Newspapers / The Charlotte Labor Journal … / Aug. 30, 1951, edition 1 / Page 1
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SCENES LIKE THE ABOVE symbolise the mind* and heart* nf American workers who are contributing their material substance to their government during these uncertain days when the world stand* at the crossroads of destiny. American worker* stand ready and witting to contribute their “all” to maintain the democratic freedoms they hare in America — the greatest country upon the face of the earth. Ameri (U worker* arc a fain being called upon to add to the sacrifices they have already made in a new De fense Bond campaign which gets underway on Labor Day. Thousands will renew their old bonds as they mature for another ten-year period and at the same time augment previous purchases by purchasing new bends through the payroll savings and other plans as the campaign goes on. No better investment can be Made than an investment in the Freedom Ameri can* have enjoyed in the paat, are enjoying now, nad expect to enjoy in the future. American worker* will meet the Communist challenge to dominate and r«la the world with our brand of American Democracy. Just as surely as they met the challenge of Hitler and Mussolini to olace the world under the yoke* of Naziism and Fasciism in World* War II. PRAISE FOR LABOR MADE BY NATIONAL > COUNCIL OF CHURCHES largest religious organization paid tribute to the labor move ment for its historic fight against injustice, which it said had been earned on "against enormous odd3 and often with little means except devotion and courage. Praise for the labor movement was made by the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U S. A., which was created last year by 29 denominations embrac-1 ing a total membership of more than 31,000,000. The National Council’s state ment, passed by ita General Board waa in the form of a “La bor Sunday Message,” to be used la connection witji specie efeureh labor observances on the Sun day prior to Labor Day, Septem ber 2. Speaking of labor’s record, the message stated: "Theirs has been a record of achievement in the cause of humnaity in which the churches are proud to have had a share.” As a result of labor** efforts, the message continued, “industrial life is much improved through united effort and much of the bit terness of the past has been for gotten. Relations between em ployee and employer are widely based upon acceptance of organ ised labor and are carried on with sincere negotiation and mutual re spect.” The message noted with satis faction labor’s efforts to bridge its differences and draw closer together. It also attested to la bor’s “recognition of those moral values which provide national as well as personal security,” wnich it said had been demonstrated by labor’s struggle "against racke teers and against those who would destroy democratic principles and institutions.” At the same time, the message appealed to labor to accept the responsibilities which go "with the use of power.” "Power in itself is no measnre of enduring greatness,” the mes sage warned, “Because of its sig nificance to millions of workers and its place in the community, the labor movement cannot escape responsibility for the social conse quences of the use of its power.” In this connection, the message called upon the labor movement to exert its power for the de velopment of a “dynamic leader ship,” directed toward "the broth erhood to which the Christian gospel calls us.” “Such brotherhood,” the mes sage observed,” is nurtured in those unions where the rights of members to speak freely and fully are protected and encouraged. It grows stronger . . . with every victory over prejudice, bigotry and factionalism.” Pointing to the danger from •broad, the church statement naked labor to assame ita full share of responsibility fn the •crucial role America mart play in world affairs” \ (OsathHMd On Page 1) i LABOR SUNDAY MESSAGE, 1951 (Approved by the General Board of The National Council of the Churches in the United States af America and ssued through the Department of the Church and Economic Life.) Requested to be read in the churches on Labor Sunday, Sep tember 2. 1951, or if preferred, on September 9, 1951: Men serve God when they strive j for brotherhood, freedom, nnd; justice. It is our Christian con viction that useful work is also a means of serving God. Therefore, it is the Christian’s responsibility to understand the conditions un der which men work, to see that work is made meaningful, and that it brings a just reward. In jfhis spirit - the-. Mertonel Council of the Churches of Christ | in the United States of America j issues this Labor Sunday Mes-1 sage in honor of all workers both within ar,d outside the churches. Christian responsibility calls ua to action —wherever, in the midst of the plenty which multitudes today en joy, there are families who still taste the bitterness of daily pov erty; —wherever those who labor in the fields as migrants, whether from within er without our bord ers, work without respect ac corded to their human dignity, without a bhsia for security, or without a place in the community. —wherever the aged or disable! who depend on savings or pen sions, or others who depend on small, fixed incomes suffer in creasing hardships due to the ru ing cost of living: —wherever men are denied fair employment opportunities. Record of Achievement Through the years labor un ions have fought for justice often against enormous odds and often with little means except devotion and courage. Theirs has been a record of achievement in