Electrical Union News, 1949 June 17

oo ELECTRICAL: UNION NEWS.

June 10," 1949

Leaflet Campaign
In 301 Election

During the week before the elec-'
tion f convention delegates the
local ‘Carey-Block faction distribu-
ted leaflets nearly daily at the
plant smearing UE policies, nation-
al UE leaders, Business Agent. Leo
Jandreau, the 304 Executive Board,

and the Electrical Union | News...

Two of’ the, leaflets were prepared
by the ‘Carey-Block .group in. Dis-
trict 6. ; ; :

The final leaflet Tuesday had a
cartoon labeled “Comrad Leo”. Sig-
natures of all the Carey-Block can-
didates- were under this attack on
Jandreau. - nee

The Carey-Block faction issued’
several statements to the _ press
during the. campaign. They made
use of Victor Riesel, notorious anti-
labor columnist, who attacked Lo-

‘cal-B01- and- Jandreau in a. piece..

printed Monday in the New York
Daily Mirror. It was so obviously
based on untruths and distortions
that even the Schenectady Union-
Star,, which carries the Riese} col-
umn ordinarily, omitted it,
Jandreau and the candidates run-
ning with him in support of na-
tional UE policies issued no cam-
paign leaflets nor statements.

Board Issues Statement

The 801 Executive Board, how-.

ever, issued a leaflet Tuesday ure-
ing the union membership to vote
in the election and condemning the
attacks on the union's election pro-
cedure. The leaflet consisted of a
stutement adopted by the Board
at its special meeting Monday by
a vote of 21 to 4.

“It now seems that every year
as we go into negotiations with GE
we face a smear attack fed to the
newspapers by certain union mem-
bers,” the Board said.

“This year we have direct proof
that the campaign was planned by
outside forces who are guiding the
Schenectady supporters of James
Carey and Harry Block.

“The main attack centers on the
arrangements for the election. Yet
the so-called ‘Democratic Activa’

supporters on the 301 Executive

Daddy Boulware
Turns te Mamma

Dear old. Daddy ‘Boulware last
week ran.to Mamma to cover up
for his blunder of. the - previous

“week, a

Soméone must have told him that
his piece “in the -Works News of
May 27 about 'the:“good” speed-up
was a-bit stupid. i

So the Boulware piece in... the
June 8 issue entitled “Is Mama in
a ‘Speed-Up’ too?” attempts to
cover up. by confusing the picture.
Now Boulware tries to make you
believe that:labor opposes progress
and labor- machinery: ‘This
is a crude’ distortion,

Labor is-for labor-saving devices.
The question is: are such improve-
ments used to benefit the workers
with shorter hours and higher pay,
or are they used to increase the
load on the Workeis and lay thous-
ands off ?:

Boulware talks of “periods of de-
clining sales and jobs” as if such

things fall from heaven. The fact

is that Big Business, and specially

GE, has used improvem nts yin"

manufacturing methods to “Speed-
up workers, reach new profit rec-
ords, and create unemployment.
BigBusiness profiteering through
the speed-up is the direct cause of
‘unemployment. The Hoover de-
pression proved that.

“Independent” supporters,

“Local 301, in meetings and in
the Electrical Union News, has giv-
en the membership the FACTS”,
the Board declared.

The statement urged the mem-
bership to back up the coming con-
tract negotiations and maintain
membership control of the UE by
voting in the election,

The 21 who voted for the state-

ment were: Joseph Kelly, Sidney
Friedlander, Leo Sisto, Albert E.
Davis, William Mastriani, Peter 3B.
Pisano for Joseph Mangino, Dewey
Brashear, Robert J, Phillips, Anth-
ony J. Esposito, Frank Emspak for
Willard Kuschel, Helen Quirini,
Sam Scott, Willam A, Stewart,
William Hodges, William Temple-
ton, James J. Cognetta, Henry

~-Beard. voted. for-every detail of the... Kaminski,.Anthony Villano, John

election arrangements,—the date,

the place, the tellers, the rules.”

The statement pointed out that
the Carey-Block group had sland-
ered the four tellers, although three
ot them were clected to union offige
last December on coulition slates

P, Brauneisen, Leo Jandreau and
Wililam A, Downs.

Voting “No” were Frank Fiorillo,
Stephen Watts, Raymond Flani-
gan and Stanley Bishop.

Four members were absent, John
Green, Edward J. La Bombard, Jv,,

of the “Democratic Action”..and Fred Pacelli and Albert J, Spears. -

“ee
REMEMBER ME?

