~ ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS
April 30, 1948
301 Membership Meeting Protests GE Refusal to Raise Pay
Inside and outside views of the
Apr. 20 membership meting of Lo-
cal 301. After heuring Business
Agent Leo Jandrcau report on the
deadlock in GE contract negotia-
tions, members voted: to call for
demonstrations at all GE plants.
“Which Master-Mind Thought Up This One ?
A World War II veteran living in Gallupville bought three GE ap-
pliances, a washing machine, electric stove and refrigerator, this winter
at an employees’ discount totaling $183. He is a stock room accumula-
tor at the Schenectady Works and:a 3801 member.
The young man, because of do-
mestie problems, moved to Middle-
burg recently to live with an uncle.
He took slong his new GE house.
hold equipment—all paid for.
Two wecks avo Paymaster Ben-
jamin Wilson called him to Bldg.
41 and demanded that he return
the $183 discount. Wilson said the
appliances weren’t being used in
the man’s home and accused him
of getting the discount under “false
pretenses.” The veteran explained
that his uncle’s house is now his
home.
Management called him on the
carpet again Tuesday, at a meet-~
ing with his foreman, general fore-
man and a representative of the
paymaster. They told him to re-
pay the money or lose his job.
Under this threat the veteran
signed an authorization for $10 to
be deductzd each week from h’'s
pay until the $188 is paid.
The worker told management
that he couldn’t afford to buy the
GE products without a discount.
If he had known he had to pay the
full price, he pointed out, he would
have bought lower-priced appli-
ances of another company.
Business Agent‘ Leo Jandreau °
has protested to GE akout this:,
case. GE's action was not only.”
“ane
arbitrary and unreasorakle, but it
was illegal, he charged. Workers
don’t have to report to the com-
pany on their domestic relations,
he pointed out. An employee is en-
titled to a discount as long as he
is not buying an article to resell cr
for some one else. ;
A. C| Stevens, assistant to the
works manager, said he would look
into the matter.
$1,000 Recemmended
Fer Defense Fund
The 801 Executive Board voted
Monday to recommend that the 501
membership contribute $1,009 to a
UE District 3 strike defense fund.
It has instructed the Activities
Committee to plan money-raising
projects to provide additional do-
nat‘ons to the fund.
The district fund will be for tha
use of all UE locals on strike on
this territory. At present there are
strikes at the Remington Rand
plants at Tonawanda and North
Tonawanda and at Durez Plastics
in Buffalo.
The Board voted another $100
to the GE strikers at Lexington,
Ky,. and another $50 to the GH
strikers at Boston.
1,000 New Members
As the.801 membership. drive
neared the end this week, new ap-
plications climbed to a total of
1,082. The final figure will. be
printed next week.
_Shop_St
a turbine erector in Bldg. 60 hasg
Back Pay Ordered
For Turbine Worker
Through a grievance taken up. by
iliam_A. Stewart,
reecived retroactive pay to make
up for the fact that the company
paid him at too low a rate since
his return to the plant last August.
He had been away on workmen’s
compensation since Sept. 22, 1945,
His pay rate was $1.05 an hour
when he had to quit work. On xe-
turning, he should have received
30 cents more, covering the 18%
cent raise and the 11% cent raise
obtained meanwhile by the union.
Through an error, however, he re-
ceived only 25 cents more.
Management agreed to pay the
extra five cents, retroactive to last
August, and an additional five
cent raise retroactive to Feb. 26.
Paging UE Actors,
Musicians, Dancers
Local 301 members who want
to take part in plays, skits cr
other entertainments are invited
to another audition from 7:30
p.m. to 9:30 pam. Wednesday at
the union hall ,
Mrs. Dorot ferlin, volunteer
in charge of! 801 Talent
Bureau, is enthusiastic about
the results of the first audition
last week. Those trying out
were a male quartet, a woman
singer and pianist, a man folk
singer who also played the gui-
tar, and two men who played
promised to take part in union
shows, :
“Now Tm anxious to find
some people who are interested
in dramatics,” Mrs. Perlin. said.
