VOL. XXII, NO. 10 _•_ CHARLOTTE. N. C_ THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER t, IMS SubMriptiM Price *2.00 Per T«f
? LABOR DAY r 195 3
Ji
See. 34.16 P.LAR
U. S. POSTAGE PAID
Charlotte, N. C.,
Permit No. 628
Carpenters Pull Out
American Fed. Labor
WASHINGTON—The 600,000 member United Brotherhood
of Carpenters and Joiners pulled out of the American Fed
eration of Labor August 12 after the AFL’s Executive
Council endorsed a proposed no-raiding pact with the CIO.
General President Maurice A. Hutcheson of the United
Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners handed AFL Presi
dent George Meany a letter August 12 announcing the 600,
000 member union was walking out.
Only ar few hour* earlier the
Executive Council had announced
it was recommending if no-raid
ing truce with the CIO. The rec
ommendation would be placed be
fore the AFL convention at St.
Louis next month for approval.
Hutcheson, however, told coun
cil members their action indicated
"that they are more concerned
with the affairs of the CIO than
they are with those of the federa
■ tion.”
Hutcheson leveled charges that
the AFL has failed to control “its
own affiliates.” He spoke of “dis
ruptive conditions” within the
AFL and said for many years
the Executive Council failed to
act on complaints filed with its
Building Trades Council.
The carpenters leader said his
union had an objection to a “no
raiding” pact al sack, but saw no
reason to remain in the AFL as
long as it wasn’t settling its own
problems. v
ORDERED DROPPED
AFL President George Meany
announced he has notified »n
State Federations of Labor, Cen
tral Labor Councils, and Building
Trades Councils to drop represen
tatives of the United Brotherhood
of Carpenters from affiliation.
This action was taken, he em
phasised, h» accordance with the
AFL constitution since the union
has withdrawn from the federa
tion.
“la the final analysis,” Meany
explained at s press conference,
«we feel that the Carpenters be
long in the American Federation
«f Labor aad that they may re*
_< before long, MR they left us
and we have to obey the rules
Vrf the AFL us set fmrtit in our
constitution.”
UNACCOUNTABLE ACTION
Mt—y was shown Chicago
tiewnpopor haadlina stories quot
ing William L. Hutchsaon, presi
dent emeritus of the Carpenters,
ns this tewing to “■■he war* on
the AFL. Menny said he did not
take such threats too serionoly.
-The defection of the Carpen
ters is not going to hurt our or
ganisation eery much, Menny
amid. "Wo didn't like to see it
happen, hut we're still stronger
than ever before in our history.
-1 actually don't know why
the Carpenters ^ wKhdrew.^ I hart
given in their Wttor of
withdrawal doesn't *ako nenae.
-There is nothing basic in this
_no real reason for the Carpen
ters' leaving. They «*T in th*5r
better of withdrawal that we
haven’t enforced jurisdictional de
cisions, yet they cenoode in the
very same sentence that the Car
paaters have not felt themselves
to comply with such de
cisions. ■* | <
They know very well that the
AFL does not have police pow
ers over iU affiliates and they
would have been among the fast
to oppose giving us such powers.
Asked whether he had heard
any reaction from local officials
of the Carpenters from various
parts of the country, Beany said
-I have received a number ol
asking for an explanation.
! patently, the withdrawal
Ap
as
• surprise even to the officials of
the Brotherhood of Carpenters.
These local union officials don’t
see any more logic or reason for
the action than we do.”
DOUBTS POLITICAL ANGLE
Meany scouted published re*
ports that the withdrawal was
prompted by political considera
tions, since the AFL endorsed
Adlai Stevenson for President in
the last campaign while General
Eisenhower was endorsed by
Maurice Hutcheson, president of
the Carpenters. He said . he
doubted whether such considera
tions entered into the picture at
all.
Asked • whether an alliance be
tween the Hutchesons and John
L. Lewis, president of the United
mine Workers, might have''
prompted the, action, Meany re
plied:
MI doubt that, too. John L.
Lewis has no effect these days
other than to stir up a little wind,
now and then.
Asked whether disaffiliation
from the AFL would hurt the
Carpenters Union, Meany said:
“It won’t help their standing
with employers. It will prove em
barrassing to local representatives
of the anion who now hold office
in central labor bodies or state
federations of labor. They are
bound to he csncemsd about their
relations with ether AFL unions,
particularly ia the huUdfag trades.
“It cornu down to this. The
Carpenters have boon port of the
AFL so Ion* that they, can't get
used to the Moa of beinr oat,
especially as they can't under
stand why it happened or find any
logical reason for the separation.
We are sorry it happened and we
hope they will be back with as
before too long.*'
Meany said a "plan" for effec
tive settlement of jurisdictional
disputes between AFL affiliates
will be submitted to the AFL
convention in St. Louis, Septem
ber SI, but declined to reveal the
exact nature of it at this time.