DUN BRADSTREET REPORTS SHARPEST
DERE) LING COST CLIMB INS MONTHS acm

ClO Warns Congress
Against Mundt Bill

The national CIO has protested
to Congress that the Mundt-Nixon-
Ferguson bills would ‘“substantial-
ly curtail civil rights guaranteed
to every American.”

Thomas Harris, assistant CIO
counsel, warned a Senate sub-com-
mittee:

“Liberty is indivisible and re-
pression contagious. Unless the
civil rights of Communists are
protected, those of others will not
be,”

He said the language of the bills
is so broad “that they could be
used to imperil the existence of all
labor unions.”

Did You Know?

Of the 29 million families with
incomes of $8000 (the average GE
wage) or less, 11 million families
held no savings during 1948. And
8% million families had less than
#500 in savings. These are U. S.
Federal Reserve Board figures.

MAKE JUNE 19
A FAMILY OUTING
IT’S FIELD DAY

New Time Studies"

Ordered at Tiffin

The piece work standards set by
GE on two field coil jobs, which
were the principal cause of the suc-
cessful 16-day strike at the Tiffin,
Ohio, plant last February, have
been ruled out by the arbitrator in
the dispute. :

The arbitrator ordered new time
studies, with the proper allow-
ances.

The dispute centered around the
change from taping to cord tying
of the field coils. The arbitrator
held that the change made the work
a new job, and that therefore the
company was within its rights in
setting temporary prices, but that
the permanent standards set by
the company studies were not valid.

Joseph Dermody, UE interna-
tional representative and secretary
of the GE Conference Board, de-
clared that standards set by the
company as the result of the new
time studies will not be accepted
unless they are satisfactory.

The account in the Works News
was very misleading.

BUILD THE UNION

FOR JOBS — 35 HOUR

EEK AT 40 HOURS’ PAY

- 3

UE. Ro & M. W.A,

Vol. 7 — No. 23

SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK

JUNE 17, 1949.

GE High Pressure
In MBA Campaign

After. failing: to push. .{rreugh

the proposed amendments to the
_ “Mutual Benefit Association plan at
a meeting of the MBA General:

Committee last Friday, GE offic.

ials are still fighting to put across:

their program,

It is reported that the “amend-
ments will be submitted again to a
meeting of the General Committee
June 24, Last week GE got only
51 votes of the 56 needed to make
the two-thirds majority required
for adopting any amendment.

Meader’s Threat

At the start of last Friday’s
meeting apparently not even 51
committee members favored the
amendments proposed by the MBA
leadership. J. C. Meader, MBA
secretary, put on high pressure to
line up votes. His remarks carried
the threat that the whole MBA
might be scrapped if the amend-
ments weren’t adopted by the time
the new state Disability Law goes
into effect. This threat ignores the
fact that there is a union in the
plant fighting for adequate disabil-
ity benefits,

When this week's issue of BU
News went to press Local 301 had
received no answer to the letter
Business Agent Leo Jandreau sent
Works Manager Lewis J. Male
June 9 on MBA. Jandreau repeat-
ed the union’s request for a meet-
ing with GE on the proposed
amendments. The letter pointed
out that under the new State Dis-
ability Law the MBA plan is clear-
ly subject to collective bargaining.

.Union’s Objections

\../ Jandreau said the union objects

tothe present set-up under -which
employees make all the» contribu.
tions toward MBA and ‘the com-
pany pays nothing but has con-
(Continued on Page 2)

Learning What xX. -Ra Ay

Dominick Sparrano, left, Poreelain Division worker, has a consulta-
tion with Dr, Saul Solomon, lung expert retained by Local 301 to ex

amine members for signs of silicosis.

GE Contract Talks Start in New York

Viee President L. R. Boulware
and George Pfeif headed the un-
usually large General Electric
Company committee at the apen-
ing of contract negotiations with
UE Tuesday morning at the com-
pany offiees in New York City,

UE was represented by its nine-
man negotiating committee, elect-
ed by the GE Conterence Board of
UE, assisted by international oftic-
ers and representatives. GE offic-
ials outnumbered them, however.

Assisting the UE negotiating
committee were Albert J. Fitzger-
ald, general president, and Julius
Emspak, secretary-treasurer, Both
are former GE employees, Leo

Jandreau, 301 business agent, is
the senior member of the commit-
tea,

Negotiations are under the con-
tract reopening clause. The pro-
posals adopted by the GE Confer-
enee Board and ratified by the
membership call for an over-all in-
crease of $500 per year per em-
ployee, to cover higher wages, bet-
ter pensions, improved health pro-
grams and other benefits, inelud-
ing shorter hours of work without
cuts in pay. The negotiations con:
tinued Wednesday.