“But we'll be glad to hear some
more musicians too.”
ECTRI
THE VOICE OF LOCAL 301
CAL UNION
----- WERREMWA - 2 ee. OLO,
Vol. 6 — No. 19
_ SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK
May 7, 1948
NO.GENERAL ELECTED
S
‘banjo duets. They - have all]
Can GE Really Believe lis Ballyhoo
About Prices Beginning to Go Down?
In its current publicity against a wage increase, GE claims to be-
lieve that the ballyhoo about “price cuts” by GE, Westinghouse and
Steel will bring prices down for the American people. The Works News
April 80 bragged that “our own anti-inflation campaign was working,”
and spoke of “general decreases in prices.”
Can GE really believe all this?
Here are a few developments
since the U.S. Steel “price eut—no
wage raise” announcement:
Ford Motor Company announced
an increase of #800 on Mercury
ears, ° Price rises also were an-
nounced by International Shoe Co.,
Weyerhauser Lumber, and Botany,
a major woolens company.
The Associated Press reported
that at the U. S. Chamber of Cum-
merce dinner in Washington Apr.
28; :
“Other speakers told the cham-
ber. that the European recovery
program and defense spending
would sustain the upward push of
prices, Joel Dean, business econ-
omist of Columbia University, pre-
dicted a rise at the same kind of
inflationary pace we have averaged
since OPA,
“Jay D. Runkle of Detroit, board
chairman of the National Retail
Dry Goods Association, said the
war seare ‘discovered by the ad-
ninistration’ has given inflation
‘another shot in the arm’,”
A United Press story in the New
York Herald Tribune May 2 was
entitled “U. S. and Business Chiet's
Look for Higher Prices.” It said
that “business and government
leaders see no prospect for lower
prices, and may expect inflation to
continue .. .” The story pointed
out that a Labor Department re-
port showed that “wholesale prices
last week edged up for the third
week in a vow.”
Tf you can’t afford food, you can
try eating GE’s ballyhoo,
3 Girls Reinstated
‘After a delay of several weeks,
GE has reinstated the three girls
who were fired last summer at the
East Boston lamp plant. An arbi-
trator ruled. the company must
give them back their jobs. Before
obeying the decision, the company
went to court in an unsuccessful
effort to have the arbitration
award set aside.
Conference of
GE Locals —
Meeting on Negotiations
Delegates of GE locals of UE all over the country gathered in New
York yesterday and today to work out recommendations to the locals
for action in the face of the General. Electric Company’s refusal to
budge on wages or on any other major contract issues.
Speaking of Loyalty—
How About Forrestal ?
UE’s representation of the GE
workers at the Peek Street Atomic
Power Laboratory in Schenectady
(they are members of Local 301)
ions under discussion in the last of
a series of articles by the Associat-
ed Press, carried in the Schenectady
Union-Star Apr. 80.
After mentioning -both: GIO and
AFL unions in atomic plants, and
the fact that the government hasn’t
permitted recognition of these un-
ions in many places, the article
concluded: ,
“A big reason is that the U. 8,
Atomic Energy Commission says it
isn’t sure of the loyalty of all the
union officers in the atomic pic-
ture.” :
Nothing was said in the article
about the loyalty of the man em-
ployed by the U. S. Government
to control not only all the atomic
bombs, but the army, navy, and air
force too =~ James~V. Forrestal, ”
Secretary of National Defense,
About Forrestal there need be
no rumor nor investigation. It’s
all in the record, public for any-
one to check — Jaines V. Forrestal
was head of Dillon, Read & Co., of
Wall Street, New York, when it
helped raise the American money
for the rearming of Nazi Germany
after World War 1,
Quite a large number of Ameri-
can GI's were killed or disabled as
a ‘result,
Compare These Wages
Average straight time hourly
rates for all hourly-rated employ-
ees in the “Big Three” of the elec-
trical industry follow:
Westinghouse oo... BLE
General Motors Elec. Div... 1,88
General Hlectrie 1.28
These figures are before income
tax, social security tax, or other
weekly deductions from pay checks.
