Some Fed Laws
■ "
Need Amending
(Continued From Page 1)
that too many of as have lost
sight of the meaning of that
word ‘Brotherhood’ found in the
title of almost all the A. F. L.
Unions.
“ ‘Those men and women who
have been serving as internation
al representatives for any length
of time have proven their ability
to deal with workers’ problems. If
we were not able to satisfy work
ers’ grievances and to otherwise
effectively represent them we
would have been relieved of our
duties long ago. .
«‘These representatives have
also proven to be men and wom
en whose very souls are aflame
with the ideals of the trade Un
ion movement. Nothing makes
our hearts heavier than to see the
working class of people mistreat-,
ed or imposed upon by an un
crupulous boss os an indifferent
government. *
“'Yea, I will admit that occa
sionally we find one in our ranks
who is a self-seeker and an oppor
tunist, but this is the exception
to the rule. It would be as ridi
culous for me to say that all In
ternational Representatives are
qualified to sit on the Executive
Board as it is to say that they
are all disqualified.
“‘As one of that group who is
feared as ‘dictators,’ I want to
assure our members in North
Carolina and elsewhere that the
decire to serve is much stronger
in a good representative than the
desire to dictate!
“ ‘The stronger part cannot work
for our members in North Caro
lina unless a change is made in
the present Constitution and By
Laws. I intend to lend my sup
port to any honorable move that
will so amend the Constitution at
the Asheville Convention.
“‘It is little short of a crime to
say to a faithful servant of many
years: ‘Yes, you may continue to
work for me, but not in a position
of trust, because I know, of serv
ants who cannot be trusted.’
“ ‘Fraternally.
“‘LEWIS E. PRICE.’*
Charlotte Labor Journal Disagrees
Although The Charlotte Labor
Journal does not agree with the
argument Brother Gillespie ouc-%
lines in his article The Journal,
out of fairness to him, repro
duces the letter he addressed to
the editor of the Durham Labor
Journal and which appeared in
that newspaper on the editorial
page of the June 28th issue. It
follows:
“The Editor
“Durham Labor Journal
“Durham, N. C.
“Dear Editor:
“Last summer at the North
Carolina Federation of Labor
Convention, held at Winston-Sa
lem, an amendment was submit
ted for Section I, Article K, of our
constitution. The amendment was
to strike out this sentence: “No
person holding a full time sal
aried position outside the Juris
diction of his or her own Local
Union shall be eligible to office
or retain same on the Executive
Board. And to substitute the fol
lowing; No person shall be eligi
ble to be elected to or retain of
fice on the Executive Board of
this body unless he or she is an
active member of the American
Federation of Labor, either in fol
lowing his or her trade, or em
ployed within the framework of
the American Federation of La
bor.
“Please consider this amend
ment, which was not adopted, very
carefully. You will surely real
ise if such an amendment were to
be adopted, it would completely
destroy the very purpose of our
State organisation. It would
leave the offi<fes for leadership
wide open for dictatorship.. The
members of Local Unions and the
general delegates to conventions
would have little chance to be
come officers of the Federation
or be allowed to say little con
cerning it’s operation. This law
was put in our constitution for
that very purpose. That democra
cy may prevail. Surely, we must
not take drastic actions that would
destroy something that has cost
us many years of hard work and!
the actual blood of many human
lives to attain. If such an amend
ment should be adopted, which I
predict will not be so, then un
der such an amended law a man
like Robt. Taft of Ohio, could
come down and hold office, if he
was a union member. You can
Me why well thinking delegates
fought so hard to defend our con
stitution last summer and since.
“Mr. E. R. ‘Sparkey’ William
son is well known in Reidsvilte,
respected and liked. He is an hon
orable citizen, progressive, and has
meant much to the people of Dur
ham. I for one am sorry that
he did not come under the laws
of our constitution as a qualified
candidate. The word ‘disqualifi
cation’ is an ugly word, but a
necessary one. But, I could not
then—I could not now—nor can
the delegates of - the Reidsville
District agree to, or believe in
such an amendment to our con
stitution.
