Electrical Union News, 1949 August 5

4

Meeting Aug. 8
For Unemployed

The 801 committee on unemploy-
ment has called a meeting for all
anemployed GE workers at 8 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 8, at the union hail.
Plans will be made for activities
to bring the problems of the job-
less to the attention of the public.

Qne part of the program to be
presented is participating in the
campaign of UE Districts 3 and 4
to get 100,000 signatures on a pe-
tition to Governor Dewey. -The
petition urges that he call a special
session of the legislature to launch
a public works program and to in-
crease and extend unemployment
insurance benefits.

The committee has sent a letter
to unemployed members of 301 an-
nouncing the meeting and inform-
ing them that they can continue
their union membership by pay-

ent of 10 cents a inonth dues; The
letter also announced that the un-
ion is setting up a service bureau
to help people with problems con-
nected with unemployment.

Plans for the Aug. 8 meeting
were made ata session of the com-
mittee Monday. Robert Northrop,
a World War II veteran who was

, a punch press operator in Building
17 before he was laid off, was eclect-
ed committee ¢hairman.

Radio Announcements

Local 801 last week started a
series of spot radio announcements
on WSNY on the union’s contract
proposals.

3,497 Jobless

The number of jobless workers
registered with the Schenectady of-
fice of the Unemployment Insur-
ance Division July 15 was 3,497.

30! to Elect
CIO Delegates

The combined membership and
shop stewards’ mecting for Aug-
ust will be at 7:30 pm. Tues-
day, Aug. 16, for all stewards
and first and third shift mem-
bers and at 1 p.m. Wednesday,
Aug. 17, for second shift mem-
bers. Both parts of the meet-
ing will be at the union hall, Ar-
rangements for the meeting
were voted by the Executive
Board Monday.

Delegates. to the State CIO
convention Sept. 8, 9 and 10 at
Saratoga Springs will he elect-
ed, The Executive Roard has
voted to recommend that 10

delegates be clected.

BECAUSE PEOPLE ARENT
BUYING WE HAVE TO

LAY OFF ANOTHER,
0D0 EMPLOYEES!

UE NEWS SERVICE

Removal of Callahan

Confirmed by Board

The meeting of the GE Confer-
ence Board of UE last week in New
York City unanimously confirmed
the removal of John H. Callahan,
business agent of the local at the
Pittsfield GE plant, from the na-
tional negotiating committe. He
was removed because of his pub-
lished offer to GE President
Charles E. Wilson to withdraw the
unions contract demands under
certain conditions. He made this
offer without consultation with the

negotiating committee or the’

Conference Board.

Present from Local 301 at the
Conference Board meeting were
President Frank Kviss, Business
Agent Leo Jandreau, Marshall
White and 801, Executive Board
Members Dewey Brashear, Anth-
ony Esposito and William Stewart.
Jandreau was elected chairman of
the meeting,

Callahan was present at the ses-
sion, but made no reply when Jo-
seph Dermody, secretary of the
Conference Board, brought vp the
subject of his removal and con-
demned his conduct.

Did You Know?

From 19238 to the 1929 depression
pay went up 4 per cent; productiv-
ity per worker went up 38 per cent;
profits shot up GO per cent, It was
profiteering, ‘based..on low pay and
speed-up, that caused the 1929
erash,

Veterans’ Council Asks 52-20’ Extension
After Plea by Veterans Sent by Local 301

After hearing an urgent plea by three veterans sent by Local 301,
the mecting of the Schenectady County Council of Veterans Organiza-
tions Monday night voted to ask that the “62-20” benefits be saved, The
action of the veterans’ council followed prolonged discussion, .

Wage Increase Needed

To Raise Buying Power

The nation’s production of goods
and services took a drop of 9 billion
dollars on an annual basis in the

first quarter of 1949 from the

previous quarter’s record high.
This biggest post war dive in pro-
duction resulted primarily from the
drying up of consumer purchasing
power and increased unemploy-
ment,

Consumer spending fell almost

4% billion dollars, but corporation:

dividends were maintained at the
previous quarter’s record rate and
savings — mostly of wealthy per-
sons — increased by almost 21%
billion dollars.

Despite the needs of the people
for homes, housing construction
dropped for the second consecutive
quarter. ‘

The UE’s program for an in-

crease of $500 per year per em-.

ployee in wages, and other benefits
from the growing wealth of the
corporations,.. will -help. halt the

present trend of decreased purchas-'

ing power and mounting layoffs.

