Electrical Union News, 1946 October 17

4’

ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS

October 10, 1946

District 3 Reelects
Jandreau President

Leo Jandreau, Local 301, was un-
animously reelected president of UE
District 8 at the annual convention at
Buffalo last weekend.

Last Chance
To Register

You can’t vote against the meat short-
age and 90 Gents goudt haiku unless

-Dvring—the-past—year_10,000-—-workers—-you- REGISTER, a ue eee

in the district were covered by first
contracts in plants newly organized
by UE. These plants

include General

Cable at Rome; In-

gersoll Rand, at

Painted Post; two

Remington Rand

plants at Ilion, the

GE plant at Utica,

aud the Sylvania

Electric Co. at

Jamestown, District

3. now represents .

$7,000 dues paying

UE members.

The convention Leo Jandreau

we f 7 } ye 4: ewe
-unanimously-approved-~all-~ resolutions—~-—-You-can't—vote- in. November-if-you

passed and actions taken by the recent
international UE convention.

District officers elected, in addition
to Brother Jandreau. were: vice-presi-
dent, Gerald ‘Mooney, president of Local
501, ‘Buffalo; secretary.- treasurer,
Charles Cooper, president of Local 308,
North Tonawanda, and. sergeant-at-
arms, Sheridan Creekmoxe, Local 306,
North Tonawanda.

Andrew Peterson, Local 301, was re-
elected to the Executive Board. .

Speakers included James Matles, UE

director of organization; James Mac-
Leish, president of District 4 and Archie
Wright, president of the northeastern
division, National Farmers Union.

Local 301 delegates were William
Kelly, William Mastriani, Roy Lash,
Brother Peterson and Brother Jandreau,

Wallace Thanks Council
For Letter of Support

The Executive Board of theCapital
District Industrial Union Council, CIO,
this week received a letter from Henry
A. Wallace expressing appreciation ‘of
its recent message of support.

“You don’t know how much it has
encouraged me,” Mz, Wallace wrote,
“to receive the spontaneous response

. of many thousands of people, those who
through political alertness and action
ultimately will determine whether we
are going to live in a world at peace or
whether we are going to be swept into
a world-wide holocaust.

“We must all of us keep up the good
work, each in his own way.”

Tomorrow (Friday, Oct. 11) and Sat-
urday are the last days to register. ©

In Schenectady, Seotia, and other
cities and villages of over 5,000 popula-
tion you can register from 10, a.m. to
10 p.m. tomorrow, or from 7 a.m. to 10
p.m. Saturday.

Rural areas and places under 5,000
population: con't require personal regis-
tration. But be sure your name is on
the list, especially if you are a new vot-
er, a returned veteran or have moved
since the last election.

In these rural sections the only regis-
tration day left is Saturday, from 1 p.m.
to 10 p.m,

don't register.

Take a Good Look
At Heck's Record

It seems the top officers of the State
Federation of Labor, AFL, have short
memories, for they actually issued a
statement last week praising the legis-
lative record of Oswald D. Heck, Re-
publican.

Yet their own State Federation in the
past has printed the full record of
Heck’s anti-labor votes, from 1932, his

first term in the Assembly, until 1937-

when he became Speaker, Since then
he has been able to sidestep going on
yecord on such issues because of his
position as presiding officer.

Here are some highlights of the Heck
yecord: ,

During 11932-1936 te voted four times *
against extending workmen’s compen-
sation to cover all occupational diseases.

Voted three times. against bills which
would prohibit “yellow dog” contracts.

Voted three times against bills giving
a jury trial for violations of injunctions
in labor disputes,

Voted against restricting injunctions
in labor disputes.

Voted twice against the Federal Child
Labor Amendment,

In 1986 voted against Governor Leh-
man’s entire Social Security program,

REGISTER THIS WEEK —
IT’S THE LAST CHANCE

. Local 801 members

Organizing Starts
In Third Section

The organization committee’s work of
supplying committeemen with cards for
members and with lists of non-mem-
bers‘ is being completed. for the second

THE VOICE OF THE. UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO & MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA—LOCAL . 301 CIO.

“section of the drive.