He emphasised that every effort
had been made to adjust disputes
between the Carpenters and other
AFL unions and citey a recent
settlement of a conflict between
the union and the American Fed
eration of State, County and
Municipal Employes.
"The record," he said, "is * re
plete with cease of jurisdictional
disputes that have been settled.
By far the greater number of
disputes do get settled by negoti
ation sad agreement of the par
"It should be remembered that
the AFL Executive Council does
not consider jurisdictional cases
until the conflicting unions notify
us they have not been able to set
tle the matter among themselves.
We get the tough ones.
"It is unfair for Hutcheson to
criticise us for not being able to
control our unions in such cases,
when he has been unwilling to in
cept control himself. .
TALK SCHEDULED
Published reports that George
, Meany, president of the American
Federation of Labor, had met with
William L. Hutcheson, presided
(Continued on Pago 2)
«***? /r
UWr las Progressed
Slice fust lard Days
By; GEORGE MEANT. President
Aaerkai Federation of Labor
On this Labor Day, 1953, the
more than eight million members
of the American Federation of
Labor may well pause and con
sider how far we hare come,
what responsibilities are have as
sumed. and what we may do to
help move forward to a more
peaceful and happier tomorrow.
When the American Federation
of Labor was- founded three
quarters of a century ago, its lead
ers and members concentrated up
on a fow simple objectives. The
growing strength of industrialists
and the public prejudices against
unions in those days made dif
ficult the attainment of even theta
fundamental aims.
We had to battle for the very
right to organise. We had to
establish our right to strike.
Some persons even today would
deny us these rights, but they are
few in number compared 4ith
those in the first hard days of
organising.
COME A LONG WAT
We have come a long way mace
theug. It i» now more definitely
estateished that working men and
women have net only a right but
a duty to organise and use eco
nomic weapons to obtain more
adequate and just wages and
more safe working conditions.
Of course, in saying that this
GEORGE MEANY
is Ml acknowledged right, we can
not lose light of the Taft-Hartley
Act, which grew out of modern
anti-labor prejudices, and which
increases antagonisms rather than
decreases them. As we hare ail
said repeatedly, this is an unjust
law, aad until it is raplaeed or
amended substantially to allow
trade unions to function effective
ly we cannot fed that labor’s
(Continned on Page X)
Printers Hold Annual
Convention In Detroit
ITU DELEGATES APPROVE BARGAINING PLAN AND
ALSO OPERATIONS OP UNITYPO, INC, WHICH
PUBLISHES II DAILY NEWSPAPERS._
DETROIT—In the closing min
utes of the 96th convention ef the
lslimi* Typographical Ue
fca here. Friday, the delegates
in 1947 and. felleared since that
This dedaioa fdUewed dose on
the heels ef the convention’s ds
cision Thursday to give full ap
proval to defense activities eon
officers through the union-owned
corporation. Uaitypo, after a full
day of debate. Uuitype publishes
11 dailey newspapers spd one
weekly and furnishes them news
with a press service, known as
New Newspaper Service.
Delegates rejected a minority
report condemning the venture as
unconstitutional. TTien the con
vention gave a one-sided vote ef
approval to its continuation,
which represented a clear victory
for President Woodruff Randolph.
Secretary-Treasurer Don Hurd
said that the ITU’s defease cost*
have dropped from $1.9 million
a month before the publishing cor
poration was formed to $Sf<M>00
monthly. *
Unitypo is financed through de
fense funds.
Ia other action Friday the dele
gatee adopted an amendment to
the I.T.U. by-laws guaranteeing
honorable conduct on the part of
candidates in campaigns for elec
tion of International office.
HURD CITES OLD LAW8
Among other conditions, the
amendment provides that “no pd
litical group or party may bo
by other thau members
ef the uniou, and a correct and
complete list of doners nmrt bo
WOODRUFF RANDOLPH
International Typographical Union
ignated to accept such donations.”
la the debate on the I. T. U.
defense program, John I. Conley,
former vice president and recog
nised leader of the opposition,
Joined with two members in sub
mitting a minority report charg
ing finds had been spent without
authorisation by union law, aad
that the program did not have
the support of l T. U. members
generally.
Secretary-Treasurer Don Hard
cited law adopted five years ago
authorising the executive council
to expend defense funds in estab
lishing competing newspapers in
cities where strikes or lockouts
had occurred.
Also approved by the 400 dele
gates was a resolution giving the
officers the right to make unlim
Re'lect This Labor Day
On fan* Side A.F.L
By WILLIAM P. SCHN1TZLER
Secretary-Treasurer, Aaerfca
Federation Of Labor
.Oa this Labor Day wo who am
members of the American Feder
ation of Labor mi|ht do a title
reflecting from the personal, the
human side. We might well real
ise, for instance, that the Amor
ieaa Federation of Labor is not
jhI aa organisation. It’s not
just something down la Washing
ton of which we’re all members.