Appearing before the meeting
from Local 301 were George De
Cresce, who went to Washington
last week with a delegation of UE
unemployed veterans to press for
“52-20”; Robert Northrop, chair-
man of the 801 committee on un-
employment, and Board Member
Stanley Bishop. They were namad
by the 801 Executive Board to take
up with the veterans’ council the
need of emergency action.

A letter from the 801 Board to
the veterans’ council cited De
Cresce’s report on his: Washington
trip.

“He reports that Congressman
Bernard W. Kearney said he did
not find much indication of senti-
ment from his home district for the
proposed extension,” the letter
pointed out, “and specifically the
he had not heard from any of the
veterans’ organizations. Congress-
man Kearney indicated that he
would oppose the proposed bill” (to
extend ‘52-20’),

‘The 801 Board said that of the

4,000-unemployed in Schenectady, 9...

very large proportion are vetera)

and that many. of them are not...

eligible to state unemployment in-
surance, :

ELECTRICAL

THE VOICE OF LOCAL 301

NION

ULE R. & M. W. A.

Vol. 7 — No. 30

SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK

. August 5, 1949

Tl housed: Hear Report by Leo Jandreau Welded Products

Work Is Slashed

The company notified Local 301
this week that there will be a suh-
stantial drop in the work af the
Welded Products Division for at
least three or four months. Before
this employment: was believed to
be stabilized in Welded Products
which produces for the Turbine and
Motor Generator Division.

GE first told the union there
will be an average of only four
days’ work a week for the approx-
imately 400 workers in the divi-

sini between naw aid November,

Part of the crowd at the big first-shift plant-gate meeting Thursday of
last week, listening to a report on the contract deadlock by Business
Agent Leo Jandreau. The banner behind the speaker’s stand says “Stop
Layoffs — Shorter Hours — Higher Pay.”

Membership Backs Conference Board
Proposals at Plant Gate Meetings

The Local 301 delegates will go to the meeting of the GE Conference
Board of UE locals later in August with unanimous authority, from huge
plant-gate membership meetings, to call for a formal strike vote through-

out the GE locals,

Other locals of the GE system
have also voted to arm the nego-
tiating committee with the power
of taking a strike vote, the na-
tional UE office has reported, (See
separate story on page 4.)

Authorization for the strike vote
and other recommendations of the
GE Conference Board were unan-
imously voted by 10,000 first shift
workers, Thursday noon of last
week, and 1,000 second shift work.
ers at 7 p. ms

Jandreau Makes Report

The members left their work to
hear the report on the contract,
deadlock by Business Agent Leo
Jandreau, a member of the UF ne-

gotiating committee. Jandreau and

President Frank Kriss were on a
stand across the street from the
main GI gate.

The General Electric Company
has a “shotgun and steel vest at-
titude” toward the workers this

Jyear, Jandreau charged. The com-

“pany has said “No” to every part
of the UE contract proposals.
“They are going through the mo-
tions of collective bargaining with
no intention of settling anything

at all,” he said,

He reported that since the nego-
tiations started June 14 the union
has faced GE with a solid array
of facts to justify the UE demands
for a 85 hour work week at 40
hours pay, improved pensions, sick
benefits to be paid by the company,
and other provisions to increase
security.

GE Unemployment

GE has laid off 17,000 workers
since last year, Jandreau reported.
The Schenectady Works has been
hit by lay-offs and many workers
are on rotation or have been trans-
ferred and “are taking a terrific
licking in take-home pay”, Reduc-
ing the work-week 10 per cent
would provide 19,000 more jobs
throughout GE, he said.

“The company wants to return
to the conditions of 1929 and the
early 1930's,” Jandreau charged,
“before the union was at GR”,

In those days, when workers had
no job or wage safeguards, the
company forced unemployed work-
ers to bid against each other for
jobs at 45 or 50 cents an hour

GE is trying to destroy the con-

At. a meeting with a shop com-
mittee Wednesday, however, super-
vision said the work shortage will
affect only a much smaller number

engaged directly in producing fov.
Turbine, Pour employees with only

1948 service ave to he laid-off im-
mediately and efforts will be made
to loan out some employees to oth-
er divisions. Executive Board
Member James Cognetta’ headed
the union committee,

Beeause of the specialized skills
of the workers involved, the com-
pany is-trying to avoid the usual
procedure of cutting the force to
keep the five-day week for those
remaining, This question is be-
ing «discussed by the shop stew-
ards with the members affected,

The union has asked GE for fur-
ther information concerning the
overall lay-off pieture at the plant.