the cause of humanity in which the churches are proud to have had a share. Today our industrial life is mucj} improved through united effort, and much of the bitterness of the past has been forgotten. Rela tions between employee and em ployer are widely based upon ac ceptance of organised labor and are carried on with sincere ne gotiation and mutual respect. It is encouraging that progress is being made toward bridging the divisions within the ranks of labor, labor’s recognition of those moral values which provide na tional as well as personal secur ity is demonstrated by its share in the struggle against racketeers and against those who would de stroy democratic principles and institutions. We trust that un ions will continue the effort to keep themselves free from con rol by any external group which seeks to exploit them for its own ends. Bat another kind of vigilance is also called for in tMse days of great organisational accom plishment. Tbs vital spirit that gives life and meaning to trade unionism must not be lost. In a unique way the labor movement gathers up the aspirations of multitudes of people. It is not enough that millions of workers are union members and that their dues are paid regularly. It is not enough that wages are fairer, working conditions improved, and security against the hazards of sickness or old age more certain. It is not enough even that the labor movement has grown to large stature as an influence in community and national life. Al though these are welcome achieve ments for which trade unions de serve great credit, they are not enough. For man does not live by bread alone. Responsibility for Brotherhood We am alt challenged today !n the name of God to reject com placency. Fewer in itself is no measure of enduring greatness. Because of its significance to millions of workers and its place in the community the labor movement cannot escape respon sibility for the social consequences of the use of its power. For that power offers enormous con tinuing opportunity for good for taking dynamic leadership in working toward that brotherhood to which the Christian gospel calls us, for breaking down the walls between races, classes, and nations, and for creating a world in which all men can live as brothers. Such brotherhood is nurtured in those unions where the rights of members to speak freely and folly are protected and encouraged. It grows stronger with every victory in union or shop over prejudice, bigotry, and factionalism. i - The responsibility of labor for brotherhood extends—aad la wide, ly accepted—beyond its own con* fines. Labor, along with other seg ments of our society, should share fully in the crucial role America must play in world affairs. Our aid should not be employed to support reaction, to protect en trenched greed, nor to redfcue the discredited or corrupt. Only by placing works of justice and brotherhood at the heart of our foreign policy may wa hope to achieve either security for our selves or freedom from fear f~>r the world. To carry forward this world task effectively America must work with the other free dom-loving nations for the elimi nation everywhere of poverty, ex ploitation, and discrimination and for the building of a world based on increasing self-help and mu tual co-operation. Fulfillment Of Oar Common In our own times we have seen by repeated examples that coura geous labor leaden and enlighten ed industrialists, with the co operation and encouragement of churches, can accomplish great and significant social gains within a free democratic society. The fulfillment of oar common dream of a world in which panes aad justice prevail can coma only if (Ceatianed On Page f) IUEL GOMPERS, First AFL Present PRESIDENT SAMUB. GOMPERS ALWAYS LOOKED AHEAD (From Samuel Gompers Labor Day Message, 19*1) *S 3 Labor Day, 1M1, is the first the new century, a century be fraught with ipomenteaa results in every held of human activity. In spit* of th« fact that w« have occasionally great indus trial disputes, yet tk* organized labor movement in its essence (Continued On Pag* 8) Labor Department Director Of Women’s Bureau Speaks In Labor Day Message By FRIEDA S. MILLER, Director Women's Bureau. U. S. Depart ment of Labor Patriotic housewives without work experience, but ready and eager to take defense jobs that may help pay the skyrocketing family food bills, are not being extensively hired under present conditions because jobs for then are not presently available, ac cording to Miss Frieda S. Miller, Director of the Women’s Bureau of the U. S. Department of Labor. While there has been an in crease over the past months in the number of women operatives employed in factories, the pro portion of women on production jobs is still far below World War n, Miss Miller said. In the air craft industry the proportion of women workers rose from 12.4 to 15.1 per cent between' January and April of this year, and later figures showed further increases. But today’s heavier type of plane currently presents difficulties in hiring large numbers of women in construction, and as long as people already trained can be procured, the industry is not Uke I ly to take on large numbers of untrained women. That many women stand ready for defease recruitment is shown by statistics from the Bureau of Employment Security which re veal that 40 out of every 100 per sons interviewed in that Bureaus job-counseling service in April of this year were women, where as in the suae month Inst year, of every 100 of those who csm* seeking advice on job placement* There have also been recent sharp increases in