“A person should be eligible ac
cording to the laws. We should
not change laws so that a person
or persons might be eligible. No
one has ever to my knowledge ob
jected to any candidate for of
fice who has proven his eligibility
according to our constitutional
laws. The original intent and
purpose of this law was good and
it still is a good law now. No one
should object to competition —
truly that brings out the best.
That is democracy. This is Amer
ica—but we must protect those
things—and there must be gov
erning laws.
“I am interested in progressive
movements—but I am also inter
ested in the preservation and de
velopment of our Federation in a
substantial and concrete way. I
speak of our constitution and not
of Mr. Williamson. I have no
doubt about his capability. Per
haps it is regrettable that this
law includes him.
“It isn’t necessary that one i
must be the President or any
ether of the offices to promote
r- » v inviciiiniis iur Ifltf j
betterment of our Federation and
people. Last summer I had a lot
of respect for Mr. Williamson and
still do. He acted like a gentle
men throughout the convention. I j
can not say the same of his sup- I
porters or for some of his op
posers. We prayed to God for
guidance—then the momept we
raised our heads—we acted like
mad-men, cursing, raving, making
personal remarks, msuttmg. n
looks as if we, as men, could
meet and reason things out to
gether. No wonder a lot of peo
ple now hesitate in joining our
unions.
“I am not chiefly concerned with
personalities as I am to uphold
and defent the laws of our con
stitution. If we do that _ we
need not worry about our leader
ship—it will be good.
“I trust that the Editor will
publish this letter in the next is
sue of the Durham Labor Journal.
I fee 1 I know him well enough to
believe»he will, in order that the
facts may be studied and realized
from both sides of this issue.
"In last weeks* issue a sugges
tion was made that there may be
added to the amendment—‘With
in the confines of North Carolina.’
But the amendment in it’s entire
ty is all wrong to my opinion.
“Respectfully submitted,
"JAMES GILLESPIE, JR.,
"Vice-President,
“N. C. Federation of Labor
“Reidsville District."
Editor Williamson's Stand
Editorializing on the ' foregoing
letters of Mr. Price and Mr. Gil
lespie, E. R. Williamson,' Durham
Laborj Journal editor, very aptly
had the following to say:
“The letter appearing on this
page of former N. C. Federation
of Labor Vice President Lewis E.
Price, international representative
of the Pulpt Sulphite and Paper
Mill Workers, brings to our at
tention strongly the fact that ex
clusion of international represen
tatives and organizers from rights
enjoyed by other delegates to a
convention of the State AFL or
ganization will result in unju»»
penalties for union leaders.
"Opponents of an amendment to
Article 5, Section 1 of the Con
stitution of the State Federation
at last year’s convention plainly
stated that the last sentence in
the Section had been placed in the
constitution some years ago in
order to prevent international rep
resentatives and organizers from
holding office on the executive
board of the N. C. Federation of
Labor. Cries of possible "dicta
torship" were raised durtng the
floor fight on the proposed amend
ment
“This newspaper again reiter
ates, in support of a statement by
Mr. Price, that it is unthinkable
that the scores of delegates at a
convention of the State AFL body
would be so uninformed and
weak-kneed as to allow a few
leaders to dictate to the organisa
tion.
“It goes without saying that
qualifications for leadership are
essential for election to office in
any organisation worth its salt.
Then who among us have shown
more qualifications to lead than
those men who have been chosen
from the ranks of their local un
ions to represent their interna
tional unions in the field of or
ganization ? These men have left
their every day jobs to go out
into the field to fight for the
principles of organized labor and
for conditions necessary for a de
cent standard of living for all or
ganized workers.
“International representatives
leave their homg| and loved ones
for long periods in the perform
ance of their duties in assisting
all local unions with their prob
lems of grievance and organiza
tion. They are regularly in touch
with management, and theirs is
an important job of public rela
tions and arbitration.
“In the performance of their
duties international representa
tives and organizers cannot fail
to gain valuable experience which
will qualify them to lead and in
struct their fellow union members
for the continuing successful fight
of labor to hold present gains and
strive for more in the never- end
ing battle against those who
would strangle the labor move
ment.
