision awarded <o
the*, union against the News-Sen
tinel concerned claim for vacation
pay based on a premium rate
for a particularly arduous Sat
urday shift. Tim union contend
ed the employe was entitled to
regular rate plusp premium, which
together were a continuing salary
and therefor# constituted “the
regular rate.”
The third case, in which the
arbitrator ruled against the un
ion, concerned a claim for a shift
premium on all shifts when a
majority of the shifts worked
actually called for the premium.
The position of the News-Senti
nel, which held that the language
of the contract did not apply in
the case before the . arbitrator,
was upheld.
Loye W. Miller and Guy Smith
acted for the publishers in the
hearing. Walter Amann and H.
L. Hoffmeister acted for the un
ion.
Snokey Says:
Remember—only you cun prevent
forest Arne!
The announcement was baaed
on a study of a representative
sample of 660 sawmills employ*
in* 8 or more workers and typi
cal of the area. Seven south
I eastern, 4 southwestern, and 3
border states were studied.
The change in the general dis
tribution of lumber aawallling
wage rates is shown below. The
number of workers receiving less
than 75 cents an hour dropped
from about 7 out of 10 to about
1 in 12.
Average Percent of All Workers
Hourly Fall Spring
Earnings 1»49 I960
Under 76 cents.69.2 8.2
76-79.9 cents .JU) o6.3
80-99.9 cents .. . ..11.4 16.0 '
100 cents or more 8.4 9J
The greatest increase in the
wage level—16 cents per hour—
occurred in Alabama and Georgia.
These two states have the largest
number of sawmill employees in
the South; they also had the
lowest average rates in the fall
of 1949. North Carolina and
■ Tennessee had the lowest aver
age increse in the southeast—8
cents and 10 cents respectively.
In Arkansas, the increase
amounted to 7 cents, and in
Louisiana It cents. The smallest
advance—1 cent an hour—was in
West Virginia where the rate lev
el was relatively prior to
*he effective, date of the 75-cant
pMp|||NPM^9et 4 9%} -IPS
Wage rate differentials among
states dropped appreciably after
January 1960. In the 1949 period,
the individual state averages
ranged from 61 cents in Alnbamn
to 90 cents In West Virginia. This
29-cent spread was reduced to
$4 cents by March, I960, whiff
wage rated ranged from 77 to
91 emits.
The 76-cent minimum had the
expected effect of reducing oc
cupational differentials la the
saw milling industry. Of 82 se
lected sawmill occupations, aver
age rates for 17 fell in the nar
row range of 97 to 70 cents in
the fall of 1949; average rates
in 3 occupations exceeded $1.00.
In March, I960, average rates
for the lower paid group had in
creased from 10 to 16 cents in
all except one occupation (8 cents
for truck drivers), while average
rates for the 8 highest paid oc
cupations increased about .half as
much—from 8 to 8 cents per
hour.
i
me prediction tnar the 7»-cent
minimum would force hundreds
of sawmill operators out of busi
ness was not borne out bp the
surrey. Numerous former mill
operators were interviewed, but
not one reported that he went
out of business solely because of
the new law. Advancing: prices
of lumber, caused by the unpre
cedented demand from the build
ing: industry, enabled mill oper
ators to pay higher wages and
still compete with Northern and
Western operators (whose mini
mum wage rates had been about
75 cents for several years).
Lumber in the South, a bulletin
showing average occupational wage
(Continued On Page 8)
CONGRESS VOTES RENT LIDS TO FEBRUARY
28TH SURE
The “lame duck” Congress voted to extend federal
rent controls until February 28, 1951, at least.
The Senate approved an extension only to February
28, but the House, acting to fulfill President Truman’s
and AFL President William Green’s request, voted an
extension to March 31, 1951.
This will enable the more than 1,700 communities still
under federal controls, which have taken no action to act
affirmatively to continue the curbs until June 30, 1951,
as tbi present law provides. It will give the 82d Con
gress a chance to review the situation and decide
whether to keep rent controls longer because of the
Korean war.
The House and Senate bills now go to conference com
mittees for an agreement on the expiration of the tem
porary extension.