John Callahan, Pittstield business
agent, was removed from the ne-
gotiating committee with the un-

1 Check-up Reveals Silicosis Cases
Means Board Sends

Facts to GE:
. hal d
Asks Action

Silicosis has made heavy inroads
among the Poreelain Division
workers in Building 68, a check-un
arranged by Local 301 has revealed,

Medical examinations made of 36
men and women disclosed seven
severe cases of silicosis and 17
cases rauging from mild to moder-
ate. The examinations were made
last Saturday at the union hall hy
Dr, Saul Solomon, New York City
lung specialist retained by the un.
ion, :
56 Are X-Rayed

Several weeks ago the union had
X-rays made of the lungs of 56 men
and women working in Porcelain,
Thirty-six of them appeared later
for the medical examinations as a
follow-up. There is at least one
silicosis victim amonj Kk
ers who had only the:-X-rays and
did not have the examination Sat-
urday. The X-rays of one of these
workers showed he has a severe
case,

The union notified GE of these
facts this week in a formal griev-
ance case and charged the com-
pany with “gross neglect of the
welfare of these workers.” 801
asked management to meet at once
on the health hazards revealed by

(Continued on Page 2)

animous approval of the commit-
tee members. The action was based
on his failure to support the bar-
gaining program, Recently he sent
GE proposals in direct conflict with
the Conference Board program
without consulting the Conference
Board. 025) :
The committee voted to recom.
ment to the next Conference Board
mecting that Callahan be removed
permanently from the committee.

"ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS

Silicosis Cases _

Revealed by 301

(Continued from: Page ‘1) bee

the check-up, and to discuss; thie °
following proposals of the 801 Ex-’:
ecutive Board. Reese

Board Recommendations:

A joint survey should be made of |
conditions in Bldg. 68 to reduce or
‘eliminate: the dust hazard, with:

union experts present. ve

A joint survey should be made
of the conditions of all workers ex-
posed to these health hazards. This
would mean the examination of the
other: Bldg. 68 workers and of
workers in other sections with ser-
ious dust hazards, particularly the

s:and Mica. A list of the

be.taken by the. company and turn.
ed over to doctors named by the
union.

Special compensation should be
provided for workers already found
to be affected by silicosis, Any
worker who.has to be transferred
because of the disease should -be
guaranteed against any reduction
in earnings, Silicosis victims not
totally: disabled should be compen-
sated for redyced earnings.
Workers in’ Porcelain have told
the union that they were not warn-
ed by the company of the effect of
dust on their lungs and were not
allowed to see X-rays made by the
company. Most of the workers ex-
amined in the union-eheck-up had
not been examined by GE for over

Just What He Wanted! -

é Cea’

NNER ape Oe
. x
Maula Seale al :

selves desire. ” aaa
“The” union letter said that matty”

a year, it was reported.

“I gave Percival a gold statue of Senator Taft for Father's Day.”

Raise Obtained

A man classified as tallyman in
the Knolls I research laboratory
was reclassified to B stockkeeper
last week, with a 444-cent raise re-
troactive to May 2, through a
grievance processed by Board Mem-
ber Anthony Villano.

The Works Manager's office also
agreed that in assigning the man
to relief duty in various Knolls
stockrooms, nothing would be done
that would deprive him of his bar-
gaining rights under the UE con-
tract.

15 Per Cent Discount
Offered on Clothing

Members of Local 801 can get a
15 per cent discount on goods they
buy from Bi-Mor Government Sur-
plus, 232 State St. if they show
cards provided by the Bi-Mor com-
pany to the union. Shop stewards
started distributing the cards this
week,

A discount card may be used by
a 801 member or any member of
his family. It must be ‘shown to
the cashier when the bill is paid
and is good any day except a sale
day. The discount does not apply
to tobacco.

Bi-Mor sells men’s
camping supplies, and women’s
dungarees, The store will be open
to 9 pm. Thursday and Fridays,

The 301 membership voted’ at a

ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS

Unireo Exyctrican, Rapro & MacHInE
Workers or America, CIO

Scnenecrapy GH Locan 302
~ <>
Published by Editorial Committee

Mary McCartin, Chairman
Arthur R. Bertini, Seeretary
William Christman Frank D'Amico

: Victor Pasche

bution of the discount cards in the

Editortal Office shops, .