BACK THE NEGOTIATIONS
WITH A 100% UE SHOP
The delegates met after two
weeks of discussion in their respec-
tive locals on the problem created
by the company’s attitude.
Loeal 301 stewards Tuesday
night voted unanimously to in-
struct 801 delegates “to work out
with the other delegates recom-
___Was_.mentioned,among_several_un-__endations to take back to the lo-
eals on steps to win a substantial
wage increase and a better con-
tract.” The 801 stewards will be
called to meet in small groups at
the union hall next week to dis-
cuss the recommendations.
The previous week the, Lynn lo-
cal membership meeting was about
to vote for a motion from the floor
calling for a national strike vote,
but withheld action when General
President Albert J, Fitzgerald, who
is a member of the local, and local
officers urged delay pending fur-
thed negotiations and the Confer-
ence Board meeting.
Session with GE
In preparation for the Confer-
ence Board meeing, UE negotiators
met Wednesday with GE to hear
its latest position. (GH’s lL. R.
Boulware issued another mislead-
ing statement in advance of the
bargaining meeting, and talked
nonsense about .a UE “ultima-
tum.”) The negotiating committee
simply reported GE’s position to
the Conference Board.
In the 301 Stewards’ Council dis-
cussion of the situation, Business
Agent Leo Jandreau, who is also
president of District 8, pointed to
the recent history of failure by the
company to settle grievances and
refusal to arbitrate numerous cases
from Schenectady. He asked what
chance there would be to get griev-
ances settled if the membership
took GE's present attitude lying
down,
Jandreau said GE workers or-
ganized this union on the basis
that the company will give nothing
unless it believes it will cost some-
thing not to give. .
There have been no new develop-
ments in negotiations, Jandreau
suid, but lots of activity on the part
of the company in attempting to
(Continued on Page 2)
2
ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS
May 7, 1946.
Delegates Meet
On Negotiations
(Continued from Page 1)
Air up dissension among the mem-
pers with talle about affidavits. and
anti-strike petitions.
Emspak Speaks
Julius Emspak, general secre-
tary-treasurer, declared that Big
Business had joined together this
year as never before to fight the
unions, and that the basic fact was
not the resistance to wage raises
as such. The basic fact, he said, is
that Big Business today is out to
bust the unions as it did in 1921
and 1922.
“The question,” Emspak said, “is
whether we are going back to
what they called ‘the American
plan’ after World War I, which be-
came our Works Council, in other
words a company union.”
tetad-—to—-tha..-nast——
POINTED TG the Be
year’s record of the company in
refusing to arbitrate grievances.
He said the company knew the
whole membership could not be
rallied to fight over a grievance in-
volving only a small group, and
‘_thereby hoped to cut down confi- “
dence in the union. :
“If there were a reasonable price
level, it would be much better than
a cat and dog race trying to have
wages catch up to prices,” Emspak
said, “but we know the chance of
that is remote.” He pointed out
that on the same day that U. 8.
Steel and Westinghouse announced
“price reductions,” commodity
prices were going up.
The fight of electrical workers is
part of the same picture which in-
volves the tough fight which the
miners had on pensions, and which
the CIO Packinghouse workers and ,
AFL printers are having with their
employers. He said there could
not be maximum pressure on the
big companies because the steel
contract wage reopener did not
permit an actual fight there, but
that this was not true of Auto.
Chrysler has voted to strike, and
in GM the Auto union has canceled
the contract. He said UE had had
discussiong-wit! e- Auto Workers
on developing “a joint campaign.
ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS
United Electrical, Radio & Machine
Workers of America, CIO
” Souunxctapy GE Locat 301
o>
Published by Editorial Committee
William Templeton, Chairman
Mary McCartin, Secretary
Glayton Pudney Victor Pasche
Editorial Office
BiuarricAL Union News
301 Liberty St,, Schenectady, N.Y.
Telephone 3-1386
Newspaper Trick
Helpful To GE
-course,..201_members_know.that_in,
In answer to a reporter’s ques-
tion last week, James J. Matles,
UE national director. of organiza-
tion, said that UE had given the
required legal notices, so that if
the ‘membership should want to
strike, it could do so legally. That
was all.