“This editorial snould not be
taken as a suggestion or demand
for the election of international
representatives and organieers to
the executive board of the North
Carolina Federation of Labor. It
is meant only as an appeal to
the members of the organisation
to refrain from depriving these
leaders of the rights and privileges
accorded to all other delegates to
a convention of the Federation. It
is the belief of this paper that no
person should be seated as a de’e
gate to a convention of the
NCFL who cannot be' assured
these rights.
“In closing, let’s look at the
record; international representa
tives have been elected to the ex
ecutive board of the N. C. Fed
eration of Labor in the past, with
out any voice being raised about
the restrictions of Article 5, Sec
tion 1 of the organiation constitu
tion. In the case of Lewis Price,
he was elected in 1949 and re
elected in 1950, while not even a
delegate to the convention at
which he was returned to office, a
clear violation of another provision
of the constitution which provides
that, to be elected to office, a
member must be a delegate to
the convention at which the elec
tion takfg,. place!
“Must we believe that Article
5, Section 1 was placed in the
constitution for use in protecting
certain officeholders when the
need arises?
“It is the fervent hope of this
writer that the 1951 convention of
the North Carolina Federation of
Labor, in Asheville next month,
will strike from its constitution
this discriminatory ruling against
clearly qualified leaders of the
AFL movement in North Carolina.
In this manner can be removed
the ‘bottleneck for leadership’
which now plagues this great or
ganization!”
TEXAS INDEPENDENT FISH
ERMAN’S UNIONS JOIN AFL
Galveston, Tex,—A major ac
! complishment, of affiliating with
the American Federation of La
bor a large group of workers, has
been made at Galveston, Texas
in the affiliation of several thous
ands of fisherman with the Sea
farers International Union of
North America.
Organizer J. W. Park, of the
American Federation of Labor
Staff, in company with Mr. Ur
1 ban Bosarge representing the
| SIU, accomplished the affiliation
| on July 81, when a charter was
ordered from the International
| Union and a complete change
over in affiliation from that of an
Independent Union status to a
i bona fide A. F. of L. Union was
made.
Close association with the Rep
resentativea of the A. F. o* L.
in the Texas district has be?n
1 maintained for about 1 1-2 /cars
| during which time talks and con
ferences have been held and re
peated continually during that
; time. The affiliation of th • Tex
as Fishermen's Association with
the SIIJ bri,'."s into the A. F.
of L. the second large group of
fishermen in the Gulf Coast area,
headed up at Biloxi, Mississippi,
made an affiliation with the A. F.
of L. Information received in
•he Atlanta office ind>rating a
great deal of interest amcng ttie
fishermen in the Louisiana Gulf
Coast area is rampant and an af
filiation is expected in that area
at an early date.
Close co-operation between thj
Galveston labor movement and
the movement along the Gulf
Cosat area of Texas has been very,
valuable in bringing about the af
filiation of the Texas group. The
newly chartered organziation- will
extend both east and west from
Galveston including the ports of
Savine, Freeport, Palacios, Aran
sas Pass, Port Isabel, Rockport,
Brownsville, Port O'Connor, Mat
agorda, Seadrift and others along
the Coast.
“The doc says I’ve been work
ing too hard lately—aays I need
a little sun and Air.”
“But Honey, didn’t you tell him
we can’t afford one yet?"
BOTTLE ULOHEfLS
WIN
Laurens, S. C.—The Glaa* 1
tie Blowers Association rf
United States and Canada
cenlty won an election
employes at the Laura^
Works, Inc., Laurens. S. CL
the 319 miscellaneous
eligible to vote In the
213 voted for the Glass
Association with T9 voting;
Union.
Representatives Wilfianr
and John Harmmel of the
Bottle Blowers Association
assisted by Organizer Join* BL
Hawkins of the Souther* JMBT
of the American Federatne «C
Labor in this campaign.
- 4
MARBLE WORKERS
VOTE FOR IJNIflr
Knoxville, Tenn. — 0
Kenneth Scott, of the
Staff of the American
of Labor, reports the wiimmjr
an National Labor Relations
election among the employe*
the Gray Knox Marble C<
Knoxville, Tenn., by the
national Association of
Slate and Stone Polishers,
bers and Sawyers, Tile and
ble Setters Helpers and Tt
Helpers.
Buy Union and light the
greaaora who would
American labor standards.