Exectrica, Union News
301 Liberty St., Schenectady, N. Y¥.
Telephone 3-1386

ee

IS Your Shop 100% UE?

clothing,

recent. meeting to authorize distri-..

Appeals Are Won

For Injured Men

Through appeals from unfavor-
able decisions of a workmen's com-
pensation referee, awards have
been won for two 801 members for
facial sears caused by accidents at
the plant. °

Jacob J. Klimchak, who was in-
jured May 17, 1948, and Joseph J.
Baleerzak, Building 60 turret lathe
operator injured last June 7, get
$125 each.

The appeals were handled by
the union attorney, Marshall Per-
lin,

———————_—
10 p.m. Monday
WXKW

“June 17, 1948

GEH igh Pressures

in MBA: Campaign

, (Continued from Page 1)
trolling power. ‘GE appcints the
main officers of ‘MBA. and can veto
‘any change which the people them-'

inadequacies of MBA shouldbe

corrected and listed as examples:
Pensioners ‘should’ be entitled, to

full benefits after. their retirement. .
Disability. benefits: should be. paid

. for time lost because of pregnancy.

The maximum payment of $26

"should be increased.

Allowances for surgery should
be increased and expenses for la-

' boratory fees, transfusions, x-rays,

ete. should be covered.

The one week waiting ‘period _ etal

should be’ eliitinated.

The union takes the position that
the workers should be*protected by
having direct union répresentation

“on “MBAL*: The need” for ‘this is.

shown by the large number of valid
elaims for benefits which the pres-
ent MBA officials -have turned
down,

UE Jobless to Ask _
Action at Capitol

Unemployed UE members from
all parts of the country will be in
Washington Monday and Tuesday
to press for action against unem-
ployment and for extending “52
20” unemployment insurance benc-
fits for veterans of the recent war.

Local 301 will be represented by
Robert Northrop, World War II
veteran recently laid off from his
job as a punch press operator in
Building 17. He was formerly sec-
retary-treasurer of the Capital Dis-

trict CIO Council. The 301 Execu- —

tive Board named’ him Monday to
be the 801 delegate.

The UE group will meet Sunday
in Washington to map their plans
for calling on Administration lead-
ers and members of Congress the
next two days, They also want to
meet members of the Council of
Economic Advisers.

If You Are Laid Off

Members who are laid off for
lack of work and not placed on
other jobs are reminded to reg-
ister at the union office. By
keeping in touch with the union
they will protect their seniority
rights under the contract. They
can also come to the union for
assistance on their rights under
the. unemployment — insurance
law, veteran’s legislation, etc.

Dues for unemployed mem-
bers are 10 cents a month.

4 The Activities Committee will

“June 17, 1949.

ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS

UE Won Too Much
Canadian GE Says ©

The Canadian GE has: combined
its refusal to grant a pay raise
with an unconscious tribute to UE,

during, th
of the mas itract for Canadian
GE plants represented by UE, The
company told-the UE Joint Com-
mittee that .‘UE‘ has ‘won for GE
workers more. than other unions
have won, and therefore the work-
ers aren’t entitled to any increase
in 1949. :

Canadian UE members are com-
plaining to management at the
various plants about the company’s
stalling tactics in the contract ne-
gotiations,

hind the efforts to form a company
union at the Montreal plant. It
has refused the UE proposal for a

“consent election” under_ povern-_
cn supervision, such as the com-

{pny agreed to at Cobourg and

Barrie. New employees hired at

Montreal are taken on a tour of,

the plant by company union lead-
ers, according to the Canadian UE
News. .

Higher Price Won
On Boring Mill Job

The boring mill price dispute in
Building 60 has been settled as the
result of a determined stand by the
operators. The job, on the big
mills, was the object of a time
study two months ago, which ran
over three weeks. Supervision
then set the price at $855, which
the men said was figured to en-
able them to make the AER (an-
ticipated earning rate) instead of
harmal earnings, The group took
the position that they could not ac.
cept time studies on this basis.

The case was taken to Works
Manager Lewis J, Male. After the
job was “watched” a second time
by the foremen, a new price of $380
was negotiated with Shop Stew-
ards Joseph Alois and Ted Wheeler.

BOUGHT YOUR TICKET
FOR 301 FIELD DAY?

Father's Day Prize
iald Day Program

“will be a special Math-
er’s Day prize awarded Sunday
at the 301 field day.

give a surprise award to the
father who attends with the
greatest number of his children.
No fair borrowing the kids up
the street!

egotiations_on..renewal..

