Newspapers / The North Carolina Shipbuilder … / Feb. 1, 1945, edition 1 / Page 3
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THE NORTH CAROLINA SHIPBUILDER Pare 3 YARD ASSURED ANOTHER YEAR'S OPERATION : . . Yard Notes Contract Awarded For 15 More C-2 Vessels; Lead Country In 1944 Awaiting Claim By Owners February 1, 1945 Anniversary February 3 4th Birthday Will n , IMP Lost any keys-, eyeglasses or other articles in the yard re cently? If you have, there's a good chance they may be at the office of Chief G. L. Kennell, waiting for you to come in and claim them; ' Scores of lost articles found here have been turned over to members of the Watch force, who take them to the chief's office. Shown above with Mrs. Julia G. Boggess, of the office, are a large box of keys, billfold, three watches, 12 pairs of glasses and a black kid glove. All-Time Monthly Safety Mark , Established Here In December Lost-Time Accident Rate Cut To Less Than Half Of National Average An all-time monthly safety record was established in De cember as- the yard reduced the number of lost-time accident cases to 11.8 per million man hours, a figure less than half the national average for ship yards and similar heavy indus tries. The month was a fitting close to the safest year in our history. Highlighting the achievement was the fact that ship way No. 5 launched hull 194 with only one lost-time accident, and that for but one day. Other ship ways followed in close order to do their share in ringing up the fine record. Several departments made real contributions- to the safety mark with the Drillers way up front as they completed two months without a lost-time acci dent. Others who went through December without any serious mishaps were the Yard Riggers, Pipe Coverers, Joiners-, Ship Carpenters, Machine Shop, Lumber Yard, Plant Engineers, Tool Room, Layoff, Anglesmiths, Ship Shed, Scrap and Salvage, Boiler Shop and Plumbers. Because of the large number of men working and exposure, the Fitters deserve high com mendation for their safety per formance during the period. They had but one lost-time ac cident and that cost but one day. In addition, not a single per manent disability was 1 suffered in the yard during December. The month's outstanding rec ord was, as is most always the case, the result of practical ap plication of one of the greatest factors in safety - cooperation. This teamwork extended from men working side by side on up through well-planned and con certed efforts of the various de partments. No longer is safety here considered the job of only one department or group ; it is everybody's business and they are doing something about it Looking out for the -other fel low and considering his safety (Continued cm page 4) Many More War Vets Enter Yard 29 Change From Uni forms To Production Roles In December Employment of former serv icemen of World war II in the yard continued at a substantial pace during December with 29 taking their place on the pro duction line after serving their country in uniform. Some of the men spent but a few months in service while others have service records covering periods up -to three years and including action in the European and Pacific war theaters. During 1944, approximate Iy 375 ex-servicemen of World war II entered the employ of the yard. Many of them worked here before joining the armed services and, after their dis charge from the Army, Navy or Marines because of medical or other honorable reasxms, re turned. Because they have seen and known the great need of sup plies to keep our armed forces victorious in the field, they real ize the importance of building gtd ships and other weapons as fast as possible. See 200th Ship Go Down Ways The yard will observe the fourth anniversary of its establishment on Saturday, Feb. 3, with the occasion to be marked by launching of our 200th ship, U. S. S. Dia mond Head, at 3:30 o'clock in the afternoon. Sponsor of the ammunition escort vessel will be Mrs. David Bill, of Norfolk, Va., wife of a naval officer serving in the South Pacific and daughter of Winder R. Harris, of Norfolk and Washington, Secretary of the Shipbuilders Council of America. Her attendants will be her sisters-, Misses Florence and Betty Harris, also of Norfolk. Mr. Harris will attend the ceremony. Veteran newspaper editor and former member of Congress, Mr. Harris was a member of the staffs- of several North and South Carolina news papers before going to Norfolk many years ago. He was manag ing editor of the Virginian Pilot at the time he was appointed to Congress from the Second Vir ginia district. He was later re elected and served in both the 77th and 78th Congresses before resigning to become Secretary of the Shipbuilders Council. The U. S. S. Diamond Head, our eighth AE, is named for a famous extinct volcano, near Honolulu, on the island of Oahu in the Territory of Hawaii. Some employees here today may remember the cold, rainy Feb. 3,' 1941, when ground was broken in the wind-swept flats, swamplands and woods along the Cape Fear river for the yard, today North Carolina's greatest war-born industrial en terprise. We began with only a tract of riverland, plans, a cadre of ex perienced men from Newport News and orders from the President to do our part in pro viding a "bridge of ships." It was, many thought, a gigantic job. Today we can look back and see that the accomplish ments as to the plant original plans were but for six ways and the production of ships have exceeded all expectations. In delivering 126 Libertys, 22 C-2's and 45 AKA's and other military vessels, we have won the reputation of fine shipbuild ( Continued on page 4) New Vacation Plan Is Announced Here The management has an nounced amendment of its Vacation plan for Hourly employees to provide that "Hourly employees who have completed one year of continuous service (deter mined as of January 1 and July 1 