But when this came out in a
United Press story in the Schenec-
tady papers, Matles was quoted as
“announcing” and as “threatening”
to “call” a strike,
This piece of newspaper untruth
was picked up by Vice-President L.
R. Boulware of GE to attack “top
UE-CIO officials” as, not consult-
. ing the members.
That is the way anti-labor news-
paper propaganda-is made. Of
UE, only the members themselves,
by direct vote, can authorize a
strike. Get your facts from the
union stewards and paper, not from
the anti-labor press.
Another Big Melon
For GE Executives
GE has dropped its “profit-shar-
ing’ for its ordinary workers, but
it is keeping its profit-sharing “ex-
tra compensation” plan for its top
executives. P
For 1946, Charles E. Wilson, GE
president, received $48,000 extra
pay; Philip D. Reed, chairman of
the board, $82,000, and Ralph J.
Cordiner, vice-president, $20,000.
Since profits for 1947 were so
high, the amount of extra compen-
sation available for distribution to
exccutives has more than doubled.
The board of directors hasn’t de-
cided yet just how to divide the
melon among the executives.
Maybe It's Stockholders
Who Run GE Machines
GE Vice-president. L. R, Boul-
ware doesn’t think GE workers are
of much importance in increasing
production at the plants, according
to remarks quoted in the New
York Times, Mar. 23,
Here is part. of the Times story:
“While lauding the efforts of
employees in increasing their pro-
duction, Mr. Boulware pointed out
that. the ‘great bulk’ of the in-
crease in production is accomp-
lished through ‘contributions’ made
by the stockholder or the customer -
—the former through investments
for improvements and the latter
through increased and steady buy-
ing of individual items.”
GE Workers Get
Letter from Boss
GE workers in Schenectady last
week received a letter from J. M.
Howell, works manager, defending
the company’s refusal to offer any
wage increase. Apparently the
same letter was sent out by the
works managers in other plants.
The letter started out by ad-
mitting that GE workers are not
paid enough to-live on—and then
went on to offer GE workers the
same old song, “eat less, work
harder.”””
Lots of Omissions!
The letter complained that the
union members were asking for
“more money for the same work.”
The letter did not mention the fact
that the workers are receiving a
whole lot less money, in real pur-
chasing power, because of rising
-nyices..Nor_did_it_ mention that, the
company has been getting more
and more work out of the workers,
through speed-up and “cost im-
provement.” Nor did the letter re-
fer in any way to the ever-increas-
ing profits made for GE by the
workers,
The letter did boast of “impyrov-
ing our equipment and methods,”
which is another way of saying
that it has speeded up the workers,
while objecting to higher earnings
or higher rates.
Issues Are Economic
The union has pointed out re-
peatedly that the issues that are
preventing a settlement are strict-
ly economic—wages, holidays, pen-
sions, seniority, grievance pyro-
cedure. Howell’s letter tried to con-
ceal this tact by lumping all these
issues as Point No. 3. He attacked
the one-year check-off, which has
been in effect for three years. He
wants to be able to organize an
anti-union drive at any time. And
he red-baited the union over its
policy of not going to the Taft-
Hartley Board.
Of course Howell’s letter said
nothing about seniority, grievance
procedure, and arbitration, which
are sore points in the negotiations
because the company will not agree
to provisions which are standard
with other companies. :
The letter’s most crude untruth,
that there was “nothing uccomp-
lished” by the Boston Service Shop
strike, when it was a real victory,
was answered by 301 in a news-
paper advertisement Monday and
Tuesday, giving the facts,
Shop Steward Vernon J. Mill-
ington of. 64. insisted: on a’ meet-
ing with Howell personally Tues-
day, and told him he did not like
the letter, and the workers wanted
a raise.
