Friday, .March 2, 195)
Railroad Strike
We have received; the following letter
from AlfredBaker Lewis of the Amer-’,
ican Federation of Teachers. We think
the content of the letter points out some
facts that.were not used in’ the public
press. We., have Permission to run Mr.
Lewis’ letter.¢
“Dear Sir & Brother: ,
A good deal of public antagonism +
against “the railroad yardmen and
switchmen who’ .went out’ on strike.
briefly vecently. was worked: up: because”
the public. generally were not well in-
formed" about the «issues causing. ig
strike.
‘The railroad. strikers, “almost alone
among union members, had had no‘ “ins
crease in pay for nearly two years, until
_ the Army gave them a*partial. increase |
after the strike. They had asked for’.31
“cents an hour more or about a 20%.
increase. Meanwhile the yailroud owners, :
who have been denying them this re-
‘quested increase, have enjoyed the fol-
lowing increases in: the. price of their
stocks.during the past yeari— ~
Atchison Topeka &. Santa Fe from 4
low of 100 to 173.° 5
Atlantic; Coast’ Line’ from 41 to 79.
Ches apeake and Ohio from: 25 to 38.
Chicago and Great Western from 12
to 380. ’
Chicago Minneapolis and St. ‘Paul
from 7 1/8 to 80. .
nee and Muscuivestomn Fema li
26. .
+ yenvel und Rio Grande from 24% to
63. .
Minneapdlis and St. Paul. from 10%.
to 20.
New York’ Central tom 11% to 24.
New York New Haven & Hartford
from 64% to 22, ;
Northern Pacific from 17. to 37,
Penna ‘RR from 14% to 24.0%
St, Louis & San Francisco from 10°
to 29, @
Southern Pacific trom 49 to 73.
“Southern Railway from 32 to 63.
It “may not seem quite, fair at first
‘thought to. compare the low during’ the
past 14 months: with present prices.
‘But actually. the increase in profits per
share during 1950 compared with 1949
is in nearly every case at least equal to
the percentage. -increase in the price
from the low of 1950-to date. ne
T have never worked on a railroad and
I do own railroad stocks both. per-
sonally and in the insurance “company,
the Union Casualty Company, of which
I'am president. But fairness compels
me to admit that these figures show con-
Riding High—
An Example of G.E.'s
Patriotism —
; é
Issued on February 12, 1951, by Gen-
eneral Electric, for circulation among
General, Electric management, a printed -
form called “Employee Relatlas News
Letter. ” We read,
“Ey moré and more people it is dle
getting to be obvious, that the Walsh- °
Healey and Bacon-Davis. acts are not.
only going to. be a source of trouble but,
are going to have tle power ‘to upset ©
any otherwise stabilized wage situation”
in the hundreds and. hundreds of com-
munities where “defense production ‘ov
defense construction are to be carried
on.”
"They are no longer necessary in the
slightest, ¢ even by the assumption under .
which they were passed almost. twenty
years ago, Their further operation will
simply be iniietommay: “with no excise
for it.”
“Probably the" ‘one: ile that is potting ‘
the most, attention right, now, and prove .
ing the most ‘troublesome, is the ,time -
and one-half for: overtime ‘provision in,
the Wage-Hour Law,”, . ” a
“Yet more: and moré -peaple ‘inetudiig
conscientious politicians © of - varying
party . affiliations are “begininng to
‘realize fully the inflation and taxation
clusively’ that justice was on the side
of the strikers, and that the cause’ af
the strike: was the unjustified’ obstinacy,
of thé railroad owners, ®
ALFRED BAKER LEWIS”
difficulty presented by over
* Well, that’reads plainly enough—G.E,
would like’a longer work week, but for
str aight” ime,
° Workers fought for the 8. hour day
and ‘the 5-day week for many ‘years.
’ Finally today it is commoplace through-
out ‘industry, Laws,~ such as. Walsh- .
Healey. and Wage-Hour, were encated to
prevent unorganized employers from
chiséling, The laws were enacted us
a result of the deplorable conditions that
sxisted, particularly” in” MeaHbanieei
manufacturing” companies. ,
Overtime pay was designed to’ “dis:
courage long work days and long work
weeks, We worked’ 48 hours a week in
G. E. not so many years ago — ‘8. 2/3
hours-a ‘day -and up to, Satuiday noon 7
for straight time. There. were: depres- _
sions then, with workers sent home and
laid off for lack “of work, and' ‘wages
were much lower. * Py
You're on the wrong track, Mr. Boul- :
ware. Overtime pay won’t hurt the War
effort. ‘That was proved during the last:
war, While you are. searching for ©
patriotic things to do, how about shar-
ing with the G. EB. employees part of
that all-time profit pie you are eating.