of each year) in the employ of the North Caro lina Shipbuilding Company or its parent company, Newport News Shipbuild ing and Dry Dock Com pany, are entitled to an an nual vacation of one week (40 hours) with pay at base rates. "Employees with five years of service are entitled to an annual vacation of two weeks (80 hours) with pay at base rates." The plan is effective as of January 1, 1945. U. S. Income Tax Filing Simplified Majority May Use Form W-2 And Eliminate All The Trouble Efficient' Yards Get First Call In Future "Federal income tax returns actually have been simplified for individuals for the year of 1944 and thousands- of persons should have but little trouble in filing between, now and March 15," Raymond D. Christman, Chief Zone Deputy of the Internal Revenue department, said re cently. "In the first place" he stated, "the great majority of individ uals may eliminate all the trou ble in filing a return on Form 1040 because they may simply take the Information Form W-2, furnished them by their em ployers, turn the original of this form over on the reverse side, write the names of their depend ents down on lines provided, then sign the return and either mail it to the Collector of In ternal Revenue in Greensboro, N. C, or hand it to the local In ternal Revenue office. "By this method the collector's office will figure the actual tax after allowing 10 per cent de ductions for such items as con tributionsy taxes and interest, then mail the taxpayer a state ment of his tax status. (Continued on page 4) Payroll Totals $46,415,000 During 1944 The gross payroll of the yard amounted to $46,415, 000 during 1944, according to figures recently released by officials of the Company. Benefits ; of the payroll, one of the largest in the state, are not only felt in Wilmington but throughout numerous other communi ties, both small and large, in Southeastern North Caro lina. It is a most important factor in the high degree of prosperity enjoyed by this section since the early part of 1941, when establishment of the yard was begun. It is interesting to note that of the $46,415,000, em ployees invested $5,042, 587.50, 10.86 per cent of the total payroll, in War bonds through participation in the payroll allotment plan and in the special War Loan campaigns. The maturity value of these bonds is ap proximately $6,700,000. During the year 1944, Federal Income taxes in the amount of 1 . $5,113,000, 11 per cent of the total pay roll, were collected from employees by the company and remitted to the govern ment under the withholding provisions of the Income Tax laws. A review of the past year also shows that employees have been most generous in answering calls from the community for financial as sistance in meeting its civic responsibilities. A total of $33,839 was given by em ployees to the Community War Chest and $35,346 was contributed to the annual Roll Call of the Wilmington chapter of the American Red Cross. Employees have also assisted in other chari table undertakings and, in some cases, assured their success. The recent award of con tract for an additional 15 C-2 type ships to the com pany by the U. S. Maritime Commission assures, ac cording to all present indi cations, operation of the yard during the coming year. The award was in keeping with policy of the commission to assign additional work to the most efficient yards. The fact that we delivered 60 "C" type vessels to lead the nation's yards in this type of work dur ing 1944 was- doubtless an im portant factor in letting of the job to us. How we handle this job, will in a large degree, determine our future. Efficient Yards Favored Recently Vice Admiral Emory S. Land, chairman of the com mission, warned that future contracts would go only to "ef ficient" yards in the commission's- plans to bring the vast war-time shipbuilding program to a gradual halt. He pointed out that the new Reconversion act prohibits the commission from letting contracts as an unemployment measure. Our reputation as shipbuild ers is- at a high point now but it's no time to rest on our laurels. Rather, the words of Admiral Land that our "record speaks for itself. They are tops" should serve as an in spiration for greater production during the coming year. We delivered six ships in December to bring the total to 60, far ahead of the nearest competitor in C-type construction. Remember, too, the need for ships is as great today as at any time in the past since the war began. In a New Year's- message to shipyard workers throughout the country, Admiral Land said: "Your accomplishments stand before the world. Yet all of us should today stand humble be fore the vastness of our respon sibility to the men overseas. Ships are their power and their salvation and as long as the war lasts there cannot be too many. Here is- our responsibility that through our continual ef forts there shall be no failure or delay for vessels to supply our armed forces and our Allies. "Let us resolve today to stay with the job, so that in the New Year our men, supported by the ships we build, shall have the fullest opportunity to achieve complete victory and prepare the way to a lasting peace." Tentative Program Pending At a recent press conference, Admiral Land explained that completion of the 1944 contract awards, plus construction allotments- of 226 new shipsinclud ing the 15 in our contract calls for delivery of 9,000,000 tons of shipping during the first six months of, this year. Still pend ing, he added, is a tentative ship construction program under consideration of the Allied joint chiefs of staff. The latest contract brings the total number of ships awarded the yard to 243. As of Feb ruary 1, it still has 50, includ ( Continued on page 4) "
The North Carolina Shipbuilder (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Feb. 1, 1945, edition 1
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