“Tt will also again take up the mat-
ter of the continuing delays in call.
ing people back to work, Some
people, especially women workers,
have been out eight or 10 weeks
already while people with far less
service are still at work,

tract, he declared. If the company
sueceeds in resisting the union's
contract demands now, he warned,
it, will serve notice of termination
of the contract in January, just as
it did in 1946,

Can Win Victory
He predicted, however, that if

GE knows the union means busi-
ness, the company “is greedy
enough” to make some concessions
yather than “hold up the whole
parade” of production, at its huge
profit rate.

“This company can be brought
to their senses and made to do the

(Continued on Page 2)

301 Protests
GE Removals
In A.and O. |

Union members in Building 46
Were called by their shop stewards
to a meeting at the 301 hall after
work Wednesday (after this paper
went to press) to consider the com-
pany’s action in barring 20 workers
from their jobs late last week,

The 801 Bxecutive Board charg-
ed GE with gross violation of the

contract and "with atlempting” A

destroy seniority and ta throw
fear into the contract negotiations.

Removal of the workers was
because of the failure of the arm-
ed.forces to pive the people their
clearances under “security” regula-
tions. Since then seven of the 20
have .been cleared and returned to
their jobs,

All the workers affected are in
Acronauties and Ordinanee, with
the largest number in Building 46,

Meeting with Stevens

At a special grievance meeting
with the 301 Executive Board and
the Building 46 shop stewards
Tuesday, A. C. Stevens, assistant
works manager, said there were ne
charges against the 20 workers.
He said that under the general
government policy of tightening
up security regulations, the cam-
pany itself had made the specific
decision that men lacking clearance
could na longer be on “classified”
work, even though the. lack of
clearance was caused simply hy
Rovernment agency delays.

The union was -notified of the
impending moves on Wednesday

“afternoon of last week, and those

workers fot out on vacation were
moved to other jobs within 24
hours,

Security Qtiestion “Tighter

Stevens told the Mxecutive Board
that the security question was pet-
ting “tighter”, and would continue
lo get “tighter” (meaning tough-
er). He declared there was no vin-
lation of contract, because the
workers had been moved to other
jobs with equal pny. He argued
that the contract seniority provis-
ion does not protect a man’s right
to stay within his group if. the,

* (Continued on Page 2)

A335 HOUR WEEK at 40 HOURS’ PAY to SAVE JOBS

Rabe eau TA ECON omaS

2

ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS

August 5, 1949

301 Jobless To Hear
~~ UE District Program

“The action program on unem-
-ployment, adopted by the UE Dis-
trict 8 Council meeting July 28 at
Syracuse, will be presented to a

“meeting ‘for unemployed GE work-

ers at 8 p.m, Monday, Aug. 8, at
the union hall. The meeting was
called by the 301 committee on un-
employment of which Robert Nor-
throp is chairman.

The program calls for getting
100,000 signatures during August
on a petition asking Governor
Dewey to call a special session of
the legislature to enact emergency
measures to fight unemployment.

The Council also called for pres-
sure on the Unemployment Insur-
ance Division to end delays in is-
suing unemployment insurance
checks. It also called for delega-

tions to visit local legislative bod-__ |

ies,

Local 301 was represented by
Leo Jandreau, district president,
and Board Members William Stew-
art and William Mastriani at the
Council meeting.

Plans for a 801 service bureau
for jobless members ‘will be made
at the meeting Monday.

Shop Gate Meetings

(Continued from Page 1)

right thing by us,” he declared.

The meetings also approved a
recommendation to prepare now
for all eventualities in connection
with the strike vote which it auth-
orized. The members also voted
to step up the campaign to enlist
community support for the union’s.
program.

L. J. Male watched the noon
demonstration from his office win-
dow, according to the Schenectady
Gazette,

Meet Ohio Governor

A committee of jobless UE mem-
bers, at a meeting recently with
Governor Frank J. Lausche, cf
Ohio, urged that the state take im-
mediate steps to combat mounting
unemployment, The union members
came from Cincinnati, Dayton,
Warren, Mansfield and Cleveland.

ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS

Unirep Enectrican, Rapro & MAacHinE
Wortens or America, COLO

Scuenxcrapy GE Locan 301

Published by Editorial Committee

Mary McCartin, Chairman
Arthur R. Bertini, Secretary
William Christman Frank D'Amic

. Victor Pasche Pe

Editortal Oftee
ELectnicaL Unron News
301 Liberty St, Schenectady, N. Y.
Telephone 3-1386

bones name cece mone

Don't Try Repeating 1929 in 1949

p cut OUT ALL THIS
DI
DEPRESGy

Boulware Finally Says Profits Exist

GE’s L, R. Boulware finally got
around to recognizing the exis-
tence of profits, in his propaganda
page in last week’s Works News.