Bidgs. 53, 65 and 69,
headed by Board
member Anthony
Esposito.
This work was
finished last. week
“for the first section,
Bldgs. 52, 64 and 66,
headed by John Sac-
cocio, As the com-
mitteemen have re-
ceived cards for all
Anthony Esposito.
in this section, in-«
dividual members
who haven’t yet obtained their cards
should ask the committeemen for them.
' The big job in the first two sections
now is for committeemen to enroll non-
members.

The organizing committee has started
work on the third section, Turbine,
Bldgs. GO and 49, headed by William
Stewart.

‘Free’ Press Again.
Twists Labor News

Schenectady’ newspapers; like just
about all the daily press everywhere,
work in relays to misrepresent the facts
about labor, ;

Last week the Union-Star did the

work. It came out with a story Wed-:

nesday to the effect that the CIO-PAO
would support “the entire Democratic

slate of candidates,” which was direct.

ly contrary. to fact.

The next day the Union-Star had in
its possession the PAC report listing the
actual endorsements and analyzing the
situation. But instead of admitting its
error of the previous day, it played up
the erude attack on PAC by Amedeo
Volpe, who had begged for PAC support
.and then rejected the PAC program be-
cause the Republican machine ordered
him to do so. The Union-Star sup-
pressed most of the PAC report.

There’s nothing new about the Union-
Star’s performance. It’s just another
proof that commercial newspapers are

simply the voice of Big Business against

the people.

MANURE RTE EYE

VOL. III—No. 27

__ SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK

October 17, 1946.

~ Membership Night —
Programs Planned

Local 801 will start a series of mem-
bership night programs Monday night,
Oct. 21, in the union hall, to include

€) every building in the GE plant. Every
a union member is urged to attend.

All the meetings will feature the UE
movie, “Deadline for Action’, discus-
sion of wages and prices and refresh-
ments. Hight of the nine programs will
start at 7:30 p.m. The get-together for

__.....second. shift. workers will bé.the-only.

-afternoon affair, at 2:80 p.m. Sunday,
Oct. 27.
The schedule is as follows:
Monday, Oct. 21—Bldgs. 2, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 22, 24, 28, 87.
Tuesday, Oct, 22-—-Bldgs. 14, 15, 16,
17, 18, 18A, 19, 40B, 41.
Thursday, Oct, 24—Bldgs, 49, 68, 60,
65; 69, Smith St., Troy Warehouse.
Friday, Oct. 25--Bldgs. 57, 68, 70J,
72, 76, 80, 84, 87, 91, 95,98 ABCD,
99A B, 101, 105, 107, 227, 238, 241.
Sunday, Oct. 27— All second shift
members.
Monday, Oct. 28—Bldgs, 29, (64
- Front End), 67, 71, 78, 76, 77, 79, 81,
85, 89, 98, 97, 109, 284, CAP.
Tuesday, Oct. 29—Bldgs, 18, 13F, 59,
61, 63, 259, 265, 269, 278, 285, (58
Patrol).
. Wednesday, Oct. 30-—Bldgs, 42, 46,
48, 50, 52, 64, 66.

Company Stops

301 Distribution

Of Union Registration Leaflets.

General Electric Co, showed its fear of the labor vote by havini® company
police stop distribution Friday morning of a CIO-PAC leaflet containing a simple,
non-partisan appeal to voters to exercise their “American right. and duty’ to
register. The leaflet carried no mention of any party or candidate.

Union distributors were able to con-
tinue handing out the leaflet only at a
few gates where they could stand. be-
yond the GE property line.

GE. Police Chief Collins told the Local
801 distributors.that. the orders to stop
distribution came directly from the
plant management.

Under the Wagner :Act the union’ had
an absolute right to distribute this union
leaflet, President Andrew Peterson of
Local 301° declared. ,

GE Fears Labor Vote

“But that is not the issue,” he said.

-“The issue is that General Electric is

afraid of its employees voting.

“This action of GE exposes thorough-
ly the real reason for red-baiting at-
tacks on PAC by the Dewey candidates
for office and the Schenectady County
Republican Committee, Big Business
and its political spokesmen are afraid
of the workers. They know that when
the workers vote in large numbers,
they vote against Big Business control
of the country.

