Electrical Union News, 1948 February 20

4

February 13, 1948

GE Engineers Asked
-To Oppose Pay Raise

An effort is being made to organize
GE engineers all over the country to
support the company in its opposition to
a wage increase.

A letter sent to members of GE En- .

gineers Associations. bya" “‘Coordinat-
ing Committee of G-E: Engineers Assoc-
iations” calls for a vote on a proposed

statement to the newspapers entitled ..

“General Electric Engineers Opposed to
General Wage Increase in 1948.”

Chairman of the “Coordinating Com-
mittee” is I. H. Bancker of Schenectady,
who during the 1946 strike issued a
statement for the local GEEA group
urging the non-production workers to
“go back to-work---Other-signers~of-the
letter are from Syracuse, Schenectady,
Lynn (Mass.) River Works, Fort Wayne,
Indiana, and Pittsfield, Mass. The vote
is being taken on the back of the letter
with the name of the engineer written
on it, so that it is not secret.

“Repeats Boulware Arguments

The letter starts out by declaring:

“There has been considerable agita-
tion in recent years for engineers to be-
come active in civic affairs.”

The letter does not state who the
“agitation” comes from, but the pro-
posed newspaper statement repeats all
the Boulware arguments against a wage
increase — that a general wage increase
would mean a “loss” to the worker, and
that the way to fight inflation and reduce
prices is to “increase production”, and
by using “wage incentives and individual
wage adjustments” based on individual
performance,

Of course the engineers completely
ignore the fact that present high prices
have. been established through monopoly.
control of production and . completely
without relationship to wages, and that
the way to fight the present inflation is
by paying out more in wages, without
raising prices.

Blocks Real Organization

The GE Engineers, Association has
served mainly to block real organization
of the underpaid engineers. At the re-
cent Washington hearings on exclusion
ef engineers from the overtime provision
of the Wage-Hour law, the UE argued
for giving more engineers its benefits.
The GEEA did not speak for the pro-
posal. '

The suggestion has been made that
GE production and maintenance workers
could effectively talk to the engineers
they see, on the basis of their own ex-
periences, as to the need for working
with the whole group for and not against
higher wages. ‘

_ ilar or not, and whether it is piece work

Westinghouse, Sylvania, RCA
Agree with UE on Check-off

An agreement has been reached be-
tween the national UH-and Westing-
house Electric Corporation on a volun-
tary check-off to be placed in effect as
soon as the Taft-Hartley restrictions end
the present check-off July 1.

As the contract year ends Apr. 1, the
present maintenance of membership
clause stops operating as of that date,
but the company has agreed that main-
tenance of membership will be restored
“when and to the extent made legally
permissable either (1) by any ruling or
decision of the National Labor Relations
Board or lower court if the parties agree
that such ruling or decision has such
effect, or (2) by any ruling or decision
of the U. S. Supreme Court or (8) by
Congress.

Similar understandings have been
reached by UE with Sylvania and RCA.
These agreements are expected to
smooth the course of the approaching
contract negotiations considerably.

National. UE officers are taking up the
same proposals on check-off and main-
tenance of membership with GH, in ad-
vance of contract negotiations,

News of Legislature

Keep up with the news of the state
legislature by:listening to the broadcast
of the Capital District CIO Council at
9:30 p.m. every Monday over WROW.

Seniority Cases

Pressed by 301

Local 301 is pressing the case of two
assemblers in Bldg. 81, who were forced
to take jobs as C machinists in Bldg.
li-A because. of lay-offs. These two
men had-eight and seven years’ service.
Yet menjwith less than one year’s serv-
ice were retained in closely-related work
in Bldg. 81. ‘

In reply to a written protest from Bus-
iness Agent Leo Jandreau, J. M. Howell,

’ works manager, claimed this week that
- the company complied with contract sen-

iority in making the transfers, The ‘un-
ion contends that men are entitled to
“bump” others with less service in order
to stay on similar work. The company

“apparently considers “ii

with the contract-when the transfer is
to a job rated about as high, regard-
less of whether the actual work is sim-

or day work.

The. union-also--is. going further into---

the Personnel department practice of
telling laid-off workers that if they do
not accept a job the company will
“break your service.” The union con-
tends this has the effect of a threat
and ‘forces men to take unsatisfactory
transfers, in violation of the contract.
Members who are told this should report
it to the union at once.