And incidentally, speaking about laws
that are a detriment for the majority
of the: people, how ‘about the Taft-Hart:
ley, ‘Act? And if you-want to look at °
some that are older than 20° years, take ‘
a look at the State. compensation laws,
that. pay a maximuti of $82.00 per week
toa worker if he is injured while’ work- :
ing for G. E. Not very inflationary, or
adequale, are they? a ; “oO
a
EWS
THE VOICE OF WE PRVEE ELECTRICAL, ‘RADIO & MACHINE WORKERS OF. AMERIC CA — LOCAL 301, U. E,
Vol. 9. — No:'5
"SCHENECTADY, NEW: YORK _
Friday, March 16, 1951
They Won! t Fit
ne ugh. 1.0. cannot negotiate
“wages ov anything else with the com-
pany: this year because of; the contract
they signed in 1950. They are obliged
-to accept whatever the Bureau of Labor,
Statistics shows on cost of living in-
crease. Organized labor has been on
record foryears as condemning the Bur-
vau of Labor Statistics for not being
-vadequate, Now with idle time on their
hands the LU.E. will do what it can to
disrupé the unity of the .U.E. memher-
ship, hoping that we will not‘be success-
ful-in negotiating a substantial raise for
our members. . .
“The GB. workers. have lost. approxi-
imately 82c per hour since the end of .
-World ‘War Il.
; The company has the
ability and the means to pay, Day. work
classifications and: craft rates, need fur-
ther adjustments to, eliminate. inequities.
‘The 1.U.E.-G.1.0. cannot do anything
about that this year. They agreed that
the . present paid rates are OK, wie,
they. signed their contract.
-Tf the LUCE, wants to spend their time
in the interest of G.E, workers,” they
should be. planning. hos. they can elim-
inate the sell-out provisions in. the con-
tract they signed. last ‘year.
- Matles and. Tice |
| Aquitted —
James J. Matles; Director of Organi-
; zation, was acquitted last Thursday by
Federal J udge Dickinson Letts.
Matles refused to answer questions of
the Un-American Activities Committee
that were designed to hurt members and -
leaders of our Union. He told the com-
‘mittee that they were being uséd to
hreak up an honest rank and file Union.
Matles.further pointed out that the main
purpose of the committee's investigation
of the U.E. was to give Carey and Mur.
ray ofthe’ CLO. a smear. record that
could be used by them in the N.L.R.B
elections between the U.E. and the I.U.E.
Usther Tice, member of focal’ 66,
Cincinnati, on trial charged with con-
tempt .of Congress for refusing to as-
sist the ‘Un-American Activities Com-.’
mittee frame herselfand others, was ac-
“quittéd laSt’“Monday in Federal ‘Court:
by Judge Kirkland.” During ‘her trial it
.Wwas evident that, the prosecution was
-émbarrassed) when ‘the question of a
forgery used as evidence by the Un-Am-
serican Committee was brought forward
e by U.E. General Counsel David § Scribrier
r ‘oxample—, e
Piece Workers on Prices -
Article XI=-U, IZ. Contract.
Section 5-d'
-“When a change in. method. is made
which does not reduce the job value
on- which a pricé has been computed,
the Company/will time study the job
and set & new price which will give
the operator at least the same: hour-
ly e¢ earings ag he’ made on the old:
price,” :
Article VIL vu. KE. AaneueH,
Section 4-b
“Where a change in manufacturing
method “is made which does not re->
due the job value on which the orig-
inal price was computed, the adjust-
ed price will be in direet proportion
to the change in allowed time for
the part of the job affected by. the
new method,, and the Company !
agrees that the new price shall af-
ford the employee an opportunity” to
maintain his former earnings.” *
The whole TU.E. contr act embodies
such provisions, which‘ allow “for the
breaking ,down of existing working
standards ‘tor GE, | Workers.
the Formosa: plant. ir
“ing the Un-American hearing in’ that:
‘vity,’ She was an active leader and: of
plese, of the local union there.
Miss. Tice was fired’ from her job al:
Cincinnati follow-
aber Still Off Fret Board
The demand. raised by U.E, members
at, the February 11th conference ii New
York: that labor representatives get off
the Wage Stabilization - (Freeze) Board
_bitelight results.