How Awkward ©
Reasons Printed |
For ‘Price Cuts’
For four months GE has been
spreading publicity that its small
price reductions on some items
(after big price increases) were
intended “to fight inflation.” But
J. A. Livingston, the syndicated
business columnist who appears in
the Schenectady Union-Star, and
whom nobody- can call pro-labor,
had this to say on Monday:
“A glance at first-quarter cor-
poration earnings reports explains
recent decisions of General Electric,
United States Steel and Westing-
house to reduce prices. There
wasn’t much else they could do.
“Industrial profits are running
well ahead of a year ago. Conse-
quently, indUstrial strategy called
-May.7,..1948
'
NS
3
Awards Made
For Injuries
Here are some of the Workmen’s
Compengation awards made recent
ly to 801 members represented by
the union’s attorney Marshall Per-
lin.
$150 to Thomas Donato, sand
blaster in Bldg. 25, for facial dis-
figurement suffered Dec, 24, 1945,
$100 to Randolph Nelson for a
facial scar resulting from an acci-
dent Feb. 27, 1947 in Bldg. 16.
Two days’ additional pay to Elm-
er Zoerner, Bldg. 59, at $28 a week
for time lost owing to a foot in-
jury suffered last Nov. 3.
$8,416 to George Reynolds, weld-
er in Bldg. 60, for 50 pex cent loss
of the use of his left hand, as the
result of an accident last July 165,
$28 a week to Arthur Buehler
for some public relations gesture,
“especially if it could be made an,
underlying reason for not granting)
wage increases.”
And after the January i reduc-
tions, GE. profits for the first three
months still went up 42 percent.
over 1947.
GE Actions Threat
To Job Security
GE’s long-range intentions to-
ward its workers stand out in these
actions:
Referring to the company’s pro-
posal to base lay-offs of people un-
der five years service on “ability,
efficiency, and family status,”
George Pfeif, chief company
spokesman, declared:
“We may not get it now, it may
not come in my time, but some
time the company is going to have
that right.”
GE proposed that arbitration be
used to settle grievances only when
it wants to do so. The company has
gone to court to try to throw out
an aybitrator’s ruling that the jus-
tice of a firing is subject to arbi-
tration.
Without the protection of possi-
ble arbitration, older men could be
dismissed by the company without
regard for seniority.
And GE has asked to remove the
piece work guarantee of “same
earnings” upon change of method.
Gaeth Broadcast
The broadcast by Arthur Gaeth,
sponsored by the national UE, is,
at 10 p.m. every Monday. You can
hear’ it over WOKO, Albany;
WKBW, Buffalo; WGLN, Glens
Falls; WKIP, Poughkeepsie;
WSNY, Schenectady, and WAGK,
Syracuse, ,
tation incurred in refrigerator re-
pair, ;
$22.31 a week to Ernest Dupont
from last Oct. 27 to Apr. 26 for
an accident Mar, 22; 1941. The ref-
eree ordered payment be continued
for six months mote at the same
rate.
$28 a week to Claude Rizziconi of
Bldg. 8 from Feb. 18 to Apr. 12.
His left hand was fractured Feb.
11. :
$28 a week to Gerald Salisbury,
stock accumulator in Bldg. 60, from
last Oct. 28 to last Nov. as the
result of an accident Oct. 18.
$28 a week to Richard Bennett,
Bldg. 50, from Mar. 9 to Apr. 13
for an injury to his finger Feb. 9.
$28 for.two weeks in March to
George Furness of Bldg. 273.
$26.38 a week to Freda Bessette
from Jan. 9 to Apr. 28 for a leg
fracture Jan, 5. The case will re-
“main open for a month to see if
there is any further disability.
$147 to Raymond Wagner, lathe
worker in Bldg. 28, for 85 per cent
loss of his left finger in an acci-
dent last July 14.
$44.80 to Andrew F. Lorenzo for
10 per cent loss of his left ring
finger ‘in an accident last Aug. 18.
$28 a week to Laurence Selke
from last Aug. 19 to Sept. 10, and
costs of an operation for a hernia
suffered July 81.
