‘TUE-CIO NEWS
June 18, 1951
Late in the evening of June 15, the Wage Stabilization Board announced that approval had been’ granted for
~a nine-cent hourly wage increase for GE workers, |
Some 70,000 GE workers who are members of IUE-CIO were not affected by the. announcement, because
their union had won the nine-cent increase for them aut2matically, retroactive to March 15, over a. month ago.
But those who are affected by the announcement, including some 16,000 Schenectady GE workers now un-
der UE contract, owe much to the IUE-CIO.
Under the ‘current wage freeze, GE workers could have received ‘at the most a five-cent hourly increase at this.
time. But IUE-CIO had fought for and had won a wage TEDUEROE clause with a cost of living feature: i in nego-
-tiations with GE last September.
When the wage freeze became effective, the CIO fought icnig and hard to force the Wage Stabilization Board
nize cost of living clauses, and the CIO was victorious in that battle.
° The organization which now Fapresnts Schenectady workers, the UE, condemned the IUE-CIO victory, and
announced it would seelc a 32-cent hourly increase. In view of the wage freeze, and considering UE’s: weakness.
as a union, it became immediately obvious that such a demand had been: made for propaganda purposes only.
Even though the top leadership of UE condemned the I[UE-CIO victory, UE’s membership showed that they.
ents, and demanded action.
Mee a divested organization, could do nothing to force quick zation by the Wage Stabilization Board on, the
case. But IUE-CIO, on the morning of June 14, sent the ‘following telegram to the chairman of the WSB:
DR. GEORGE W. TAYLGR, CHAIRMAN, WAGE STABILIZATION BOARD
RAL SECURITY BUILDING SOUTH
WASHINGTON, D.C. RE: GENERAL ELECTRIC CASE; N-1510
THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF ELECTRICAL, RADIO ‘AND MACHINE WORKERS, CIO URGES. :
E APPROVAL OF THE 9-CENT INCREASE FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE GENERAL. ELEC: *
IMMEDIATE HAVE NOT ALREADY RECEIVED IT. THE APPLICATION OF GE SHOULD BE AP-
PROVED WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY ON THE BASIS OF THE BOARD’S TANDEM PRINCIPLE.
FURTHERMORE WE URGE THE BOARD TO DELEGATE ITS STAFF TO. APPROVE SIMILAR IN-
CREASES IN THE ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY SUBSEQUENT TO THE TIME WHEN GE PUT INTO Ee
E CREASE THROUGH IUVE-C:0.
FECT THE 9-CENT IN JAMES B. CAREY, PRESIDENT
. . JUE-CIO
This telegram brought immediate action by the Board, and brought a nine-cent hourly increase to all GE work-
'
ers,
In view of these facts, it becomes more important than ever that all GE workers unite--unite in the IUE-CIO
for only through such unity can GE workers win their just demands from management.
International Union of Electrical,
Radio and Machine Workéers—ClO
I want to join with 70,000 other General Electric employees who
have affiliated with the International Union of Electrical, Radio and
Machine Workers—CIO, which has won greatly improved contract con-
ditions including a recent wage increase—the third. that [UE-CIO has
won from GE in one year. For those.reasons and also because I wish to
«belong to a democratic, anti-Communist union, I hereby designate the
International Union ‘of Electrical, Radio and. Machine Workers—-CIlO
as my sole collective bargaining representative,
(This authorization supersedes any autor authorization)
Sign today for victory.
>
Send Your card to IUE-CIO,
202 Clinton St., Schenectady.
Signature
Employed. by: oo es va sane address
GE. Plant, Schenectady f ‘
Received by
| Department pee eneneeennnmeneny
“IN.UNION
THERE IS
STRENGTH”
Volume 1 No. 13
a
"Published by IUE-CIO
202 Clinton Street June 21,
1951
UE: CONDEMNS U.S. GOVERNMENT!
UE has come out again in condem-
nation of the form of government in the
United States. ;
In a UE District Three Bulletin for
June 8, which has been distributed in-
side the GE Schenectady Works by eer-
tain officers. and ‘stewards, this outfit
condemns the U. S. Government for in-
vestigating sabotage and espionage in
vital defense plants, According to the
UE bulletin, congress has no authority
to protect this - nation,” from betrayal
“from within, "
According to-the UE bulletin, Con-
gress has no. authority to investigate
wholesale gambling and- murder, use of
impure chemicals ‘in the preparation of
foods, or tax evasion by big: business.