Two other seniority cases were set-
tled satisfactorily as a result of union
protests. A resistor winder in Bldg. 89,
with seven years’ service, who had been
forced to take a punch press job, was
brought back to Bldg. 17 and a job sim-
ilar to his regular work, displacing a
new man.

In Bldg. 105, supervision attempted to

reclassify a short Service berich assem-

bler, so that a longer service man would
have been laid-off, After Steward J. A.
Pasquarella filed a written grievance and
the case was taken up with Bldg. 41,
supervision in 105 met again with Pas-

“quarella and reversed the decision. The

longer service man stayed on.

Negro History Program

The weekly UE national radio pro-
gram had a special Negro History Week
program Wednesday on the eve of Lin-
eoln’s Birthday. The regular Arthur
Gaeth news commentary will be resum-
ed next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. over
WSNY and WROW.

301 on Air

The Local 801 broadcast is’ at 7:30

‘p.m. every Monday over WSNY.

7 Re Ale

VLECTRICAL

THE VOICE OF LOCAL 30!

UBER &M WAS -

C1. 0.

Vol, 6 — No. 8

SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK

February 20, 1948

The Way Charlie Sees It

You WANT
MORE MONEY
‘To BuY Foop?

Po

v

. Charlie Wilson’s recent dividend message to GE stockholders, which took up
three columns of the Feb. 6 Works News, boasted of the company’s “efforts to
combat price rises,” and declared that “the wage earner would lose from another
round of wage increases,” because “the increase in cash” would mean “more spirited
bidding for the goods available.”’ Of course the message concealed the fact that
GE boosted prices by wide margins before reducing some prices a little to meet
competition. It ignored the fact that prices have been pushed up by monopoly
control, without relation to wages, and that the real cause of inflation is the all-
time high profits obtained by GE and the rest of Big Business through these high

prices,

Polio Fund .

Incomplete returns on the March of
Dimes collection, turned in at the -301
office, had reached $1,769.04 when this
week’s issue of EU News went to press.

On Food Committee

Board Member Leland Sisto and
‘Treasurer Marshall. White were added to
the Food Committee Monday by the
Executive Board, i

Appeals Day Changed

The 301 Appeals Committee has
changed its weekly Hearing Day from
Friday to Wednesday for the conven-
ience of union members. Any member
dissatisfied with the way a grievance
has been handled can appeal to this com-
mittee. It meets at 4 p.m. every Wed-
nesday and will hear second shift work-

“ers at 1pm.

“\, Ss
Na op rok tothe

Reports on GE
Proposals for

1948 Contract

The General Electric Company’s con-
tract proposals, which would seriously
weaken the present agreement, were re-
ceived last week by the UE. Business
‘Agent Leo Jandreau reported them this

the-membership~meeting--and
the Executive Board. The points will be
discussed in detail in the EU News as
the negotiations proceed. ;

The UE still is pressing the company
to start the negotiations before the
March 2 date proposed by GE. -

Plans to enlist the active support of
the workers in all GE plants in upstate
New York behind the union’s proposals
were made at a District 3 conference of
GE locals, held last Saturday in Syra-
cuse.

Emphasis was placed at the meeting
on full regular reports to the plant
membership on the progress of negotia-
tions. There was agreement on weekly
distribution at all plants of union pa-
pers ox leaflets. These will be supple-
mented with brief reports to the mem-
bers over the radio, and advertisements
and union speakers will be used to reach
the community with the union’s side of
the bargaining.

Representing Local 301 at the meeting
were President Andrew Peterson, Treas-
urer Marshall White, and Business
Agent Leo Jandreau, delegates to the
GE Conference Board. Jandyreau is pres-
ident of District. 3.

Plenty of Waring

Last December Shop Sieward Joseph
Holody in Bldg. 69 called the attention
of the safety representative to the fact
that the air pressure from blowers caus- °

“ed the‘back doors of Bldg. 78 to bang,
and that something should be done to
prevent injury to someone who might
not be familiar with the operation of
the doors. Nothing was done. Last,
week an expediter had a wrist smashed
by one of the doors, and three days lat-
er another man was hurt slightly the
same way. Now. supervision is taking
action to correct the matter, :

K aa : a i oN " a

i
‘i

i

we

wi ht i
Co

February 20, 1948

Election of Stewards |
Will Be in December

In the future all Local 801 shop stew-

ards are: to be elected within a -stated ..
period in late December, under the sup- °

ervision of the 301 Election Committee.

