nites ite tec Ee ac ee ae
4
ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS
May 9, 1946
Message to Kearney — Vote for OPA
Union members from
Schenectady and Glov-
ersville waiting for
Congressman Bernard
“W. Kearney at his
mother's home with
“Save Price Control’
telegram. When he
dicn’t. appear they de-..”
cided to keep return-
ing till they see him.
Members of the dele-
gation with the tele-
gram for Kearney are:
seated, Mrs. Marguer-
ite Hamilton, secretary
of the Fulton County
ALP Club; and Bob
Northrop, chairman of
the veterans commit.
tees of the Capital
District CIO Council
and of Local 2054,
USA; standing, left to
right, Sam De Cesare, Local 301; Mrs. Alma De Cesare, Local 301; Charles Hildreth,
Fur and Leather Workers, general chairman of the United Labor Unions of Fulton
County; Joseph Dominelli, chairman ‘of Local 301 veterans’ Committee, and John
Marino, Layers-Off Union, Amalgamated Clothing Workers, Gloversville,
Chief Steward Warns Committeemen
On Company Cost-Cutting Campaign
The company drive to cut costs makes
it necessary for committeemen to do a
hetLer job now than ever, Chief Steward
Bill Mastriani said today,
One danger siznal is the dismissal of
service help, he pointed out.
“Porters an being eliminated in var-
fous wroups,” he said,
“That means that the production |
workers in many cases will have to work
faster to make up for the work that
used to be done by the porters.”
Mastriani said) that whenever this
happens the union representatives’ must
point out to GE that prices for piece
work ave established with the agreement
and understanding, that certain service
help is available.
“When this service help is removed,”
he said, “Yb automatically makes a
change in working conditions and makes
the prices too low.”
He suid representatives should fight
for adjustments in piece work prices or
insist that the service help remain in the
department.
Committeemen ‘must check on all lay-
offs for lack of work to be sure the con-
tract seniority provisions are observed,
he warned,
During a recent meeling with man-
agement, a business agent of the union
learned of several seniority violations, ..
Employes were laid off although they
had as mucheas: a: year's service’ more
than other workers doing similar. jobs
under the same foremen.
GE BOOSTS DIVIDENDS
Remember how worried the General”
Electric was about its poor stackholders,
all during the deadlocked wage talks
that ended in the strike?
Well, now it seems the worry was a
bit premature, President Charles E,
Wilson of GI Tas announced an 1t per
vent increase in dividencs.
TUNE IN
Local 601 is on the air |
Monéay + Wednesday + Friday
Thi PLM, - WSNY
1240 on your dial
ee pap
ST nce races
Take Qath of Office
As JE Committeemen
Committeemen sworn in at the: Local
301 committeemen’s meeting Tuesday:
night were: :
sy J. De Siena Bide. 61
anley Fisher coe Bldg. 16
Ivene Ransom ,. Bide. 28°G. 0,
Royal, [vish ..., aca, oo Bldg, 278
~Vernond.Millington ou, Ide. 64
Lucy Swatling .—--
Anna Walendziak Off, Service
Iea Suprunowies 0 we. Off. Service
John Keeler Bldg. . 107
Larry Gebo cx we «Blde. 08
George Pulido. 2... Bldg. 50
Alfred Collette 4 Bldg. 10
William Mastriani 3ide. TBA
Lee Thomas 3
Robert Leonard . -Bldg. 8
John lL, Roceo oe. Bleg. 50
M, Gee, wee \aceeeeteee Bldg. 107
Clara De Noyer .. Bldg, 269
Leland Surdam, wee CAP
J. DiGirolamo .. . 2 .Bldg. 69
Howard Gronin . .. teen Bldg. 78
Peter Nowicki 0.2.0.7 ...--Bldg. 40
Norman Fink Bldg. 37
10,000 Deriand Kearney
Help Save Price Control
-~ More than 10,000 signers have’ placed
their names on petitions and on a mam-
moth telegram addressed to’ Congress-
man Bernard W. Kearney and calling
on him to “act and vote ge price con-
trol.”
A delegation of GE and AL, CO woark-
ers attempted to deliver the telegram to
Kearney at his home in Gloversville.