C.LO, -Teaders Murray, Carey, Rieve,
ete, who, earlier ran to. Washington .con-
tidently promising to freeze the Wages
of their member's and begging to be
given. ‘the opportunity to,,sit. on the
Freeze Board, found themselves facing
full-scale revolt “on the part of the’.
rank and file ‘members, which brought
prompt 1 resipnations.. of the labor mem-
hers of the bard. This-action toakplace’
four days after the demand was raised
hy the U.E, Conference Boards.
The U.E.’s position was and still is
opposition to a wage freeze of ‘any kind.
Labor representatives should not ‘have
accepted positions on the board vin the
first place. ee
Aefcr ARIE SA Te Neeaey me ae tae asi ems mene em
‘ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS ;
Taxes and. Living
Standards ===
.® The Bureau of Labor Statisties elaims
a worker with two ‘children “requires an
income of $8500.00 per year to provide
a necessary minimum of food, clothing,
. housing, medical care, and other goods
‘and services needed to maintain health.
“The $8500.00 does not’ cover Federal or:
State income taxes, social security taxes,
life’ insurancé, ‘or “other necessary, items.
. The average manufacturing wage in
December 1950 to January 1951 was
"$63.40 per week, approximately $3300.00
per year. Out of this, taxes are approxi-
mately as follows.
* > fg * Social Total
: : Security Federal
+ Federal - Tax Payroll
Tax «1%% Tax
Single, worker $488.00 $49.50 $587.50
Married, ‘ -
‘no child 360.00. 49.50 ‘409.50
. Married,
o
Married, ee
™2 children "120.00 + 49.50- 169.50
A worker getting $3300.00 a year,
with a wife and 2 children. to support;
now brings home. only $3130.00 after
Federal payroll taves as shown above.
Out ‘of this $3180.00 he ‘must still pay
around $550.00 taxes on,goods ‘and serv-
iees which he and his family buys. Fed-
eral excise or sales taxes take about
These are mainly :taxes on |
$180.00.
Hquor,, tobacco, jewelry, ‘telephone,
_ amusements,” household “appliances and
*“ everything involved in buying or oper-
ating an automobile,
Other taxes, mostly -business or pro
erty taxes, passed on to consumers,
amount to approximately $420.00. .'The
most important of these are general
sales taxes, state taxes on ,motor vehi-
cles and ‘fuels, local nronerty tax..paid
directly if you own a house, or indirectly
through rent if you are a tenant,
The proposal by U. S, Treasury Sec-
retary Snyder to the House: Ways &
Means Committee on February 5, 1951,
ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS
Unrrep Exrcrricat, Rapio'& Macuine
Workers or AMERICA
Scuenectapy GE Loca. 301 ‘UE
<p
Published by the Editorial ‘Committee
Prosidont... WILLIAM J, KELLY
‘Vice-President. JOSEPH MANGINO
Tacording: Secretar, wJOHN P.O GREEN
Aus't Recording Secretary... PRANK D'AMICO
TreAsUrernacess HENRY KAMINSKT
Chief Shop Steward AMES COGNETTA
Business Agent... LEO JANDREAU
S30L LIBERTY ST. SCHENECTADY, N.Y
child 240.00 49.60 289.50
Now Go After The Big One
would increase the present: tax burden
-on the same worker from $720.00 per
year to $800.00.
The N.A.MS.and the U.S, Ghestsas of.
Commerce propose ‘to cut income tax.ex-
emptions from $600.00 per dependent to.
$500.00 and to enact a Federal Sales
Tax. This would. increase ‘the tax load.
on the same worker to an-estimated total |. : i : .
. ‘the ones made by the U:E.,.the collective
of $1,000.00 per year.
The U. BE. put the following proposals
before the Administration and Congress
1) No taxes should be levied on Am-
erican families whose income is not large
enough . to "maintain living’ standards, at
minimum adequate levels of beuthh and.
efficiency, ‘
2) Tax revenue can be made without
causing. real. hardship" from . sources cof.
large income and wealth now escaping
adequate taxation. ‘
"3) Federal ‘income tax exemptions
should be -
“ UE.
“ + Present Proposal
$600.00 -§1600.00
, 1200.00 2400.00
Married, 1 child ” 1800.00 3000.00
Married, 2°children 2400.00 3600.00
and so on, Allowing $600.00 for each ad-*
ditional dependent.