This amendment to the Local 801 con-
stitution was voted by the special-
called membership meeting, Tuesday
night and Wednesday afternoon.. ‘

Another change voted was that Execu-
tive Board members will be elected early
in January, instead of in December.

Several other amendments also were
adopted. Most of them are — technical
changes,

Asks Dewey to Meet

ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS

No’Sign of Life |

A: number, of: inquiries have ‘been re-
ceived as'to the union’s case for restors-
tion of the nine-week strike period which

. the company deducted from the workers’
service record.

A trial examiner for the old Wagner
Act labor board had ruled that the com-
pany was wrong and the nine weeks
should be restored. This ruling could
be. made ‘effective only by the board it-
self. Before the board could act, the
Taft-Hartley act was passed. The case
has been frozen in the files of the Taft-
Hartley Board since then. If the’ Taft-
Hartley board ever does act, there is no «

Sorry—Uncle Sam

Is Short Handed

: “Phe Internal Revenue Bureau will not
- observe its usual practice this year of

assigning a man to Local 301 hall to
assist members make out their income
tax returns. °
‘In reply to a letter by Business Agent
Leo Jandreau, Edward J. Connolly,
Schenectady. division chief, said that
“due to the reduction of our field force”,
the union’s request would have to be
turned down. Connolly said he has. only
about half his usual staff. He suggested
that the union members drop.in at the
post office building if they need help.
The federal ‘budget, which proposes
billions for armaments and universal
military training, cuts down on such

ss ma sec a i emg ss
On Kem-Kand Crisis ~~ ;
Charles Rivers, UE District 8 execu-
_ tive secretary, has sent a letter to Gov-
“vernor Dewey asking fot an interview
with him on the Remington Rand crisis.
Rivers pointed out that UE has al-
ready asked the Governor to use his
thiflueiiéeto induce James H. Rand, Jr.
to live up to his signed agreements with

the ‘union.

“Surely, Mr. Governor, a major in-
dustrial dispute in the state of New
York warrants your personal attention
and intercession,” he said.

Efforts of the State Mediation Board

to make any impression on Rem-Rand
were unsuccessful, the letter stated.

Holiday Schedule
For Third Shift

Where the third shift is on a 6-day
week it is scheduled to come in to work
Sunday night and stay out Monday night

“~~~ ~Decause of Washington’s Birthday. . ~~

But if the big majority in any third
shift group wants to come in. Monday
night instead of Sunday night they can
do so. The union has agreed to allow
the time-and-a-half provision to apply
the holiday Monday night, instead of
Sunday night, in such cases.

ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS

Unirep Exrcrricat, Rapio & Maouine
Workers or America, CIO
Scuenectapy GE Loca 301

Published by the Editorial Coiinittee
William Templeton, Chairman
Mary McGartin, Secretary
William Landau Victor Paasche
Clayton Pudney
Editorial Office - Electrical Union News |
301 Liberty St. - Schenectady, N.Y.
Telephone 3-1386

SCHENECTADY PRINTING CQ,, INC,

reason to believe that it would favor the .
Workers’ ciaims i cae

UE Buttons Featured -
In Membership Drive

Union buttons started appearing this
week in the shops as one of
ties of the organizing drive.

It is. urgent for stewards. to ‘complet
at once making full lists of the workers
in their groups, so: the union ‘office. can

check the lists. with ‘the membership ~

rolls. : After each list is-checkedj-the of- .
fice gives each steward UE buttons for
the union member's and the names of the .
non-members, of tps ;
Workers joining Local. 301. between
Feb, 9 and*Mar. 15 don’t ‘have’ to pay
an initiation fee; ~~ ¢ y bab

Building 60 Operators
Refuse | 1!/2 Hour Shift

Operators on the erecting floor of
Bldg. 60: have turned down a company
proposa: to work in two shifts of 11%
hours each Te

After the company made the proposal,
Board ‘Member “William Stewart took
a poll which showed the majority op-_
posed the overtime arrangement. Their |
reaction was.—.if the. company wants.
more work hours, let -it_ give the: third
shift the eight hour day they have asked.