the number of new job applications filed by women, Mis# Miller said. This has resulted partly from seasonal lay-offs of women workers, she explained, but it also reflects a continuing entry into the job market of women seeking work in defense - cennected establish ments. She said that even in de fense areas, applications by women for production jobs have so far been more numerous than the jobs opening up to them, ac cording to reports coming into the Women's Bureau. [hiring the past year while the Armed Forces more than doubled, drawing many men from civilian industry, women were entering the labor market in greater num bers than men weqs leaving it. Miss Miller reported. She pointed out that in May, 1951, there were 822,000 more females and 808,000 fewer males in the civilian labor force than there had been in the same month of 1950. Miss Miller gave aa the chief reason why the defense effort la not yet making full use of tne available woman power that there is no present over-all shortage of workers except in specialised fields. With defense industry still in the “tooling up" stags, its greatest unfilled demand is for engineers, draftsmen, machinists, tool and die makers, skilled air craft assembly workers, and other (Ceatinsed On Page •> Secretary of Labor Tobin Salutes U. S. Workers sm HURRY FINKS ADDED TO WEST COAST STAFF OF UNION LABE TRADES Secretary - Treasurer Ray F. Leheney of the AFL Union Labe! Trades Department announced last week, that* due to the ex panded activities of the Depart ment, he has appointed Harry Finks as international representa tive for the territory north of San Francisco in California and including Oregon, Nevada ' and Utah. . | Harry Finks eras bora Novem ber 9, 1906, in a painters' camp in San Francisco where his lather, a charter member of the painters’ union, was engaged in reconstruct ing the city for those made home less by the earthquake. He has been an active and aggressive member of organised labor since the beginning of his career 25 years ago. Among his current labor activ ities, Mr. Finks is president of Theatre Employeee Local B-66 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Motion Picture Machine Opera tors of the United States and Canada and a member of the j Cannery Workers, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauf . fours, Warehousemen and Helpers • of America, the California Val (leys' Union Card and Label League and an AFL voluntary state organiser. He was appoint ed by Governor Warren to the California Employment Advisory Board and among his civic activ ities he is serving on the Board j of Directors of the Sacramento Red Cross, Community Chest, Boy ;s»«. .nd «h.r -.If eies. NEW HEALTH PROGRAM Washington.—A series of tele vision programs on health, edu cation and security, to be pre sented each Monday, at 8:80 pAin EDT, under the title, “Every body's Business,” was begun July S by American Broadcasting Com P*ny-TV. — Let’s put on oar own “controls” by being UNION and baying LABEL! By MAURICE J. TOBIN, , Secretary of Labor In hot war and in cold war, American labor haa led in oar struggle* for freedom, human betterment, and peace. Down through the yean, Amer ican labor haa contributed to oar progress—economically, politically and spiritually. In hot war and fn cold war, labor has given its strength with out atint. , £ The toil, sweat, fmd treasure of our jr&thrts haa supported tha men in uftlforpi on far frontMMld near, and their prododtKWkwi* armed the fighting men and kept the home economy b'sltky. Labor-management co-operat'on, ingenuity, and inventiveness, as well aa patriotism and aanl, have made possible America’s great re cent records in producing for de fense and in building anew tha economic and military strength of the free world. On Labor Day last year I hailed the support given by American labor to the United» Nations anti-aggression action in Korea. On this Labor Day of 1961 it is fitting to note that over and above this continued ef fort, American labor haa thrown itself whole - heartedly into tha world-wide war of ideas. Labor was first and strongest in repudiating the Kremlin brand of communism and imperialism. Labor was quick to point out that one cannot buy security by forfeiting freedom. Labor point ed out that the worker* of Rqpria and the Iron Curtain countries have lost both freedom and se curity and gained only chains. Labor is a shield against creeping “take-it-easy" tendencies which would let inflation weaken our people and our economy. La bor is taking part more and more in international affairs, support ing our foreign aid programs, and carrying the gospel of freedom, betterment, and peace to tha working peoples of the whole world. I salute American labor on this Labor Day. It is steadfast and •olid. It it doing it* part, in a world bedevilled by atheistic com munism, to insure that the United States measures up to the great ness of its task — and to insure that good prevails over evil, at home and abroad. HR AUTO LOCAL BUTS BULOHHS 11 CHICAGO Chicago (ILNS)—Amalgamated Local 286, United Automobile Workers of America, ATL, has announced purchasing of its own 5-story building to boose its of fices, meeting halls, and recre ational activities. Tha structure, in the northern business section of Chicago, was a former bank building and is solidly construct ed of brick and stone with marble trim. One entire floor will bo de voted to a large membership hall (Continued On Pago •>
The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Aug. 30, 1951, edition 1
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