Single person
Mart ied Couple
G.E. to Use I.U.E. Again
" Wage negotiations are kere again. —-
so Mr. Stevens, Asst. to the Schenectady
Works Management, notified the Union |
office Thursday. morning that” -they
would permit the LU.E. to ‘distribute
their literature at plant} gates if» they
would make, arrangements similal to
bargaining agency,
The Business Agent, Leo Jandreau,
pointed “out to Mr, Stevens that the
LUE. wag. not’ the, bargaining agency
that was decided upon by the ‘majority
of the employees last year ata N.LBB.
election, He further pointed -out that
many members of UE, Local 801 had
protested to the Uni office that morn.
ing. :
Mr.", Stevens ‘still, “claimed that they
would give the: LUE, equal considera-
_ tion. +
-“Jandreau. reminded the ‘Assistant ta
“the Manager’ that ULE, Local 301 was
obliged to go to the NLRB. because
G.E. had: objected to the passing out of
the U.E. Local 801 regular shop news-
paper. The Board had ruled giving per-
mission to the Union as the bargaining
‘agency to pass out the papers. Steven
Sane
would not change his position. . ,
ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS
3
cy
BY YOMEN
“All'the committees are using the red angle now. So I figured the only way to beat
> the competition was to call in some Hollywood people. That’s surefire stuff.”
Community ‘Service
“Fund OK'd.
At the Maret Stewards-Membership
meeting an Executive Board recommend: ,
ation for apptoval of the-solicitation of
G.E. employees tor subscriptions to the
Employees’ Service und ‘was over-
whelmingly, carried. f
A previous, motion passed by the
membership was reconsidered | by over a
two-thirds majority. standing vote.
~ The recommendation, of approval stat-
-ed, that the solicitation of «employees be
-kept free from any intimidation» or” |
coercion,
More Blood Donors Needed
‘Ben Taglialatela, Building 85, is re.
questing ‘help from any member ‘who
may have a rare type of blood, described
as A.B, negative,
‘THis blood is needed for his thother
“who will undergo a.very setious opera:
tion. Any volunteers can get in touch.
with Ben in the shop or call the union
altiee, ”
The Union allows 1 hour lost time for
Stop. to Find Work *
Last Tuesday a foreman in Bldg. 17
, notified a machine operator that there
was no work on his job. because the or-
ders had not been released from the
altice, This had happened several times
before. The foreman offered to give the
operator another job that would have
reduced’ his earnings.. The operatorob-
‘ jected, pointing out that there “was
plenty of work on his own job if the
foreman-would insist on getting thesor-
ders released. The foreman refused to
: do this and told the operator he could.
take a pass and go home. ° 4
The shop steward was called in and
he reminded the foreman there were two
“shifts on this job and there should be at
feast 40 hour sper week. However, the
toreman still insisted that the slitter
operator go home or take the lower
earning job.
The men in the group stopped work
for about five minutes. Plenty of. work
was immediately found=for -the slitter,
those members volunteering. blood do-
nations.
Legislative Sub- “Committee
Takes Action.
Upon approval of ie March Member-
ship*Meeting the sub-committee of U.E.
Local 301’s Legislative Committee went
to" Albany to register a protest against. ©
pending legislation. that would under. ~
mine the present Unemployment Insur-
-ance Bill, Thy Hughes Brees Bill would,
if passed: an
Reduce the ‘number of weeks from
52 weeks to 26 weeks.
lt would exclude many thousands ©
of workers if they had’ not worked
20 wecks for the last employer,
The employes would be given more”
authority -to determine whether a
worker would be cligible for, ines
surance.
Oswald Heck and Tom Campbell, the
Assemblyman and Senator from Sche-
neclady, were contacted’ by the’ commit-
{ee and were requested to do, everything
in their power to defeat this -bill.
Dewey Brashear, chairman of the sub-
committee, appeared and spoke ata
hearing on the Defense and. Emergency:
Act which Was conducted by. the Com-
mittee on National_Defense- and: Military
Affairs. Brashear spoke out against the
bill; saying:
“1, The use of prison labor, in compet-
ing with labor in industry would
‘be detrimental.
Would give Gov, Dewey power to
order *a 12-hour work day” at
straight time. .
Would give Gov, Dewey ‘ power. to
outlaw proton contract protection
on the job,
The sub-committee consists of Brash-
ear, chairman, John Green, William
Stewart, Serrafin, Pita and William
Christman, | © °
“The Legislative Committee Will make
a’ full report to the. April Membership
Mce ting.
acai Committee
To Hold Dance.
The Activities Committee of U. om Lo-
eal 801 is making arrangements fora
dance to be held. at.the.State Armory in
April. According’ to. Mike De Celli, -
Chairman, and O, B, Phillips, Secretary,
the committee is in the process of mak-
ing final arrangements and are trying
do get Louis Prima’s band for. the affair.
