4
‘February 18, 1949
Union Wins Raise
in Race Track Shop
The first grievance processed to
the Works Manager’s office from
the Equipment Development Shop
at the Campbell Avenue Race
Track building last week brought a)
10%-cent raise and $92.75 back
pay to Irving Tenney, électrician
there, ,
The shop is part of the Elec-
tronie Tube division, and the new
division autonomy policy has been
particularly marked in this shop.
The shop also has been surrounded
by seerecy. on the elaim that pro-
cesses must be protected from com-
mercial competition. The men say
that as a result Foreman Robinson
has disregarded union contract re-
quirements and tried t> intimidate
workers. :
Investigation of Tenney’s case
showed that Tenney has prior elec-
trical experience, and that when
employed as a “handyman”, he
was doing electrician’s helper work.
When classed as a helper, he was
doing electrician’s work.
Donald MeWhinnie — recently-
elected shop steward, brought the
facts out, and a joint union-com-
pany investigation followed. Mc-
Whinnie, Board Members William
Templeton and Anthony Villano
and Victor Pasche, assistant to the
business agent, represented the
union.
Frank Schaff of the Works Man-
ager’s office agreed that>Tonney
had been kept behind his proper
rate for a long time. While not
willing to recognize him immed-
iately as an A man, he agreed that '
Tenney should be moved from the
bottom B to the top B rate now,
with adjustments a year back,
JouNnyY WEEOED RAISE
IN PAY...
Got iT THRouGH THE
ate CTL
ssiadeey AUCH
President Frank Kriss, extreme left,
Left to right, the stewards
shop stewards’ meeting at 301 hall.
kowski, Bldg. 5; George Michalonis, Bldg. 19; Jere Messitt,
Bldg. 13 F; Joseph Leguire, Bldg. 73 A, and Pavl Ricciardi, Bldg. 23.
NION |
-- eee WER EMWA--~ 2 GLO,
S
SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK
administering the oath of office to new shop stewards at the Feb, 1
are William Comstock, Building 9; I. Der-
Bldg. 17; Julia Mitchell, Bldg. 89; John Hawkins,
Move Develops Here
To Downgrade Jobs
To the speed-up drive which has |
been developing under the division-
al autonomy policy, there has now
been added, at least in some places,
a move to downgrade jobs as work-
“ers are replaced.
Two grievances on this issue are
pending in the Motor and Generat-
or Division. One involves a stock
room job on the second and third
shifts which has been classed as A
and now is being classed as B. The
other involves abolition of the
“high tiering” truck classification
although high tiering work is still
required. Both cases have been
sent by the union to the Works
Manager's office.
Another downgrading case now
on the Male level concerns the com-
pany’s refusal to pay the Class A
rate to a man transferred to the
job of material move man in Tur-
bine. For 10 years this job has been
known as Class A and five differ.
ent men have been so classified and
paid over this period Manage-
ment claims the job has been
wrongly evaluated in the past and
from now on will be a B job.
Frank Schaaff of the Works
Manager’s office told the union re-
cently there are 17 other such jobs
in Turbine. He said the pay of the
present material move men will not
be cut but if they leave the jobs
will be reclassified as B. A shop
investigation has been made.
Income Tax Help
Members of Local 801 can obtain
help in filing their income tax re
turns at the union hall tomorrow
(Saturday) from 9 am. to 1 p.m.
This free service will be provided
every Saturday through Mar. 12.
Weekly 301 Movies
To Start Tomorrow
A series of free Saturday night
movie programs for Local 301
members will start tomorrow at
the union hall. The first show will
be at 7°30 p.m. and the second one
at 9 p.m.
Tomorrow’s program will consist
of “Charlie’s Aunt” with Jack
Benny; “Famous Fights” featuring
Joe Louis and “The House I Live
In” featuring Frank Sinatra.
On recommendation of the Exec-
utive Board, the 301 membership
meeting this week voted approval
of the movie plans of the 301 Ac-
tivities Committee. The commit-
tee is arranging a varied selection,
including revivals of old movies,
sports shorts, and comedies.
Gordon Belgrave and Edward J.
LaBombard -Jr. have again been
elected co-chairmen of the Activi-
ties Committee. Michael De Celli
is the new secretary.
18 Per Cent of Workers
Laid Offsat Tiffin GE
The General Electric plant at
Tiffin, Ohio, has laid off 90 of its
500 workers, the Associated Press
reported last Saturday. The com-
pany said production at the Tiffin
works would be cut 10 per cent, ac-
cording to the AP,
The AP story didn’t explain just
what kind of speed-up is plan-
ned in order tc operate with 18
per cent fewer workers and still
have only a 10 per cent drop in pro-
duction.