The Congressman could not be found,
although Gloversville residents assured
the delegates that he was in town, ‘They
will try again,
Meanwhile, the Schenectady Union-
Star warned Kearney that he was play-
ing with political dynamite by voting
against price control Kearney repre-
sents Schenectady in the lower house
of Congress, ,
WORKERS INJURED
Several accidents happened lately in
Bldg. 78. Fred Green, grinder, and Bill
Herodes, anaes sulferea finger
injuries, Frank Cevettleo, spot welder,
injured ti, head,
If workers are in doubt about their
tights under the Workmen’s Compensa-
tion Act they should call at the union
olfice. ;
THE VOICE. OF THE UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO & MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA—LOCAL 301 ClO
Vol. IIL-—No. 17
SCHENECTADY, NEW=YORK
May 16, 1946
Two Local 301 shop stewards, G. A. Mele, holding the anti-inflation poster, and
C. W. Bourdeau, call on Mrs. Alice Cantore, proprietor of a delicatessen in Me-
Clellan St. She said she’d be glad to display the poster and to help the fight to-
save price control. Mele is chairman of the Food Panel of the Schenectady Price
Control Board.
Union Men Aid Anti-inflation Campaign,
Visit Grocers, Place Posters in Stores
You can thank a Local 301 shop steward, G, A. Mele, and his union assist- -
ants for the fact that anti-inflation posters are popping up in food stores through
out the city of Schenectacy : It's nothing new for Mcle to give lone hours to price
control work. He represented Local 301 for three years on the city Rationing
and Price Control Board. When ra-
tioning stopped last winter the remain-
ing Price Control Board was separated
into various panels and Mele was nam-
ed head of the Food Panel,
With volunteer workers;-he has check-
ed retail stores for OPA violations, set-
tled many of the eases with the store
managers and tumed tough cases over
to the district OPA office at Albany.
His chief helpers in Local 301 right
now are C., W. Bourdeau, also-a mem-
ber of the Muod Panel, who is coneen-
trating on the poster job; Allen Town-
send, Nunai Lettiere and Frank Var-
rone,
They work twooor three hours a night |
a couple of times a week to help see
price ceilings are observed,
They are all-helping now with the dis-
tribution of posters and “Save Price
‘Control! petitions.
Union Calendar
Thursday, May LG (tonight) —
7:80 -p.m.—Meeting for all crane
operators in. the plant at union
hall.
Sunday, May 19-—10 aan—Mail
truck drivers and extras, union
hall.
Tuesday, May 21—7:30 pms
Special membership and = commit-
teemen'’s meeting, Also at night,
officer workers otganizing com.
mitlec.
Weanesday, Alay 22 ~~ Capitol
Distriet CTO Council Meeting.
Hundreds of Local 30L committeemen
as well as the entire Executive Board
are also distvibutihg petitions,
Union Votes
On $1.56 Bues
Tuesday Night
A proposal to raise Local 801. dues
to $1.50 ‘a month will be voted on ata
special meeting of the entire member-
ship and committeemen at 7:30 p. m.,
—Tuescay, May 21, at union hall.
Shop committeemen have voted un-
animously in favor of the dues increase,
on the grounds that the present dollar
dues are a hangover frdm the “horse
and buggy” period of the union and are
completely out-of-step with the needs
of.the present day.
In order to get the fullest and most
democratic expression of opinion, com-
mitteemen have circulated — petitions
among their shop members on the dues
raise, The petitions, already widely
signed, authorize committeemen to cast
proxy votes in favor of the increase,
Meetings of the industrial control and
the porcelain departments Monday night
unanimously endorsed the $1.50 dues.
Originally the proposal was recom-
mended by the Executive Board, in con-
sultation with the union auditors, in con-
nection with preparing the new union
budget. The Constitution Committee
unanimously approved the Board's rec-:
ommendation,
“The membership meeting Tuesday al-
so will elect five UF distriet 3 dele-
gates and 17 delegates to the Capital
District Industrial Union Couneil, CIO.
District 3 Meets
Organizing problems, PAG, and the
two unsettled strikes in the district were
topies discussed last weekend at the
meeting of UE District 8 at Rochester.
The UE strikes are at Buffalo Bolt
Corp., Buffalo, and Spalding Fibre Co.,
Tonawanda,
$5,000 for Strikers
Members of Local 3801 gave ‘over
$5,000 to the Westinghouse strikers,
This ineluded 48,000 donated from
the union treasury and $2,000 collected
from the individual members,
ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS
May 16, 1946
ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS
Unrrep Execrricay, Ranio & Macuis
Workers of Anerica, CTO
Scuenectapy CE Loca 301
ei
Published by the Editorial Committee
Dewcy Brashear Ray Flanigan
‘Milo Lathrop Fay Marvin
William Mastriani
Editorial Office-- Electrical Union News
301 Liberty St. ~ Schenectady, N. Y.
SCHENECTADY PRINTING COw ING.
Office Workers Drive
Attracts GE Veterans
‘Union application cards have been re-
ceived from 83 Worla War Il veterans
in GE office jobs during the past two
weeks activities of the Office Workers
‘Organizing Committee,
As he signed up, one veteran said to
Sadie Iovinella, an organizer, “I had a
boy’s job when I left for the service,
‘I’m back-now after three-years and the
best GE would do for me was to give
me back the boy’s job. I think I’m en-
titled to a better ceal.”