At the time of going to press no speci-
tic ‘information was available from: the
committee, . Towever, progress on the
plans of the committee will be reported
»yto the shop sinnlesia ah in the Union
paper,
4 eo . SEECTRICAL UNION NEWS ” laa, March 16, 1951
Workmen’ s Compensation J.U.Es MEMBERS_IN’ LYNN PROTEST -
A leaflet. which Feads as follows » Was; distributed by some 1.U.E. mem-
bers in Lynn, G.E. last) week: Bo
Medical Treatment for
Injured Workers 3 : .
n is the third’ in aseries of” articles on: Work- E Attention! a Attention!
men’s Compensation written by Leon Novok, the
waren Fowver | | IUE-CIO Members, Local 201, Lynn and Everett
“In the last-two articles, l-pointed out My. Last May 25, 1950 our Union, IUE, won an NLRB election and ‘defeated
thats dn Anjured. worker. must report an g the UE. Most of us whovare issuing this pamphlet were actively engaged” in
accident immediately in order to pro- ff the promotion of TUE and the destruction of UE. ~
“Lect his rights to compensation benefits. ff 2. ‘We.were told, and believed, that IUE-CIO would’ -piateed the conditions in
From the time he reports.his accident ff the plant, and that IUE would be a better union, acceptable to all. There is
H no sense in hiding the fact that. since last. May 25 the shop conditions have .
frown steadily worst, and there is more disunity among us than ever.
it is up-to.him to protect. his health “1
order to get well as soon -as possible,
Reve
After # amnensalicl of ot a. Management. disregards almost. completely ‘the rights of employees in | ‘er a — : : : 7 ‘
After hin ga wei erie — he ; relation to up-grading and. transfers: New people come in right off the strect ‘ne r u lp
re only & week and nobody “toas j and take jobs which should go to older service employees hy ungrading., Our F ‘ : aM i WA erteeh sare!”
“en live on that sum and supporta fam- Bunion leadership has done nothing about it. .
our Ak
ily, too. Tt is the aim of -every ingiited y 4. Tho Management “carries on, ‘without objections from our leadership, a 6 Be ; * 3 hi wm pe ; (te xo
worker to get. well as fast as possible in’ Wf consistent undermining of the piece work structure. No. overall fight against ‘|. E , ! ; ; d ; ; , oh TAL . i f uk
order ta get. back to his usual work: - § what. the Company is doing “ been even thought of by our leadership... The a : : Nl. Aneel, + aot thy
. Rew appli welt fi f .gvievances that the members force the leadership to take up are Jost in.the [ .” pos , : Moe AL
To do this, a worker should sce .. ff shuffle. “Dues. collections is the onl: four IUE-GIO leader ship. "fy ; no baa . hie: MR “ PDA et ah
doctas as soan as possible. after | : ; _ 6 a .
and submit himself for treat 5. *For months we have wondered: r union js not more effective, and . Ho ae i vy we sade fA. Lthoe
cr * —s we have come to the conclusion that. nswer is’ very simple: our leaders - : ‘ ‘
OF course, if the accident, was nota Wf have tried to turn us into a, company union, Whatever time they spend on
serious one the treatment will be for a &§ discussing .grievances ‘against the Comnaty, is devoted to giving excuses
short period of time. If it. is more seri, # FOR the Company. _ _
ous, the treatment. may, extend over a 6. No-honest attempt is made to protect the members-against. the Conthaine: .
longer period of times’ ae Just so, long as the leadership continues to act like a company ‘union, people
A worker may wish’ Lo avail himself will continue to refuse to join,’ amg some members are already Begannitng to
cof the treatment offered to him by the ‘PORN... °
a ami tte linia: avery worker go 7: Unless there-is a real change in the actions of the leadership the UE!
Company at its clinie; but ev ery wor ker f CTO will fold up and die. ,
should -know and remember that- when
he is injured .in the plant he can choose
a eee hes teling teamcmatnaate ca 3 ing to:give our whole hearted support where-it belongs=to the rank and. file
his own doctor either-immediatels or at § for a better ‘union. . This pamphlet is-not paid from your union dues, but by
ay time during tien he ati" pace iG voluntary contributions of 1Uly members.” Come
octor's care. He does not have to take ” § - “Sioned By: 4 : fi , . _ , : : .