The Tiffin plant produces frac-
tional horsepower motors for GE
appliances, chiefly refrigerators.
George W. Auer, the works man-
ager, said that the demand for the
appliances has decreased.
301 Helps Pensioner
Obtain $2,016 Award —
Thanks to the reopening of hit, }
ease through Local 301, Fenton”
Hines, a GE pensioner, has won a
workmen’s compensation award of
$2;016 against the company. A
state referee, who had earlier dis-
allowed the claim, reversed him-
self and ruled Feb, 8 that Hines is
entitled to this sum for 25 per
cent loss of the use of his right
leg.
Hines, now 66, was injured in
January 1947 while operating a
snow-plow truck. He was pension-
ed off later that year. In Febru-
ary 1948 he appeared alone in
Workmen’s Compensation court at
a hearing on his claim. The ref-
eree threw out the claim on the
erounds that his injury was not
related to the accident. Then Hines
took the case to the union.
Marshall Perlin, 301 attorney, ob-
tained a reopening of the case and
obtained necessary medical evi-
dence for him, A state medical
examiner gave his opinion last
June that there was a “causal re-
lation” between the accident and
the injury. GE. asked for a hear-
ing to cross-examine this state
physician. The hearing was con-
ducted in Albany Dee. 22, but didn’t
do GE any good. The company
has been ordered to pay Hines for
the injury.
PITCH IN “TODAY — HELP
MAKE. YOUR SHOP
100 PER CENT UE
Gaeth Broadcast O
Tune in on the Arthur Gaeth
broadcast, sponsored by the na-
tional UE, at 10 p.m. every Mon-
day on WXKW, Albany (850 on
your dial).
A typical scene at 301 Hall every Saturday morning now, as
income tax reports. 4
AFL Ueiow Turns Bows
301 Negotiations Offer
In reply to a letter from Local
301, Business Agent Keith Rock-
well of Plumbers and Steamfitters
Local 128, AIL, wrote Local 301
this week that his union will noti-
fy 801 before taking any strike ac-
tion at the GE plant here.
But the letter from Rockwell
turned down the $01 offer of co-
ordinating wage negotiations and
ignored the 301 offer to consult on
the steamfitters’ problems.
The AFL union is taking “the
last step in negotiations” with GE
today (Friday) when there will be
a meeting of the union, and the
company with a federal conciliator.
“This inceting will either bring
ow dispute to a .peaceful close’
with satisfactory gains for our
members,” Rockwell wrote, “or our
Executive Board will be forced to
set a definite strike date.
“Our union appreciates the offer
of your union to jointly negotiate
a contract with the General Elee-
tric Co., however, Local 128 fvels
that it is in a position to negatiate
a contract with the GE Co. and
win its just demands.”
The AFL steamlitters represent
350 workers, while Local 301 rep-
“Yesents 18,000. The AFL, which
used the Taft-Hartley Law to split
a group from 301, is now negotiat-
ing its first GI contract, UIE has
had a GE contract here for many
years.
Members Get Help on Inc
union members reccive assistance in filing their
he free service is provided from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday through Mar. 12.
Movies Tomorrow
At Local 301 Hall
The Local 801 program of free
movies tomorrow (Saturday) night
at the union hall will be as fol-
lows:
Miriam Hopkins in “Becky
Sharp”.
Football Parade—1948.
“One World or None”,
The first show will be at 7:30
p.m. and the second show at 0:80.
The weekly programs, sponsored
by the Activities Committee for
301 members and their families,
started last Saturday.
Cooperation Needed
On Parking Problem
As the result of complaints
about conditions in Parking Lot
No.5, the union made a joint in-
vestigation with management of
the parking problem there.
The overlapping of shifts ap-
parently causes the chief difficulty,
In many instanees workers park
their ears in front of other work-
ers’ automobiles, instead of using
available space a little further
away.
The parking problem ~ will be
considerably lessened if all groups
refrain from parking in driveways
or blocking other ‘cars.