But he did not mention GE's
extraordinary rate of return on
capital investment (the real rate
was 39.5 per cent for 1948). Nor
did he mention what this profit-
cering has done to purchasing
power and GE workers’ jobs,

‘Rabble Rousers’ ,

If you discuss such unpleasant
things about profits, Boulware calls
you a “vabble rouser.”

A third shift shop steward walk-

ed in the other morning and asked
the Electrical Union News to let

. Boulware know that GE workers

are not “rabble” and are not being
led around by any “rabble-rousers”
—they’re just mad at GE for what

its profiteering policies have done |

to their jobs.

Boulware’s piece juggles figures
to make you believe that most pro-
fits vo to low income people, that
there are 26,000,000 owners of bus-
iness, that “WE ALL” get profits,
cte.

Contrary to Facts

The propaganda is based upon
omitting the fact that the stock-
holders in one corporation. are
stockholders in numerous other cor-
porations, Boulware’s piece flies in

Sere 9 Suan ek a fant

the face of certain proven facts—

The Securities and Exchange
Commission reported to the Tem-
porary National Economic Com-
mittee (quoted in U. S. Senate re-
port in 1946) that one-half the diy-
idends of ALL American corpora-
tions go to just 61,000 persons —
less than 1/20th of one per cent
of the people.

A U.S. government study showed
that in 1945 the wealthiest 10 per
cent of the people held 46 per cent
of the savings. In 1946 this 10 per
cent held 63 per cent of the say-
ings, and in 1947 held 77 per cent
of the savings. In 1948 and 1949
the wealthy groups accumulated
still more savings and the low in-
come people dropped further. .... ..

GE and companies like it make
their extraordinary profits by
speed-up, high prices, and too low
wages. This has been destroying
purchasing power and causing lay-
offs,

Boulware would cover this up
with a smokescreen of juggled fig-
ures and talk of “rabble-rousers,”
But the tragic history of the Hoov-
cer depression, brought on by pro-
fitecring, speaks louder than prop-
aganda. Shall GE be allowed to re-
peat that history at the expense
of its workers?

2

Is Your Shop 100% UE?

nny SAL fi

Removals Protested

(Continued from Page 1)

company wants to transfer him to
an equal job.

The Executive Board and stew-
ards told Stevens that the action

of money, because the removal had
caused gossip and suspicion to be
circulated about the workers. in-

volved, which no explanation could ,

completely clear up, They pointe
out that it isan American principle
that a man is innocent until prov-
en guilty, while in this case the
persons involved were not even ac-
cused of anything. They are main.
ly men with long service, including
several with fine war records. The
board argued they should either
be restored to their jobs or inform-
ed of specific charges.

Stevens flatly . rejected the
board’s demand that he return the

“workers to theis “jousy He are

to have three men, who had bee
placed on virtual exhibition in

cage, sent to another location, still

on non-classified work..

In a formal letter to Stevens
Wednesday, the board contended
GE is violating the contract in

‘ three respects:

1. Removal from the job without
charges creates an atmosphere of
intimidation, and when timed dur-
ing negotiations and to coincide
with the plant gate meeting, it
is “an attempt to cast fear over
the negotiations.”

2. The workers were moved out
of their groups without lack of
work and “contrary to their sen-
iority rights.”

3. The workers were penalized
without cause. The removal threat-
ens a man’s permanent job and
casts “suspicion and humiliation”
upon patriotic citizens and emp-
loyees of long standing. The board
declared that “the damage cannot
be compensated for in money,” and
“it was imposed without cause and
in violation of the American prin-
ciple that a person is innocent un-
til proven guilty and that no gov-
ernment official nor the GE com-
pany may set standards of patriot-
ism.”

The letter also declared:

“While the armed forces -have
no authority to instruct GE to vio-
late either the contractor ‘the law
of the land, that question is not
involved in this dispute, in view
of your statement that the decis-
ion was made by the company.”

In: the Executive Board discus;
sion it was reported that whil
workers have. waited. for months
and.even years to be cleared, a
nephew of Works Manager Lewis
Male was cleared in three days up-
on his recent transfer,

was*far more serious than a loss

August 5, 1949

-ELECTRICAL UNION

A Gift for Garry Waldron from Members of 301

Garry Waldron,
left,
disabled

au, eteran,
receives
a check for
$936
toward,
mortgage pay-
ments on his
new house.
Shop Steward
Pierce Siler,
right, was
chairman
of the 301
committee in
charge of
raising the fund
through
collections

__in the shops.

GE Forces Retirement
Of Man Reaching 60

The General Electric Company
made Joe Smith, a worker at the
Bloomfield, N. J. plant, retire in
June at the age of 60.