anyone's suggestion as. to, which doctor ff | ; . “| LOGAL Bt, — ate : ‘ Re | a - : oboe Pa, LB Ae EL Kaw Sy ad os ie, ae Ct ow
to go to for treatment, After his doc- Sy Fe, neta , rn | er i a es . ee BE " a aa cs eerste
tor files a report with the Company, the §- peur Mapu ; eg ‘Commend FOR A BETTER UNION” _4 one oO , at < h naw f rac wide i, \ Cen }
Company is required: under the law. to . Arthur Duce}. J. Cerella > A. Gotz - > G. Blanchard : :
pay he sracenta doctor for: the treat. Whi. B: Chorlton . ‘Wm. D. Moore . A. Meadows E.. J. “Shea
Bl. Mardinskowski Robert A. Holland Leo: McHatton W. Roce . : ; 7 wo a) vA io gh G om a
ments. : @ R. Caso KA. Szkkneg. = =. J. Conlin T. F. Merabito ° a ae Pes LAAN ee oe tate ¢ ; : MN Nee NWR athe
REMEMBER. you HAVE A RIGHT ; a ag eos ae Samara ; ‘ie pisawis y Abingliy fs : , : 2 wee : ; : -_ fo. : a : . a
TO CHOOSE A DOCTOR OF..yoUR ff Thomas W. Brown GC. Curdo J. Burokas . Pugia rn ne ae 3 JX fp ek. as, be ee ie ie a
OWN CHOICR AND THE COMPANY gf f,pettint =. R. Worthing D. Correggio Daniel MeMahan ee ie ve oa! mE “~N SOA open
2M. Clorey - + J. Magee He CG. Patterson J. MePhil q
IS REQUIRED TO PAY THE DOCTOR ff ‘x. Verracht > GuyeHole =. Bat Walch l. Riel
FOR THESE TREATMENTS. ; BoC. Bakas ; W. A. McDonald W. Roth Harold Mallet
In addition to payment by the Com «ff Matthew Farrcher — C. Prime. John Bock Robert. Holland
vany of medical bills, thé Company must.
also pay for drugs bought hy the in- M Oa : ie
. den : : ambershi; A roves tina committee consider a “higher in-
iured worker, Be sure to get a receipt p pp " * itiation fee than $2.00 after the charter
from -your drug’ store. for these drugs. Open Charter 2 ‘ _-eloses on. March 81st. | me, os sO oe 3s 2 Ns Sg ae af are M4
‘You can theri leave, these bills with the. ° “Whe Maveh ‘membership’ nfeting: ap- Those people who have been expelled iro os a PA ENE Cet dae ‘i fo “ es ae ee at eS
Anions ene oth he ait SEE thine thes proved a recommendation of the Execu- will have to appear before the ‘trial eom- ia
are presented to the Company for pay-- _tive Board to open the charter of U.E.- mittee for a hearing and recommenda- a! :
ment. Local 201 for the month of March. This tion from the committee to a member- " . : {be
IW the, next issue, T will discuss other inenns that you may join the Union with: ship meeting hefore they can be admit- “2,
benefits: to-which an injured worker is out payment of an initiation fee-up to ted again to ‘membership. Those mem-
ene Elns mos ba . the 31st day of March. hers who have resigned since Jan. Ist,
aome ish This action was taken in light of Lhe 1951 must. pay all their back dues to the
AWA are ately
a 8. We are hot a political group’ or a committee of self-seekers. - We are gio-
PR TRAE FEC TARR eRe rane
BAPS,
yesie,
&
i
’
‘al, ue
YO , coming Wage negotiations with the com- date of resignation plus an initiation fee
Y UR. JOB IS PROTECTED pany and to relieve anyone from having . before they can be reinstated. There
BY THE UNION: JOIN’ THE the reason of not being ablé to afford the’ are 85 expelled ex-members and 81 who Te eee a ,
"ULE. AND M AKE THE initiation fee. ~ have resigned since Jan, 1st. There are i : ” ORT Aae. heed
° There was a recommendation made at 12,000 members in good’ standing as of wr a _ She Nt anti wd
UNION STRONG...--- the same meeting. to have the constitu. © March Ist, 1951, : “4 Ske Reha Aetiee r
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Cost of Living =Zscalator Clauses
The main objective of any union which puts thé elfare of its
members first is to improve the standard of living of its men bership.
Beet, Militant ude unions have therefore opposed tying workers’
wages: to so-called: cost of living ’or escalator Clauses. . These clauses
keep workers on.a treadmill which Bee gees any” improvement . in their
standard, of living.