“Tt is interesting that this GE attack
on its employees’ civic rights comes on

_

Putting the Blame Where It Belongs

The following statement was adopted by the Executive Board of Local 301.

at its meeting Tuesday.

With President Truman’s surrender to the meat industry’s hold-up of the
people, it is important that the citizens understand clearly who is nespeualile

for the present disastrous: situation,

We are heading for uncontrolled in-

ey flation, in which meat, butter, milk, will

.be beyond the reach of millions of Am-
ericans. .

The cause is clear, Ip its drive to
break price controls, the meat industry
admitted quite brazenly that there. was
no real meat shortage. The country was

held up by Big Business, with the back-
ing and open encouragement of the
same old line-up of Hoover-Dewey Re-
publicans up this way and poll tax Dem-
ocrats from the South, which this year
virtually killed the Price Cotitrol law.
The line-up of forces was pointed. out
(Continued on Page 8)

Union Cards Ready
For Bldgs. 52, 64, 86

-Any Local 801 member. in Build-
ings 62; 64 and 66 wio has not
yet received his membership card
should ask. his committeeman for
it. .

As part of the organizing drive
now under way, the union. office
has issued membership ecards for
all members in these buildings,
first section in the drive.

ove a

the same day as Charles E. Wilson's ef-
fort to use material shortages in a
drive to break price controls,

Campaign of Big Business

“Under Franklin D. Roosevelt's lead-
ership, the people were able to regain
to some extent the control of their gov-
ernment, Using cries of ‘Communism’ ”
and ‘freedom from controls,’ Big Bus-
iness is now engaged in an all-out drive
to take over the country again, and re-
turn us to the Hoover < days of high pric-
es, low wages, unlimited profits, to be
followed by depression and mass .un-
employment. Dewey, Ives, Kearney,
Dunn, Volpe and others on their ticket
now engaged in smearing PAC are the
agents of Big Business in this drive.

“General Electric’s attempt to keep
registration down is a brazen Part of
the drive.”

ClO Council Starts
New Radio Program
The Capital District Industrial Union

_Council, CLO, last week started a series

of radio broadcasts scheduled for T pm,
every other Wednesday night over Sta-
tion WTRY (980 on your dial).

Unrrep ELectricat, Aivio & Macumne
ERE ‘OF. Amnpia; cio

= :
Rica ba the ) Maitetigl Eoramiites
“=~ Ray-Flanigan
= "-Milo Lathrop - William Mastriani’
Editorial Office - Electrical Union News
301. Liberty §f. - Schenectady, N. ¥.
iRNBGTADY PRINTING GQ. ING.

‘Keep: Kearney’s Record
in Mind Election Day

“ Congressman Bernard WwW. Kearney's

antidabr voting record in. Congress is
90 notorious that.most GE workers don't
sneed further, reminder.
: But in cage:someone forgets, in these
erucial days before. Nov. 6, what the
‘Republican Congressman misrepresent;
iting Scheriectady has. done,. here are a
‘few facts:from the record.

‘He. voted for court reviews of OPA
-actions ‘designed. to make OPA practi-
‘eally ineffective.

* He-voted. for three amendments in
-1946i to. cripple OPA.:

1 Veted for the 1945 revenue bill giv-
‘ing huge.tax refunds to corporations.
‘This was known as “the bill-for relief
‘for the greedy.” *

Voted to assure increased profits on
war contracts.

Voted to end food subsidies,

Voted to “pass Case. anti-labor bill
over President Truman’s veto.

‘Those are just.a few. highlights of
the. Kearney record,

Logal. 301 supports his eppotient,
Can oll (Pink) Gardner, Democrat and.
ALP, who js, pledged to work for the

G}0-PAG Rrogram..