MAKE YOUR SHOP
100 PER CENT UE
Wilson Thinks Police
Too Soft With Pickets
GE President Charles E. Wilson
complained to the Senate Labor
Committee at Washington — last
weck about the effectiveness of
the Local 801 picket lines in the
UE strike in 1946,
Wilson appeared before the com-
mittee to defeud the Tatt-Hartley
law and to urge further govern-
ment restrictions on labor,
_A special news dispateh in the
Schenectady Union-Star quoted
Wilson as saying that Schenectady
police were unable to cope with the
UE pickets. Wilson frankly de-
manded that the federal govern-
meut adopt measures to smash
picket lines if local police don’t do
the job to suit the employers.
He praised the Taft-Hartley law
and urged that the provisions be
retained allowing the government
to break strikes by getting in-
junctions against unions. Al-
though Wilson has been airing his
Taft-Hartley propaganda for
months, newspapers gave him
large front-page headlines, as
though his statements were really
new.
Wilson told the committee “the
men in the shops” favor the Taft-
Hartley law. By petitions, letters,
postcards, resolutions and votes
GE workers have shown they op-
pose Tatt-Hartley.
February 25, 1949
Wage Proposal
Not Yet Made
General Electri¢ workers are
still trying to figure out how the
company can “reject” a wage de-
mand which has not yet been pro-
posed.
Monday’s papers gave front
page play to a story quoting the
New York Times as saying the
GE had “turned down” UE “de-
mands ‘for a fourth-round pay in-
crease,” and had “rejected de-
mands” for “shorter work hours
and liberalized pension plans.” The
story quoted GE Vice-President
. Lemuel R. Boulware.
GE Not Approached
The fact is that«the recent GE
Conference Board meeting of UE .
locals voted for a campaign to
show the need for a wage increase.
Propusals for an actual date of re-
opening the contract, and for spe-
cific demands, were postponed to a
later conference board meeting
after further discussion by the
membership of ‘the locals. There
has been no approach to the com-
pany. Under the contract, the un-
jon can reopen once, at a time it
chooses.
Conference Board Actions
The conference board meeting
declared a raise was needed to “re-
store purchasing power ... and
to bring back the jobs of those
laid-off.” (See additional facts
brought out by the conference, on
page 3). The meeting also stress-
ed the need of correcting the rates
for skilled trades and women, It
recommended a fight for a shorter
work week without reduction in
pay, because of unemployment
caused by inereased productivity
and lack of purchasing power on
the part of the people. It recom-
mended that the membership in-
sist on improvement of the GE
pension plan and the present
health and sick benefit plans.
These actions of the union con-
ference board got very little, if
any, attention in the papers. But
Boulware’s “rejection” was con-
sidered big news,
Boulware was quoted as repeat-
ing his time-warn piece about
(Continued on Page 2)
ome Tax at 301 Hall Boulware Rejects -
SUNG Re arene meee in aa
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2
UE Job Survey
Shows Big Drop
A survey made by UE reveals
that in plants which employed
887,000 workers at their peak in
1948 there has been a drop in em-""~*
ployment of 60,000, This repre-
sents a 16 per cent lay-off. If the ,
same figure applies for the rest
of the electrical industry, a total
of 80,000 workers have lost their
jobs in the industry.
In addition to lay-offs, workers
are faced with the problem of
“short weeks” in many plants.
New England and upstate New
York are among the five aresas
hardest hit by unemployment, the
survey shows: The heaviest lay-
offs were in plants producing for
the ordinary consumer. Plants
working on heavy. electrical goods
for utilities or the military pro-
gram have been least affected.
General Electric laid off 2,800 at
Bridgeport, Conn,, and 2,291 at
Fort Wayne, Ind. At Proctor Elec-
tric, Philadelphia, the 1290 jobs
were cut in half. Remington Rand
at Ilion has dropped 3,200 and
Frigidaire, in Ohio, iaid off, 38,000.
‘That’s just a partial list.
Rejects Proposals
Not Yet Presented
(Continued from Page 1)
wage increases being responsible
for a “wage-price-inflation spiral.”
Of course he did not mention the
real fact. The fact is that GE
and the rest of Big Business have
brought on inflation through all-
time high profiteering and high
prices, and past ‘wage ‘raises have
been just efforts to keep up with
the run-away prices.
These questions will be the sub-
ject of considerable discussion in
shop stewards’.and membership
meetings. In the meantime, Boul-
ware’s rush to “reject” a wage
raise shows the importance of the
current organizing drive, to make
GE realize that GE workers need
a raise.
ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS
United Electrical, Radio & Machine
Workers of America, CIO
Scuenrcrapy GE Locan 301
= wR
Published. by Editorial Commitice
Mary McCnrtin, Chairman
Arthur BR, Bertin{, Seeretary
Willium Christman Frank D'Amico
Editorial Office
Exvectricar Unton News
301 Liberty St., Schenectady, N. Y.
Telephone 3-1386
WE BELIE
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FOR CUTTING CUR
February 25, 1949
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DECIDES To GIVE.
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In Fact Subscriptions
The Local 301 membership meet-
ing last week voted to continue the
union’s subscriptions to In Fact
for shop stewards, but voted
against incurring the new expense
of subscribing to the CIO News
for the stewards. In Fact is a
weekly news-shect issued by
George Seldes, formerly a famous
newspaper correspondent, to ex-
pose the lies and distortions of
the Big Business press.
Strike Wins Raise
Pressure of a three-week strike
against’ a pressure cooker factory
brought a 10 cents an hour raise
for members of UE- Local 419. The
agreement settling the strike at
Eastern Metal Products Company
at Tuckahoe also improved classi-
fication and vacation pay.
Accidents at Work
More than 2,000,000 workers are
injured on their jobs every year in
the United States. About 18,000 of
these lose their lives and nearly
100,000 are maimed for life.
UE News Faatures
Tomorrow’s issue of the national
UE News will feature the General
Electrie Company’s campaign to
make the Taft-Hartley law’ even
worse. There will also be a re-
port on the Westinghouse Confer-
ence Board meeting of UE,
Pensioners’ Meeting
The UB-801 Pension Organiza-
tion will meet at 2 pam. Wednes-
day at the union hall.
Don't Be a Slacker
Join the Union
GE Must Submit
To Arbitration
A New York Supreme Court de-
cision recently stated that the GE-
UE dispute about the company’s
refusal to credit time spent on un-
ion activities toward the pension
plan is subject to arbitration.
‘The union claims that GE is dis-
criminating against union mem-
bers by refusing to credit time
spent on union business. GE has
insisted that the question was not
subject to arbitration.
Unemployed Dues
The Executive Board has decid-
ed that hereafter unemployed dues
will be collected in strict accord-
ance with the constitutional pro-
vision that any member employed
less than 10 days in any given
month will pay 10 cents for an un-
employed stamp.
Since it is not convenient for
tmemployed members to bring
their unemployed dues each month
to the union office, they may pay
them in a lump sum when they
return to work.
Stewards Meet Tuesday
The 801 shop stewards will meet
at 7.30 pm. Tuesday at the union
hall,
Taft-Hartley Results
Praised by Boulware
When tle Taft-Hartley law was
passed, UE and ‘other unions
charged that the real purpose of
the non-Communist affidavit pro-
vision was to cause trouble and
splits in labor unions.
GE Vice-President L., R. Boul-
ware boasted of the success of
this scheme in his testimony last
week praising the Taft-Hartley
law before the Senate Labor Com-
mittee at Washington. He declar-
ed that the affidavit question has
caused battles within UE and ‘has
influenced the election of officers
in a number of locals.
Not content -with interference in
the election of union officers,
Boulware demanded that Taft-
Hartley affidavit requirements be
extended to shop stewards too and
to all paid union representatives.
Moreover, he wants employers to
be expressly excused from dealing
with representatives of a union
which has not filed Taft-Hartley
affidavits.
If Boulware gets his way em-
ployers won’t have to worry
about wage increases, contracts
or grievances.
Seats for Observers
By direction of the Exeeutive
Board, members who attend vert)
stewards’ meetings. as observers§..
not as stewards or stewards’ al-
ternates, are asked to sit in the
rear row of the hall. This separ-
ation will enable the chairman to
distinguish stewards from observ-
ers in counting votes,
February 25, 1949
ELECTRICAL .UNION NEWS
List Stewards
On Honor Roll
Stewart
Wallingford Ferris
White Templeton
Shop stewards whose groups are
100 per cent UE include William
Stewart, Building 60, who is chair-
man of the Local 301 organizing
drive; Roy E. Lash and Edward
Wallingford, both of Bldg. 60;
Marshall White, Ben R. Ford and
George Deimer of Bldg. 18; Chas.
D. Ferris, Bldg. 68; Charles J.
Zajan, Bldg. 269, and William
Templeton, 11 Test.
Additions to this honor roll will
be printed in the EU News
throughout the organizing cam-
paign. The Board: member must
aertify to the 100 per cent organ-
‘fation of any group in his section,
‘before it, is included in the list,
Pictures of the stewards will be
used when available.