Fe a
* -Moreover , ‘because these cost of Living clauses measure. the. in-
creased cost of living by means of ‘the extremely inadequate BLS
Consumer's' Price Index, wages tied to these clauses actually lag far
be hind the true: cos t of Lani Bs
. cro officiats such as Reuther and Carey, by accepting clauses
tying wages to the cost’of living, “agreed to freezing their member-
“ship's standard of. living. CIO and AFL officials on the Wage. Stabil-
ization Board then agreed on December 17, 1950 that the peopte! S pur-
. chasing power was too great and had to be limited, thereby extending .
the freeze to the Living standards of all workers. The labor officials
walked out-of the Wage Board, not because they opposed a wage freeze,
but because of aidis sagreement over the wage-freeze formula. - Those”
labor-officials who have voluntarily for zen wages in their own. contracts
are anxious to have all other workers’ wages frozen ph Ene same basis
e
by: tying their wages to the cost of living. i _ a4
0
Cost of Livin Clauses Hold Bown Workers" Standard of Living
: The increas 4. productivity and speed-up of ng oes has meant that
“the wealth of the pountry, bag grown enormously, almost all. ot’: this in-
creased wealth being pocks ted by the great corporations. Wages tied to.
‘the cost of living guarantee that the corporations will ‘continue to
..pocket this, alaeneR See productivity while worker, 8 ‘stand still. -
‘Under the BLS escalator formula, whe ther prices go up or ‘gown,
the worker. keeps producing more and more, pat what his WARES can buy
remains fixed¥ ~. ; oe ~ :
Nhen the: CIO was.a militant, fighting organization it: foug at
against cost of living clauses. At the 1959 clo Convention, a UE-
introduced resolution comdematng ¢ ‘such clauses was unanimous ly. approved:
"The * CIO nee th condemns as “pernicious and inadequate the
“principle that wage increasés.must’ bé related to increases -
in the cost of living as simply a way to: chain labor forever
to its present inadequate sha re in the wealth of this country."
, Zohn La Lewis, then Presid ent of the CIO, supported the motion
as follows: ; -
"I think,it is well ‘that our.people should be: constantly on:
guard and, without apology, at all times decline to. accept
that status that is given labor - ‘by those who say... "Oh, yes!
I am perfectly willing that if? the. price of milk goes up in
a community, wages shall be increased so that. the worker can
still get exactly the same amount of milk for his children.'"
ale 2
Ww
~ operated on a study ‘hich showed. that, while living costs had actually
va
Wages Tied. £0 Cost of Living Clauses Lag Behing. the Cost of Living|
. Wages. tied. to cost: of - livine Cla naels ‘pebua lly mean a , declining
living ‘standard for workers because the ‘BLS Consumers! Price index does °
enot qoeurately measure the increased cost of living.
During. World “Yar Ir, the AFL and the CIO,. including - the UE, . gos
increased by 45% between Janua ary 1941 and March 1944, the BLS Consumer
Price Index showed. an.increa se’of only 82.8%. In other words,” a cost
of living escalator clause would have given workers with a $l an hour
wage an increase of. 22.8¢ an hour, while in order to keep “Up with
prices they would need to shave a 45, o¢ increase. ;
2 At: the present time the BLS Consumer st Price Thntléce underestimates.
ne actual increase in the cost of living to an even greater extent,
ov is it that the BLS underestimates prices: so greatly? i,
“1, .fhe BLS measures the. price of the same product only, ‘Tt.
joesntt. measure the increase in price due to the fact thata worker can
‘not find a less expensive product and has to buy a more expensive
priced, lines
‘formerly called
product instead, At present manufacturers are ‘dropping their low- -
If the wor ker cannot find a $2 shirt-and has Be, y ORY the
po product, ‘the BLS does not count this” as bad increase,:
©
2. The -BLS Ages not measure the increased costs to. a Wane be-
cause. of poorer quality of the goods he buys. For example, the U.S.
Dept. of Agriculture. has re-labelled the quality of inspected meat-so-
that "choice" is now Labelled "prime, " iNteogan is labelled "choice" and.
soon. The’ worker -who thinks he‘is buying the best quality of meat,” —
| d "prime ," will be getting the second best quality. “The
BLS will Hot show a price increase beca us e of this change in SGeL aye
af “Similarly, it the landlora refuses’ to paint or repair’ and
the . ‘wor ker has to do it himself... this will not be measured By the. “BLS,
; 3. 7 e BLS dees not include Federal taxes in “ates ‘ere or Sines"
“1939 Fe jeval taxés. have increased by $120 a.year for the average worker,
and the proposed Administration tax program, will” ‘increase taxes to an
Sven. greater extent, , tn & de
ans
4y. tt a worker has to move from one house to another, or from
one city to anether because of his job , extraordinary cos ts such as.
Shes are hot counted by the BLS at all. .
Be “the UE is now in the process of working _up its own estimates
of increases in workers cost of living. Ne have ‘found extreme short-
comings in its estimates, evén when compared to other government | studies.
For example , the BLS states that rents ‘have increased: by only 18% | .be-
tween April 1940 ana April 1950; the U.S, Bureau of Census® figure s re-
veal an increase of 65 5% in ave rage rents. SO!