Wage Rate Corrected __
A written grievance by Shop Steward
Clifford Leger at Campbell Avenue plant
last week ‘brought ‘a wage rate correc-
tion, with back pay to January 9,.to a
battery truck. operator under Foreman
Al Swanker. The man does high tiering,
but supervision would pay him the high.
er rate for only four days'a week. Leger
insisted the man was. entitled to his rat-
ing for the whole week, ~~ ~~

FDR's Son Speaks
To Rem-Rand Workers

-Elliott Roosevelt, son of the late Presi-

services to the public.

’ dent, Franklin D. Roosevelt, attacked the
‘Remington Rand labor policies at a rally
- vof. UE workers Feb. 4 at Mohawk.
’ He called James H. Rand “one of the .
foremost ‘fighters against workers’ and“

warned the union men and women “if
Rand wins out over you, it will be the

end of labor, and our country will re-»

vert to sweatshop conditions.”

Criticizing the weakness of the Tru-
man Administration, Roosevelt said,
“During the past three years the coun-
try. has been under ineffectual leader-
ship.”

” 31st District PAC
Program Approved

The proposed PAC program for the
31st Congressional District, drawn up
by a committee of officers.of CIO unions,
was unanimously approved Feb. 2 at

Amsterdam with a few minor additions
_and changes by a larger meeting of rep-

resentatives of CIO unions in this dis-

“trict.

The officers’ committee was authorized
to enlarge itself to include key people
from AFL, railroad and other unions,
farmers, professional groups and people
from other walks of life. The Tarmers
Union is already represented.

The purpose of the PAC program is
to elect a Congressman from this dis-

trict next November who will really .re-.

present the people.

Gaeth Program

‘Don’t miss the national UE radio pro-

gram: featuring Arthur Gaeth, news
commentator, at 7:30 p.m. every Wed-
nesday over WSNY and WROW.

February 20, 1948

Meet with Stevens

On Control Division

Recent difficulties in the Control Di-
vision, including the many temporary
lay-offs, were discussed by Local: 801
with A. C. Stevens, assistant to the gen-
eral superintendent, last week. Present
were Board Members Stanley Bishop,
Dewey Brashear, Anthony Esposito,
Samuel Scott, Clarence Groesbeck, and
Albert Davis, representing parts of the
division, and the union grievance com-
mittee, ; ;

Stevens said that the temporary: lay-
offs were caused by difficulties of sched-
uling work, and that he hoped: the situ-
ation would improve through improved
planning. He said, however, that some

was in small. orders. As to permanent
employment, he said there had been
about 100 lay-offs and. transfers out of
the division in the past three months, and
that it was likely there would be a slight
further reduction in the future, although
now there was enough work for the
‘present force.

Board members brought up a number,

of specific complaints as to work short-

age. Stevens said he would check them. ©

Printers Win

$10 Increase

The Schenectady Typographical Union
obtained a $10 a week pay increase this
winter for all union printers in Sche-
nectady. 1
‘The raise at the Gazette and the
Union-Star, where there is a 3714 hour
work-week, comes to over 26% cents an
hour. The new scale is $80 a week for
men working days and -$85.50 nights.

-It's- retroactive to Novis - - s
The scale in job shops has jumped to

$85 for day workers, on the basis of a
40 hour, five-day week, effective Feb. 1.

Maqua Printing Co., controlled by GE,
also put the $10 raise into effect Feb. 1.
The scale is $85 for the first or day
shift; $89 for second shift and $98, third
shift, 40 hour weeks.

Board Changes ,
Meeting Dates

The Executive Board has voted to
change its regular meetings to the sec-
ond and fourth Mondays of each month.
This will eliminate. the need for Board
members to attend meetings two nights
in a row, twice a month. They have

. been meeting the night before the Stew-:
ards’ meeting and the night before the
Membership meeting. : :

AND —
THAT 1S WHAT
{Ddo! |

The words in white on black blecks above are direct quotations from GE Vice
President L. R. Boulware’s solemn advice (Works News of Feb. 6) to GE workers
trying to buy enough food at today’s prices with last year’s wage rates. The strip
above.is Cartoonist Fred Wright’s illustration of the Boulware sermon. : j

Raise for Cafeteria Workers

Cafeteria employes at the RCA plant
at Lancaster, Pa,, have obtained a raise
of 15 cents: an hour in their first UE
contract. :

E !
New Shop Steward

Walter H. Balbarsus, Bldg.’ 97, took
his oath of office as a shop steward at
the Tuesday night section of the mem-
bership meeting. .