The American Federation of
Labor is a living thing. It's you.
It’s me. The federation is year
neighbor. It’s the man who brings
the milk and the bread la the
morning, the bus driver who takes
you to work aad the children to
school, the gasoline attendant who
puts gasoline in the ear you drive.
The federation is the men who
built our homes, our roods aad
Widgea, who keep the trains and
trucks rolling, and the planes ty
ing. .It’s the butcher, the baker,
tht boilermaker—you udl them
who sit beside you at the ball
games, at the movies gad la
LOOK AT REALTIES
When aayeae speaks about La
bor, Labor with a capital L, he
means you ’'and me aad our
neighbors. He means working man
and women. As long aa we re
main working sson aad women,
we must be ourselves. We’re not
anyone else. *
WA&T PROPER RIGHTS
We want to tret rid of
We went honee available a
we can afford, or for sal
Fink Re-Elected To Head
N. C Labor Federation
ANNUAL CONVENTION IN WILMINGTON NAMES J. A.
MORRIS OF RALEIGH 1st VICE PRESIDENT; A. L.
GUNTHER OF CHARLOTTE. AND K. C. PLYLER
OF GASTONIA NAMED AMONG DISTRICT VICE
PRESIDENTS.
THREE NEGRO VICE PRESIDENTS AT LARGE NAMED
AND INCLUDE KING WILLIS OF CHARLOTTE; DIS
TRICT VICE PRESIDENTS INCLUDED ON THE
STATE FEDERATION EXECUTIVE BOARD, J. E.
JERVA1S OF ASHEVILLE, K. C. PLYLER OF GAS
TONIA, S. C. JONES OF GREENSBORO; C. E.
KORN EG AY OF WIILMINGTON, AND RUSSELL E.
JORDAN OF HIGH POINT.
C. A. Fink of Salisbury, was reelected president of the
North Carolina Federation of Labor, and J. W. Lazenby,
also of Salisbury, was likewise retained as secretary-treas
urer at,the annual convention held August 10, 11 and 12
; in Wilmington.. Fink is now serving his 17th term and
Lazenby is beginning his fourth year in office.
The only lively contest in the election of officers was that
of first vice president. Wilbur Hobby of Durham lost in a
i run-off to J. A. Morris of Raleigh. . ______
As is customary the Unit day
of the 1953 session was taken up
prnicipally with the opening ex
ercises, conducted by tha local
Central Labor Union, and with
speeches by prominent guests, la
bor representatives and other. Al
so the convention committees were
named.
Forrest H. Shuford. State La
bor Commissioner, was one *of
the principal speakers. Mr. Shu
ford’s address was highly en
lightening. He said that non*
agricultural employment went up
11 per cent during three yfars
fighting in Korea and that the
earnings of factory workers in
this state increased IS per cent
during this period..
Mr. Shuford paid his respects
to the State Federation and said
that North Carolina. Labor plays
a very important part in. the
state's economy. Continuing, he
said: i
8AAFETY INSPECTION
“The federation has anpported
such measures u the eetsldiah.
meat of a safety inspection serv
ice for th{ co net ruction industry
in the Labor Department—a serv
ice whMh had long been needed,
be'said. “It has also favored a
minimum wage lav to protect
low-paid, unorganised workers.”
SKuford said he receives many
letters from iaUn-state workers
who think they are covered by the
federal wage-hone law, bet wh*
actually ere not Many of these
contain pathetic asssants of pee
pie working for wages far beloO*
a decent subeisteace level. Under
the federal tew, ha said, a tsdal
of $M>*£40 in hack wage* *•*]
found dm ts MW in the SUte
by the department's wnge-heor in
vestigators during the test flsenl
Another highly interesting ad
dress was one given by William
J. McSorley, Assistant Director of
Labor’s League for Political Ed
ucation. of Washington, D. C.
Mr. McSorley was pinch-hitting
for J. J. MeDevttt, Director, who
vis unable to attend.
“Political action ie one of the
most important activities of La
bor,” Mr. McSorley said. An be
then asked AFL officials at the
meeting to assist in * drive to
get voluntary oonti ibutleAs to
LLPE from members of Labor in
North Carolina. He also called
upon individual members of la
bor organisations to go back to
you power to activate union mem
ber* in political action he said.
Among many resolution* adopt
ed by the convention eras one by
which the constitution and by
law* of the federation were
changed to remove the obliga
tion of full-time officers of the
organisation to make a monthly
report la all affiliated local un
ions aad central bodies in the
state. The requirement of a
monthly report for full time of
ficers was paaaad at the 46th
annual convention of the NCPL
in Durham last August. Presi
dent Fink was thea, aad la now,
the only full time paid officer of
tho organisation.
The federation by;laws were
changed, to provide that one Ne
gro will serve on the nine-mem
ber executive board. The beard
is composed of the president, Ant
vice prsaldenf. secretary-treasurer.
The latter are elected by aad
from the » district vice preei