When he was notified that June
14 would be his last day of work,
Smith demanded to know why. He
said he wanted to continue work-
ing and pointed out that he was in
good health.

The payroll supervisor told him,
“When you become 60 years old
your brain doesn’t function like it
did before.”

(GE President Charles E, Wilson
turned 60 three years ago, by the
way!)

Although GE insists its pension
plan is its own private property,
UE is taking up the Smith case
with the company.

Employed in the accounting. de-
partment as a_ salaried worker,
Smith made $59 a week. The
company pension will be #41 a
month for the next five years.
Then it will be cut to $11 as he be-
comes eligible to old age benefits.

Smith figures that the company

_d8 trying to make a guinea pig out

of him in forcing retirement at 60.
If GE can get away with it in his
ease, he thinks, other cases will fol-
low all over the GE system, espec-

_ dally as unemployment spreads.

€ylore Unemployed

The Schenectady Unemployment
Insurance office reported that
8,510 jobless were registered as of
July 22, The figure was 3,497 for
July 15.

301 Radio Program

Features Pensioners

Two GE pensioners, Thomas
Middleton and “Albert Vander Zee,
president of the 801 Pensioners’
Organization, were scheduled to
speak last night on the 801 radio
broadcast on WSNY. It was one
of the special broadcasts to ex-
plain to the public reasons for
the union’s contract demands, in-
cluding decent pensions.

The radio station on Monday
night repeated without charge the
union’s recorded program of July
26, which had been marred by tech-
nical difficulties which prevented
people from hearing it clearly. It
was an interview with Petronella
Melsert, punch press operator in
Building 17, who has been on rota-
tion for several months,

301 Board Protests .
Clark's Appointment

The Local 301 Executive Board
last week sent a telegram to Pres-
ident Truman urging him to with-
draw his nomination of Attorney

General Tom’Clark for the United ~

States Supreme Court to succeed
the great liberal, Frank Murphy.

The Board deelared Attorney
General Clark “has built up a rec-
ord of subversive attacks on the
Constitution of the United States”
and “has nsed his high office in
a campaign to destroy the Bill of
Rights.”

“Local.301 speaks from its own
experience,” the telegram stated.
“Last October Mr. Clark, on a vis-
it to Schenectady, condemned this
union’s court action against the
GE-Atomic Energy Commission as
subversive, °
Tom © tried to substi
tute Tom Clark’s decrees for court
action. He has made it clear that
he does not believe American cit-
izens are entitled to their day in
court, He is unfit for the Supreme
Court. *

“We therefore urge President
Truman to withdraw the nomina-
tion and urge the Senate to re-
fuse to confirm his appointment.”

Singer Strikers Need
Money for Their Fight

The few shop stewards who had
tuned in money by Wednesday for
the Singer Sewing Machine
strikers reported that donations
have averaged 25 cents a member
in their groups.

The 301 membership meeting in
July pledged financial support to
the UE strikers and voted to have
weekly collections in the shops.
The machinery has been a bit slow
in getting started.

What Are 20 Years
Against 19 Cents?

Here’s an example of the way
GE earned that nickname, Gener-
ous Electrie.

A permanently disabled worker,
who has been out of the plant
since he was injured there in Feb-
ruary, 1948, dropped in at the Lo-
cal 301 office recently when he
was able to get around a bit. He
said he thought GE still owed him
a week's pay, about $66 before
deductions for social security, ete.
When the union inquired, the com-
pany agreed that the final wage
check was still due him.

The worker, who had 20 years’
service with GE, went to the plant
to collect the payment. He was
told that something would have to

owever
ed the payroll official that he had
been laid off temporarily in 1939
and that at that time his record
was clear...

So finally the man received his
check, But the company had add-
ed the income tax and social secui-
ity deductions wrong, and had
taken out $3 too much. In ad-
dition, there was an extra deduc-
tion of 19 éents, for a pair of
gloves which GE says he once
used —. no date mentioned.

The union asked the company
to correct its arithmetic and pro-
tested the 19 cent charge for
gloves. A GE representative in
Building 41 agreed that the glove
item sounded ridiculous and said
he would see what could be done
about it, in view of the man’s long
service. He said the arithmetical
error would be corrected at once,

Don’t Be a Free Rider
Join the Union

Unanimous Vote to Back Conference Board Proposals

A view of the second shift’s plant-gate meeting Thursday of last week, showing the members voting Junani-
mously for the proposals. of the GE Conference Board of UE locals. The chief proposal was to authorize the
301 delegates to the Conference Board to ask for an official strike vote to be taken among GE locals.