“APL Leaders: Forget :
Depression af: 1929

“William Green’ and the rest of the
Bxeoutive Council of the national AFL
have officially announced they frown
on fighting to raise wages’ and ‘think
that labor. should instead’ enter into a
“partnership” with Big Business to
speed up production and cut down on
strikes. oo6

They dusted off a 1925 ABL resolu-
tion as their 1946 guide. This policy
which the AFL followed 20 years ago
kept down wages ‘and purchasing power
and gave Big Business free rein to raise
prices ‘without limit and to make ‘tre-
mendous’ profits, Its climax’ was the
1929 depression. : ees

ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS

kout Defended |
“By Candi date Wes

ws - =

-. Jeving M, Ives, Sepnbiiear candidate

Board Puts Blame
Where It Belongs

(Continued from Page 1) 7
last. week in the Chicago speech -of

Charles _E, Wilson, president of General meets_at.the_union-hall.every. Friday. at...

PAC workers leaving, Pleasant Valley School. last Saturday for ‘a house-to-house
canvass of the neighborhood to get out people to register. Front row, left to right,
Joseph Dominelli and Larry Gebo, both of Leal 301, and Gene Nicolelli, Local
2054, United Steelworkers: of America; second row, Alfred Pelrah, William Mas-
triani, Sam De Cesare ‘and Mrs. Cesare, all of Local 301; rear row, Leo Brudzinski
with Allen Townsend and Joseph Krawiecki, both of Local 301.

Good News for PAC—

Registration Jumps °

The. fact that ‘Schenectady County
registration increased this year about

, ‘12 per cent over 1942, the last euberna-

torial year, undoubtedly annoyed (Gi

‘executives but it Was cheerful’ news to
PAC workers... The more - people -who -

vote Nov. 5, the bigger chance of-elect-
ing the Mead-Lehman ticket and pro-
gressive, pro-labor local candidates,

Registration in the whole county was
65,889 this year compared with 58,895

“in.1942, The figure in the city of.Sche-
nectady was 38,378: compared with 34,-

660 in.1942,

The towns of Rotterdam and: Nisliay-
una even surpassed’ their 1944 tepistra-
tions,—and” 1944 was | a presidential
Glection year. | —— :

Free Tickets. Available
For Talk of Russ Nixon

“Free ‘tickets for the talk by Russ

JNixon, Washington’ representative of
UL,vat: S-p:m. Wednesday, Oct. 238. at
Nott Terrace High School, may. be ob-

ined. fvom-inembexs: of the Local 301

executive board. A limited number of

tickets will be. available at the union
offiee. .

Brother Nixon Will speak at a program
of ‘the Cooperative Evening School As-

” gemBlié.

To Open Negotiations

"Pay. Marvin, representing District 3,
UE, is to start contract negotiations this
week with the Underwood Corp, to ¢ov-
er wages £ nd. ‘working “conditions of the
14 service’ employees of the Albany of-
five,

for ys. ‘Senator, believes it’s the basic —
American yight of an employer to lock

out his employees, ie geegeales in a

spaech : Oct. 9.5 ck
. After paying lip, service to the right

‘to strike, he said, “‘By. the same token

and to the same extent the right to the

ockout by any employer js also inalien-

able. i in our American system.”

_ This was, very embarrassing for. the
state AFL top leaders’ who. have been
trying to build up a pro-labor, liberal
reputation for Mr, Ives,

‘They admitted (not for quotation by
name) last week they were stunned by
the Ives defense of the lockout, and
that Ives would lose many labor votes

‘as a result of. the statement.

But they Kriew that Ives’ 15 year vot-
ing record has many black spots on it.
He voted" against the State Unemploy-
ment Insurance Bill in 1938 and 1934
and later tried to weaken the bill, He
opposed . bills to extend workmen’s com-
pensation to cover all occupational dis-

eases, He also voted against bills to.

restrict judges from issuing injunctions

in, labor disputes, against a bill to -pro-.
vide minimum ' “wages for women and

minors'and against a bill to guarantee
a. jury trial in labor injunction viola-
tion cases. These are a few examples.

301 Board Calls
For Meat Seizure

In falling into the trap of Hoover.
Dewey-Taft Republicans by : removing

price controls” from” meat,” Président

Truman ignored pleas from many labor
and consumer groups throughout ' the
country.

The Executive Board of Local 801 -
wited the President last week, calling

. on him to “take over the packinghouses

and all meat stocks and force their sale
to housewives.”

“you have the authority under your
war emergency powers to end this hold-
up of the American people by the meat

packers,” the Board stated.