$815 to Anthony Lezzi, Bldg. 107,
for 25 per cent loss of his right in-
$886 to Andrew Bullis for 20 per
cent loss of an index finger and 10
per cent loss of a middle finger in
un accident Apr. 3, 1947, in Tide.
40.
Shop Stewards Attending Section Meeting —
One of the section meetings for shop stewards, called
at the direction of the Executive Board to discuss
( These stewards, from
the’ section represented by Board Member Willard
Kuschel, met Apr. 28 at the union hall. ..Left to right
union and section. problems.
around the table: V. E, Holmes, Bldg. 46; M. F. Lewis,
46; Joseph Riggi, 48; E. P. Riley, 46; L. P. Grethen,
42 (practically hidden); Frank Emspak, 46; Rossiter
Lighthall, 46; Wilbur Germain, 46; John Rej, 42;
Morton Milkins, 42, and Lawrence Campbell, 42.
Pians in Motion
Members of Local 301 have been
called on with increasing frequency
lately for blood donations for fel-
low members or their families.
Each appeal has been handled as a
separate emergency.
The Local 301 Blood Bank Com-
mittee is taking steps to establish
a permanent 301 Blood Bank for
the use of members of the union
and their families free of charge.
As the first step, the committee
sent a letter to every shop steward
Monday ‘asking him to solicit the
names of all the workers in his
group willing to donate blood. Aft-
er these volunteers sign up, they
will be given cards on which to
write necessary information, in-
cluding the hours when they will
be available to give blood dona-
tions. Arrangements will be made
with Ellis Hospital or the Works
Hospital for their blood to be typ-
ed, This information will be added
to theix cards.
When donations are needed to re-
place blood used in transfusions
tor a 301 member or his family,
the union committee will notify
volunteers. The hospital will ex-
amine the donors and will limit
the frequency with which they can
give blood. On identifying himself,
any ‘member of the union or any
member of his family will receive
a blood donatien .
Members of the Blood Bank
Committee are Jack Mele, chair-
man ;Helen Quirini, secretary; Wil-
liam: Stewart and. Albert — Davis.
he Blood Bank will) be set up
when enough volunteers are ob-
tained to guarantee il will fune-
tion,
hapa
nt envy
There will be another movie
party for children of Loca} 801
members at 10:30 a.m. tomor-
row (Saturday) at the union
hall. The Activities Committee
will serve ice cream.
Smoking Violation
Violations of’ smoking regula-
tions by a few workers are caus-
ing difficulty with the fire insur-
ance inspectors and endangering
present smoking rights, the com-
pany notified Local 301 last week.
The company said it was trying to
get the smoking permit for Build-
ing 12 restored, after a man had
been found smoking under a “No
Smoking” sign next to a vat of
thinner.
Artificial Shoe Shortage
Time magazine, a spokesman for
Big Business, admitted in a re-
cent issue that shoe manufacturers
“cut production in hopes that
shortages would make prices more
palatable.”
id Day Date
Changed to June 26 -
The date for the annual 801 Field
Day has been changed to Saturday, .
June 26, instead of Sunday, June
27. The Activities Committee de-
cided to make the shift because the
Schenectady Union-Star’s model
air derby will be June 27,
This is the second year that the
Union-Star has picked for its air
derby the date already announced
for the 301 Field Day.
The major Field Day prize will
be a 1948 Studebaker. Originally
the committee planned to give two
other large prizes, but instead
there will be 50 smaller ones, in-
eluding such items ‘as an alarm
clock, kitchen clock, electric toast-
er and electric iron,
Tickets will be 50 cents each and
will be distributed to shop stewards
next week.
The traditional contest for Tield-
Day queen will be featured. Each
section is entitled to enter a candi-
date,
VOLUNTEER BLOOD DONOR
| am willing to donate blood for fellow members of Local
301 and their families,
Name.
Home Address.
_..Check No...
_. Bldg. Now.
Are you willing to be a blood donor? Then sign the form above
and give it to your shop steward or send it to the Blood Bank Com-
mittee at the union office.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0