Accord'ng to UE, Congress has no
right. to investigale anything - - espec-
ially the Communist Party and its plans
to destroy the very heart of America by
destroying our free systems,
v~- According to UE, Congress had no
\_sht to investigate Communist activi-
ties in the film ‘industry,- even though
that investigation uncovered many plots
to breed pro-soviet thinking in the
minds of the American children,
Congressional committees, says the
UE bulletin, have but one purpose - to
break unions. But good unions, and
‘good citizens, have no fear of such in-
vestigations - - because they have no-
thing to do with Communism, But the
UE and the Communist Party fear such
investigations - - not because they will
break the union, but because they will
break the strength of the Communist
Party in the United States,
This UE District Three Bulletin is
just one of the many pamphlets put out
in the past few weeks at the GE plant
in condemnation of the American gov-
ernment by the UE and the Communist
Party. In fact, UE Local 301, through
certain of its officers and stewards, is
Yesponsible for most of the vicious
literature,
Not all of the UE officers and stew-
ards are distributing the. trash, appar->
pu ly because some recognize it for what
B+ +a repetition of the Communist
Party line. Although these stewards and
officers may differ with IUE-C1O, IUE-
CIO believes they deserve credit for.
refus'ng to sell the UE-CP’ anti-Amer-
ican-line tothe workers.’ Those of UE-.
who are distributing such trash - will
have to answer to their conciences for
: . having any part of it.
UE TAKES POWDER
IN TWO ELECTIONS
In recent days the dying UE has run
out on eleetions ‘in two entirely differ-
ent. situations rather than face IUE-CIO
ina democratic election,
At the Electro Voice G6. Buchanon,
Michigan, LUE-CIO.: petitioned for an
election after members voted to dis:
alfiliate from UE in January, Although
UE did nothave a member left in the
plant, that dying outfit stalled the elee-
tion, until finally, the NLRB set May
24 as the date for avote,
Rather than face IU E-C10, UE Balled
off the ballot entirely.
Now Electro! -Voiee workers ‘have a
real union, IUE-CLO which will never
leave them “holding: the bag” as. UE so
often did.
Last Friday, UE pulled a repeat per-
formance of -taking a runout powder, at
the hearing regarding IUE-CIO’s pe-
tilion for an election at the Maqua
Printing Co, GE subsidary,
A group of these workers came to
IUE-CLO, and in two days’ time had
signed enough eards so that [UE-CIO
could petition for an election immedi-
ately,
Under the leadership’ of William Mas-
(rianni, who. once signed a petition so
that‘ the Communist Party could appear
on the ballot‘in elections in this state,
a group of paid UE agents spent sey-
eral days at the gates of the Maqua Co.
trying to influence the workers to join
UE. UE distributed: printed handbills
containing the usual lies, and spent a
great deal of money sending cards and
letters to the stewards at GE, telling
them to influence Maqua workers not
to vote or TUE-CI0,
Apparently all this failed. When the
NLRB set a date fora hearing, UE sent
the NLRB a telegram saying their or:
ganization would be represented, and
would have enough ecards to intervene
on IVE-CIO’s petition.
But UE didn’t show up at the hear-
ing.. Maqua workers rejected that out-
fit completely, and UE couldn’t even
get four or five cards signed to appear
on the ballot. . ;
The AFL Bookbinders Union has in-
tervened in just one section of. the. plant,
but [UE-CIO will be the only union ap-
pearing on the ballot for over, two-thirds
of the Maqua workers.
Once again UE's efforts to break the .
unity of workers. have failed com
pletely,
GE WORKER TALKS
ABOUT ‘WELFARE
(All Dorvies, Building 15, secone shift, hess
written this article for LUE-C1O News.)
There are two questions which each’
of us GE workers must answer in our
own minds before we decide (o sign
IUE-C1O application : cards.
Many of us-joined UE only because
we believe that we should pay dues to
whatever organization has the bargain.
ing right in the plant.“Now we must de-
cide why we should sign an 1UE-CIO
card, .
The answer to this is simple. By sign-
inw the 1UE-CIO ecard we are not. join-
ing TUE-CIO.: We.are merely ‘showing
the NLRB that we want an-election in
this plant, By siennge the IUE-C1O
ecard we are proving to ourselves that
we want unity among all GE workers.
Such unity can’ be had only through
[Ul-ClO. Our plant here in Schenee-
tady is all UE has left, and as soon as
LUL-ClO can petition for an election,
we will be rid of the UE here, for the
majority of GE. workers want nothing
to do with a Communist union, By sign-
ing with IUE-C1O, we will be helping’
to bring, that election about as soon as
possible,
The second question we must ask our-
selves is, “Can we have a strong union
in 1UE-CIlO?" Certainly! In just one
year, IUE-CIO has proved that Gli
workers don't need a Communist union
to win gains for them, UE talks big by
making demands of 82 cents an hour.
But everyone who reads the newspapers
know that under the current wage
freeze, the most GE workers could have
received is five cents, But 1UE-CIO's
escalator clause made it possible for all
GE workers to receive nine cents. While
UE is making wild promises, LUE-CIO
has been producing for its 70,000 mem-
hers'in GE,
BECAUSE UE FAILED TO DO A
REAL JOB FOR ITS GE MEMBERS
IN THE PAST THREE YEARS, WE
IN GE HAVE FALLEN BEHIND THE
STEELWORKERS AND THE AUTO
WORKERS IN WAGES, BECAUSE IN
STEEL AND AUTO, WORKERS HAVE
THE CIO TO REPRESENT THEM,
Tt is UE’s fault that we fell. behind,
_so’obviously UE can do nothing to bring
our wages up to where they should be,
But through IUE-CIO, through = unity ©
of all. GE workers, we can bring our
wages up to where they should be.