“There is no .excyse for either meat
shortage or 90-cents-a-pound butter,
Some of the vigot which has been used
against ‘the working people in. their legi-
timate struggles fora fair wage should
riow -be ‘used against Big Business in its
viciolis’ drive for ‘illegitimate profits,”

Electric. He made use of the hardships
imposed on GE workers by material
shortages as a tricky means of aviving
to break all price control, and thereby
increase the hardships on those work-

ers. Removing government controls in

a period of material shortages and ar-
tificial consumer shortages. will not
solve anything. It. will merely bring
on higher prices, profits even beyond the
present all-time high, and a depressed
standard of living, which will be fol-
lowed by another big depression.

a Action Needed

President Philip Murray of the CIO.
has just called attention to industry in-
ventories of $87,000,000,000, much of
which represents “speculative hoard-
ing.” The answer to the shortage sit-
uation does not lie in surrender to the
trusts. It lies in vigorous government

~action to enforce price ceilings, and
compel the flow of food and consumer
goods to market — in short, a clear-cut
Policy that will let the profiteers know
they cannot: get away with it.

Big Business, working through the
Hoover-Dewey forces in politics, is
rapidly getting us back into the exact
pattern which-lodeto-the crash of 1929,
‘— soaring profits, prices determined
solely by the. ability of the trusts to
gouge the public, and real wages, the
workers’ purchasing power, dropping
‘steadily despite rising productivity.

Labor Stronger Than in 1929

The difference between the present
period and the years which led to 1929

ized, and: the CIO has learned from. the
mistakes which labor made in ad nine-
‘-teen: twenties. ;

Labor’s program to break ‘the meat
hold-up was in the interest of all the
people, but we did not give it ‘enough
active political backing to meet the of-
fensive of Big Business. '

But the people are learning the, shard
way. They are going to insist on wages
having something like a decent relation-
ship to prices. They are going to fight
for a return to essential government
controls to stop profiteering and infla-
tion, They must fight, in the first
place, to defeat at the polls the Deweys,
Ives, Kearneys and Dunns, who speak
in politics for Charles E, Wilson and the
National Association of Manufacturers,

-is-that today, labor is fsx better organ- -

The grievance: stoealef@adiminane set
up by the.Local 301’ executive:-board

.4 p.m., and when there are issues.to: be
heard. involving .second shift. -members,
it meets also. at 1p.

The committee acts- on + all ‘complaints
by members as. to the. handling: of ‘a
grievance ‘by -a committeeman.or- the

. business agent’ or.any assistant. :

A member ‘having: a complaint-on the
handling of ‘a’ grievance should’ notify
the union office. -The-union then’ will
notify all interested parties,“and ‘the
matter. will be heard at ane next''com-
mittee meeting. " :

Retirement Appeals

“Following discussion , ‘with the, Gen-
eral Electric-company in New York City
on the question of workers ordered, to
retire against, their. will under the
changed pension plan, the cases will be
taken up again locally on their ’
ual merits. ;

“The union has been ‘contending’ for
the right, of workers to retire at’ an ear-
lier age’ provided the pension is ‘ade-
quate to meet the employee’ s needs, It
has argued that the’ company’ has ‘no
right to force ‘the employee: ‘out on a
pension which is inadequate to meet
his needs. The problem has been’ ag-
gravated by the soaring cost of living,
eutting badly into the purehasiig power

i

of the meager pensions. : + '« 3.

The union office is going over itie
cases in detail with the men involved,

and -they -will be argped in’ ‘the near

future. In all’ the cases now ‘pending,
the company has agreed’ to’ keep the
men on, for varying periods Ww lilé the
cases, ‘are discussed, :

pid

U. S. Employment. Service
Praises. Peterson's Work .:

‘Andrew Peterson, “Local 801 presi-
dent, has received’a letter frdm Joseph
B. O'Connor, regional: director of the
United ‘States | ‘Employment” Service,
thanking him for hi service, qn ‘the
labor-mariagement mrmittee * which
worked with USES "and the “War. ‘Man-
power Commission during’ the war,

The committea as. been dissolved. be
cause USES will return to the control
af the separate states, Nov... 16. :

Petia