George Katz, chairman of the Com-
mittee reported that. the practices fol-
lowed by the GE after the s
resulted in “more and more-office work-
ers signing application cards every
day.”
A recent meeting of the Committee
also heard a report from Jerry Stein-
berg, national organizer, and a sum-
mary, of contract negotiations between
UE and GE, :
Expects Better Luck
With GE Next Week
The Westinghouse strike victory
should .speed up GE. contract. negotia-
tions when they are resumed next Tues-
day, Leo Jandreau, business agent of
Local 301, predicted today.
News of the strike settlement came
to the negotiators late last week at the
end of several days’ deadlocked sessions.
No progress had been made last week,
accorcing to Jandreau. In fact the
company had shifted its position on
several issues which the ‘union thought
were agreed on, There were no sessions
this week, ee
“However, it ought to be a different
story next week,” Jandreau‘said. “The
national UE officers ave now free to
turn all their attention to our negotia-
tions. The union victory at Westing- |
house ¢eannot help having 2 a favorable
effect-on the sessions.” i
Westinghouse Strike Settlement Approved,
“Brings 18 Cent Raise and Union Security
Every UE Westinghouse local in the country has now spproved the terms
settling the Westinghouse strike.
More than
75,000 workers were on strike for
118 days to protect wages, working conditions and union security from the attack
of the giant Westinghouse Electric Corp.
UE leaders are unanimous in call-
ing the settlement and contract a great
victory.
The stiike victory includes a pay vaise
of 18 cents an hour. In addition the
company will pay another cent an hour
into a fund to be used to narrow down
unfair wage differences between men
and women workers,
At first Westinghouse refused eve
to discuss wage increases, After nine
weeks of strike, the company made its —
first offer. It proposed giving no raise
at all to 10,000 lamp workers and giv-
ing 9.7 cents an hour increase to the
other workers, ;
It was the refusal of the company to
discuss this ultimatum with UE that
foreed U. S. mediators assigned to the’
case to withdraw,
Here are other important points about
the settlement according to. James J.
Matles, UE director of organization,
“Incentive Workers: The Company’s
most intensive drive against the workers
came when Westinghouse demanded the
right to wipe out any guarantees of
earnings to. incentive workers as the
first step towards wage vate cutting and
speed up of work.
“Under terms of the new agreement
the Union won all necessary safeguards
that will protect incentive earnings of
workers and will prevent speed-up and
wage rate cuts. Some 55% of employ-
es are incentive workers,
“Women workers: The Company
sought to eliminate an old War Labor
Board case which urged ending of ‘“ex-
ploitation” of women. workers. The
Company sought to remove from the
contract the section that demands that
‘Women placed on men’s jobs shall re-
ceive men’s rates of pay.’
“Under terms of the new agreement,
no commitment was made for the sur-
rendering of the War Labor Board case.
The Union kept.a clause protecting
principle’of ‘equal pay’. In addition, an
important step was taken to equalize
wages by setting up a company-financed
fund for narrowing differentials. be-
tween men’s and women’s wage rates,
_“Seniority: Westinghouse demanded
the abolition of the Union’s seniority
clause inthe contract and the substi-
tution of a clause which, would have
given the Company a free hand With. re-
spect to layoffs, rehivings, firings and
transfers, ete.
“Under terms of the new agreement,
the Union retained its former clause
safeguarding seniority rights for all em-
ployees,
“Vacations: Westinghouse demanded
that vacation payments be cut.
“Under terms of the new agreement,
the Union safeguarded vacation pay for
Westinghouse workers,
“Lamp Workers: ‘Westinghouse ex-
cluded 10,000 lamp workers both hourly
and salaried, from even the 9,7 cent
offer made to its other employees.
“Under terms of the new agreement,
lamp workers will receive the general
wage increase and benefits from the ad-
justments made in inventive earnings
and day-workers’ bontis,
“Salaried Employees: The Company
sought. to eliminate objective standards
fox merit increases won by UE-CIO aft-
er extended War Labor Board hearings.
“Under terms of the new agreement,
salaried employees receive same ben-
fits won by the production workers.
“Day Workers’ Bonus: The Com-
pany Gemanded that the day workers’
bonus, (a payment made to workers who
do not receive direct incentive pay) be
cut in halfes
“Under forms of the new agreement,
in place of a fluctuating day workers’
bonus, day workers will receive a guar-
antecd fixed amount of the bonus, to be
included in their base rates. This fixed
amount will represent- between 42 and
75 per cent of the day workers’ bonus
paid in December, 1945,
“Maintenance of Membership: West-
inghouse demanded the right to inter-
fere with thé internal affairs of the
Union by insisting that local unions
give up the right to determine whether
a member is in good standing for the
purpose of applying the maintenance of
membership clause.”