___ GE. has..not. denied that it is be-.

Observers to Attend
Civil Rights Meeting

The 3801 Executive Board voted
Monday, 21 to 8, to send two ob-

servers to the Conference on: Civil
and Human Rights called for June

lew. York City by..the.-Civil

ights Congress of New York.

Treasurer William Downs and
Board Member Joseph Kelly were
chosen to attend. Under the mo-
tion passed by the Board; they are
to attend only as observers to £a-
ther facts and report them to the
301 membership. They are not au-
thorized to vote or to commit 301
to any action taken by the confer-
ence,

The invitation to the conference
was sent to Local 301 by Henry

V..Allen. of .the.Schenectady- chap...

ter, Civil Rights Congress, Allen,
a retired GE engineer, pointed out
the nieeting will be of particular in-
terest_to trade unions... ee

The call to the conference stated
that the “right of every American
to live by his own conscience” is
being challenged today by recent
developments.

Cites Recent Developments

It declares that 12 Communist
leaders on -trial in New York are
being tried “not for anything they
have done, or plan to do, but solely
for what they think.” If they are
convicted, “it will mean that every
Americans will be deprived of: the
right to judge and choose what po-
litical party to support, what books
he may read, what beliefs he may
hold,” the statement said.

The statement also listed as rea-
sons for calling the conference
the wave of “loyalty” probes of
government employees, the attacks
on labor unions, growing anti-Sem-
itism, censoring of text books, the
blacklisting of progressive writers.

Increasing instances of violence
against the Negro people were
mentioned, including the six Ne-
groes condemned to die in Tren-
ton, N. J. for a crime they did not
commit, the imprisonment of Mrs,
Rosa Ingram in Georgia for de-
fending herself and children, and
police brutality in New York.

os Roll-eall Vote

Board members voting’ to send
observers were: John Green, Helen
Quirini, Joseph Kelly, Dewey Bra-
shear, William Downs, Albert BE,
Davis, Fred Pacelli, Willard Kus-
chel, Leo Sisto, Henry Kaminski,
William Hodges, Anthony Villano,
James Cognetta, A, J. Spears, Will-
jam Stewart, Marshall White for
William Templeton, Peter Pisano
for Joseph Mangino, E. J. La Bom-
bard Jx., Sidney Friedlander, Will-
iam Mastriani and Anthony Espo-
sito,

Voting “No” were Raymond Fla-

Farmers Union Helps UE Strikers

SE
Bs

Strikers at the Singer Sewing Machine Company plant, Elizabeth, Ny J.,
receiving the first weekly truckload of chickens, eggs and vegetables

from the Eastern Division of the Farmers Union.

Lou Slocum, at ex-

treme right, delivering the food to UE Local 401, has been organizing
for the Farmers Union for several years in the Schenectady region.

Transportation

For Field Day

Hans Grell’s Grove, where the
301 field day will be held Sunday,

is at 2390 Albany St., just above
MecNearney ball park,

The Albany St. bus No. 2 or No.
11 passes in front of the grove
every 40 minutes. A Wooodlawn
bus No. 4, goes within a block of
the grove every 20 minutes.

Jump in Unemployment

The number of unemployed reg-
istered with the Schenectady un-
employment insurance office shot
up to 2,647 as of June 3, in contrast
to 2,268 as of May 27. This in-
crease of 378 took place before the
start’ of the new benefit year, at
a time when the jobless rolls are
usually lower because of the num-
ber of workers who have exhanst-
ed their benefits for the year.

nigan, Stephen A. Watts, and
Frank Fiorillo. :
Jd. P. Brauneisen abstained. The
following members were absent,
Sam Scott, Stanley Bishop, Leo
Jandreau and Robert Phillips.

301 Stops Piece Work

Move in Aeronautics

A move by supervision in Aero-
nautics to place a milling machine
group on piece work was stopped
last week through union grievance
action. The group has been on day
work, They objected to piece work
at a time when operators had been
laid off. Shop Steward Frank La-
Malfa took up the grievance,

Frank Schaff of the Works Man-
ager’s office admitted that piece
work would probably mean a fur-
ther reduction of the force, and
that this was an _ inopportune
time for the move. He agreed to
notify the shop steward and the
union office in advance if the piece
work plan is taken up again, so it
can be discussed,

Pay Increased

The rate of two Class A assem-
blers in Building 46 was increased
from $1.62 to $1.67%4 an hour last
week through efforts of Shop Stew-
ard Robert Lee. Lee pointed out
to the foreman that both men had
been at the $1.62 rate for over a
year though other workers were xe-
ceiving higher pay for the same
kind of work,

pee

8

x