■
. I :;ii
■ pin
mm
Here's a money- earning
opportunity for you
r
Now—a new law lets your maturing Series E. Bonds go on earning
for you ten years longer! And you don’t have to do a thing!
are you one of those patriotic
citizens who began buying—
and holding—Series E Bonds
j back in 1941? Now your govern
ment is going to reward your faith
with a chance for your bonds to
earn extra money—over and above what you d
expected!
According to the bill passed by Congress last
spring, it is now possible for your United
States Series E Bonds to continue earning in
terest ten years longer than was originally
planned.
, . Therefore, if you started as automatic
- >■ - hoed saving plan, and helped your coun
try at the same time, you can look forward
to tea years asore of eSortless earning from
the bonds yon bought!
For example, a Series E Bond which cost you
$18.75 in 1941 will pay you $25 in 1951. But
if you hold that bond ten extra yean, until
1961, it will pay you $33.33, an average inter
est of 2.9%.
And there is nothing for yon, M
a bond holder, to do. Yon need
not exchange the bond* yen
have. Yon need not sign any
/ paper, fill out any form. Yon
* simply keep your bond* a* yon
hare been btpial diem.
You may still redeem any Series E Bond at any
time after you’ve owned it for sixty days. (The
tables on this page show what you can get for
it.) But, unless you really need the cash you’re
much better off to hold your bonds; they are a
paying method of saving. Bonds are safer than
cash! Cash is too easily spent on noneasential
things. And if you lose or accidentally destroy
it, you’re out that much money. But when you
have cash in Defense Bonds, you’re more apt
to hold on to it. And if your bonds an loot or J
destroyed, the Treasury will replace them Car j
you at no cost or loss to you. i
The cash you have is head sav
ings is safe and solid; and it's
steadily growing toward a sans
big enough to buy aomrthiaf
really worth while when the
prayer tine €00008—0 boose, a
business, a retirenent fund, an
education for your children.
So if you have bonds coining due, take ad vase
tage of this new offer of your government—
just ait back and let than go on making
money. Meanwhile keep adding to your saw
ings by buying more United States Defame.
Bonds regularly- through the Payroll Saving*
Plan where you work or the Bond-A-Monfa
Plan where you bank.
tot*
The new law also allows you to
exchange your Series E Bonds,
in blocks of $500 or more, for
Special Series G Bonds which
pay interest semiannually at
the rate of 2Vi % per year. For
full details, ask at any Federal
Reserve Bank or Branch.
Hm'i how
Sorios K D«fMM
10
$25.00
U.75
$50 00
17 JO
$10000
75.00
MmpN*
Mo
10
O0
$11.75
1*00
HJS
l*.75
20.75
2075
21.50
22.50
23.50
24.50
2JO0
*57 JO
1*00
31.50
3* JO
40 JO
41 JO
4100
4500
4700
4*00
5000
* 75.00
7400
7700
7*00
• 1O0
•3.00
MOO
*0.00
*400
MOO
100.00
OrioM maturity («r lacal
$2500
1*75
1740
$100.00
7140
$200.00
ISOM
$500.00
175 00
750 00
IdatpOM nIm Mt
II
Hi
i*i
1* raari.
IS
1*1
17 1
1*1
1*1
20 |
I20
$25.31
2544
20.50
27.10
27.01
21.44
20jO*
10.00
SIJ3
1247
11.31
$50412
$147
$3.12
54.17
$$42
$447
S*.I2
0000
*247
*541
$101.2$
10175
104.2$
10*75
1114$
113 75
11*4$
12040
125.33
11047
11341
$20240
207.50
21240
21740
22240
22740
21240
240.00
25047
2*141
2*447
$$0*4$
SI*7S
511.25
54175
$5*45
$4475
$0145
*00 00
*$341
$1,0124(1
1.01740
1.0*240
140740
1,11240
1.11740
1,1*240
1,20040
1.25143
1.30*47
1.1114$
Buy U. S. Defense Bonds today • Now they earn interest 10 years longer!
The V. 8. Government dote not pay for tkie advertising The Treasury Department thanks,
for their patriotic donation, the Advertising Council and
\
THE CHARLOTTE LABOR JOURNAL
'