The organizing drive opened last
week and continues until Apr. 15.
semen remit
Why GE Workers Need Pay Increase
_ The program of the GE Conference Board of UE locals, unanimously approved by the Local 801 member-
ship meeting last week, centers on the need for a wage increase “to restore the purchasing power of our mem-
bers and to bring back the jobs of those laid off”,
As the EU News stated last week, the Conference Board summarized the facts which make a pay raise
necessary-and-which-must-be-made-clear-to-the-members
mary.
Conditions of GE Workers-_-
The facts show that the condition of General
Electric employees is one of increasing difficulty and
hardship. We find the following:
Lay-Offs
For the first time in nine years, several thousand
of our members have been laid off. Thousands more
are working only part time.
Wages
The weekly purchasing. power today of GE work-
ers who still have full time employment is $11.09
less than in January 1945.
Cost of Living
“Phe cost of ‘living, which has risen 8544 per cent —
since January 1945 is now only 2 per cent below its
highest peak, notwithstanding all the propaganda
about reductions.
Productivity
The productivity of GE employees has increased
more than 25 per cent since the end of the war.
Rate Cutting:
The individual wage rates of our members are
constantly being cut by means of speedup, and. by
transfers to lower rated jobs as a result of layoffs,
changes in manufacturing methods and by ‘the break-
down of manufacturing operations. |
Unemployment Compensation
Members thrown out of work because of con-
sumers’ inability to buy, increased productivity and
direct speedup receive no severance pay, or compen-
sation adequate to sustain themselves and their fam-
ilies, either from the company or from agencies of
government.
Pensions
Our old members are being faveed into retire-
ment at an average GE pension of $389 a month.
Medical Care
Our members and families who become sick do
not receive essential medical care and cannot afford
to pay for it.
Taxes
In addition to the other burdens they must bear,
our members are forced to pay heavy taxes, from
which they receive no proportionate benefit,
Help the Organising Drive
Make Your Shop
100 Per Cent UE
ipvand'tu' the publics “Here are high spots of the sum-"~
Conditions of GE Company
The cireumstances which impose hardship upon
our members result in great benefit -to the General
Electric Company. The circumstances of the com-
pany are as follows:
Profits
GE profits in 1948 are the highest in history. The
company confesses to a profit rate of $112,000,000 an-
nually, This is 18 per cent higher than the profit of
the previous year, which was then the highest in com-
pany history.
Lay-Offs
Instead of reducing prices, GE lays off workers,
The wages they were paid the company now keeps as
profit.—----- -
Productivity
; GE has kept for its own profit all the benefit of
increased productivity per worker without passing
on the benefits to consumers in lower prices or to
workers in better wages. In 1939 GE made $789
profit per worker, in 1948 GE made $1,089 profit
per worker,
Wages, Prices and Profits - ~
While our own weekly earnings have increased
1d per cent since the first quarter of 1945, GE prices
during the same period have risen 354 per cent and
company profits 1383 per cent.
Compensation Rebates
While today unemployment compensation is too
little to sustain our laid off members, GE has received
tremendous kickbacks from state compensation funds
under the “merit” system,
Executive Pensions
In addition to enormous salaries and bonuses, GE
officers and executives receive luxurious pensions.
While the average GE pensioner receives $39 a month,
the president of the company will receive $5,500 a
month and lesser executives $1,000 a month.
Tax Rebates
GE has profited by huge tax rebates, and by
tremendous reductions in corporation taxes, while the
tax burden has been shifted to the backs of those
who find it hard to make ends meet. :
Profit Sharing
In 1947 the company arbitrarily abolished its so-
called “profit sharing plan” that had existed for pro-
duetion and salaried employees, The company took
away the few dollars a year that the plan gave its
employees, but retained the profit-sharing plan that
will add millions of dollars in 1948 to the already
jens salaries and benefits of GE officers and execu-
ives,
All of these great benefits enjoyed by the Gen-
eral Electric Co. have been achieved at the expense of
its employees and the public, x
Good and Bad News
The 801 men’s basketball team
recently beat the Walters team 51
to 60 but was defeated 415 ‘to 89
hy the Arrows. Both games were
at Oneida High School,
At the end of the City League
season the team may enter some
totrnaments. Players interested
in signing up for these later games
should notify Don Restifo, Build-
ing 73, He can be reached.through
the union office.
WEAR YOUR UNION BUTTON
The Arthur Gaeth broadcast,
sponsored by the national UE, is
at 10 pam. every Monday
WXKW, Albany (850 on
dial),
over
your
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