“Under terms of the new aereement,
the maintenance of membership clausé
is. retained without weakening amend-
ments,”
May 16, 1946
ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS
Turnbull Favors
Increase in Dues
The first president of Local 301, Wil-
liam Turnbull, has issued a statement in
favor of.raising the union dues to $1.50
a month to meet present-day problems
and costs.
He: pointed out that the dollar: dues
were all right back in 1986, but are im-
-—-passibly low for 1946,
“Y have just returned to Schenec-
tady,” he said, ‘after an absence of
three years in California. On my first
visit to union headquarters I found the
boys discussing the question of whether
the monthly dues should be raised from
one dollar to $1.50,
“As one of the original organizers of
Local 301, I remember how we wrangled
over this problem of dues in the early
cays and how, after trying several ex-_
periments, the members realized that no
successful union could be run on less
than a dollar a month,
“That was back in 1936 when men's
wages. were as low as 40 cents an hour
and most women’s wages were less. than
that, :
“Would any union member like to try
to live today on the wages he got in
1936? I think not, Yet your union is
doing just that. Your wages have in-
creased but your dues are the same.
“Tf you attend your monthly meet-
ings, you have heard the financial re-
ports. This is your union. If there is
anything regarding the dues you don’t
understand, either ask your committee-
man or go down to headquarters and
talk it over with your officers.
“IT am sure that when you consider
the facts, you will agree with me that
no successful union can be run today
on less.than one and a half dollars a
mo neh” we
Red Cross Praises
Local Labor Help
The National CIO office passed along
to Local 301 a letter of praise from the
American Red Gross for the Schenectacy
labor record in the recent Red Cross
fund drive.
Signed by Henry J. Gromko, regional
Red Cross director, the letter said:
“J believe that an outstanding ex-
ample of union support was demonstrat-
ed in the Schenectady County campaign
where, although employes had been out
of work for so long, they underwrote
their: division quota and more than made
good on it,”
a
| Why the $1.50 Dues Are. Necessary
The Local 301 business office has presented the following breakdown and
brief"explanation of how your union dues are used,
PER CAPITA TAX ... 0...
National: UE
The National UE office and UE district councils coo
nate all organiz-
ational activities, When GE opens a new plant an organizer is sent there
immediately,
The national GE contract is a result of this coordin-
ation, The CIO Councils perform important legislative and political
action work,
LOST TIME oo.
Grievances.in the shop hava bieii settled by the thousands,
Your com-
» mitteemen and officers must be vompensabed for their lost time.
CONFERENCES ..
. Delegatés to the GE_ Conference ‘Board, “GE contract negotiations. and. primes
' ‘District 8 delegates represent the bulk of this expenditure.
WAGES
To run the osteess office properly, handle grievances, lost time, check-
off and other activities, the local has an office force of 12,
These are
‘the business agent, three assistants to the -business* agent, an educa-
tional director, an organizer for office workers, five clerical employees
and a janitor,
NEWSPAPER — E.U. NEWS 00...cceceeceeecescssees
Once a week the E.U. News is issued. Costs of printing, editorial work,
engraving and distribution must be paid.
RENT, LIGHT, HEAT, JELEERONE
STATIONERY AND SUPPLIES
DEFENSE FUND (to be put in cae
PUBLIC RELATIONS 0...
The public relations expenses include radio broadcasts, ads,
and other necessary costs,
TOTAL
BE ON SAFE SIDE,
REGISTER IN JUNE
Central registration for the 1946
elections will start June 1 at the
Schenectady Board of Elections,
County Courthouse, and in all
other. counties.
You can register from June 1
to Oct, 1 instead of waiting for the
four special days in October,
The CIO Political Action Com-
mittee has urged all union mem-
bers to register at the first oppor-
tunity instead of running the risk
of being ill or out of town in
October .
You can’t vote if you don’t reg-
ietaly-~eneent in rural communi-
ties.
TRUCK DRIVERS
MEET SUNDAY
A meeting has been called for all
mail truck drivers and extras of the
plant at union headquarters at 10 am.
Sunday, May 19. The Local 301 office
rald the session “is of vital importance «
to all people in ‘this group.”
Note—the meeting will start prompt-
ly to leave the afternoon free,
New Veterans Group
Plans State Meeting
A group of 50 New York state mem-
bers of the newly formed United Negro
and Allied Veterans of America met re-
cently in New York City and laid plans
for a state veterans’ conference June 8
and 9 at 15 West 126th St. New York
City. ' , ,