The UAW officials as ‘first accepted the escalator. olatise in
General Motors in 1948 have themselvés criticized: “the | Mee escalator
clause under pressure from the membersh ip. ~
mom
eee roo naa
: During the: “two- year: “pel hey Soom sune 1948 to August 1950, under
this escalator clause, GM workers received a wage cut-of two cents an
hour from the richest cornoration in ‘the world. During= that psriod of |
time decreases of 5¢ an hour cancelled: ‘out. inereases of 3% an hour’ .
based on the of fe, of living. - During i period of time General Motors : oe ° ' Comparison of. i
made profits of 2 4 billion, equal to $1.29 for every hour worked by.- fe ey Wages. under General Motors*C :
its employees (see table ‘attached). a we o é | fe 2 ees t= sors -Living Escalator Clause
o : . a : . ~ “ : + a 2 C 0.
Retwe en the start of the Korean war and the: ‘end of: 1950, infla+-. . oe Si . Mpe ny Profits
tion has been. so.great as..to result in cost of living adjustments - - E ete Cost of Living: - Cost of ‘Living “am “ai
amounting to 6¢ per hour for each GM worker. But wht GM workers ‘can ed ae ‘Quarterly Aljustnen® 1 Dates lart Me
expect to. happen under this escalator clause under their five-year oS _* ps erly Adjustments Quarterly Profits
contract is shown by sate ha ppened dur ing the pas t two years. ° 7 : Contract s igned May 2g, 1948. :
eos On quly’ oy 1949, “just pefore the. CIO Gouvenblow}. Rewkher pes” sae 4 : ' May 31 to Sept. l, 1948 rR. so 219.15
‘affirmed the thistoric opposition” | of the union to escalator wage a ’ : e wy 2,550
clauses, and said that it was "an experiment that would not be repeated. — eee Sept, 1 to Dee. 1, 1948 . 913 980 ang
ie said that the union no longer would be willing to accept pay: cuts ee to 7 ae a 15,980,878
at any time .because of decreases in the cost of living. (New York . mts . Dec, 1, 1948 to Mar: 1, 1949 me BE 8, B88 252 dag
: : : 8 . El 5g RES ’
Times, July 10, 1949)" ae
Mar. “1 to June 1, 1949 7 "pgs 984 305
: ‘ ee Od,
On March 6, 1950, when GM workers lost 2¢, Johnstone, head of the ae id :
UAW-GM chain,- stated: eg re es June 1 to Sept. 1, 1949 ; - "344,602,386
Sh 7 < A i a = . % 5 3 A 5
im 6 ®
"We deeply regret*that the General Motors Corporation has taken ae Sept. 1-to Dec, 1, 1949. 256 .041:6
advantage of the drop in the Bureau of Labor Statistics cost of ~~. si a , wes 1 645
‘living index and reduced the wages of its worke rs by two cents ‘ eee eo Dec. 1, 1949 to. Mar. 1, 1950 _ 361,358 765
: 4 a ; a - : ad a ‘
“per hour...We contend that the profit position of General Motors
makes. such a reduction morally indefensible, . When the contract ee sg Mar, 1 to June Ls 1950 , 469 ~
was: signed, it was hardly anticipated that. cM would’ set a world a hore oer -— 2,514 624
recerd of more than #600 million profits after taxes.” sab Total - 2nyear’ period 4 32.3 ees in nal
(United Automobile Horkers, March 1950) a or ae a . 88 588 , 734,489
In May 1950, “the UAW officials ‘agreed to the five-year contract. ” Bk a a ‘Profits per Workar for 2 years §5 159
embodying the cos t of living. escalator clause’ and continuing the | eee tos “ss : 2 84 7
company's right to untimited speed-up. in exchange for a-union-shop en i es «Profits per Worker per Hour. “$1.29
check- one Clause. fe’ rts as < : , :
‘ In ‘September 1950, "the IUE agreed to a aost of Living. escalator
clause with General Electr ic based on the. change in the BLS price index.
' between Sept. 1950 and March 1951, So far, the latest BLS figures for.
“January 15 call ‘for a 6¢ an hour wage increase. But no matter what
‘the final BLS. price index for March 15 will yield in wage increases,-
workers: in .GE plants headed by IUE company union leader s-will actually.
suffer a ‘fall in “ihe tr standard of. living.
‘le On Oct. L, 1950, a. Federa? tax increase out. worse £ wages . by
up to 5¢ an. hour. ‘Phe BLS price index does not mea sure the. GGG ale of
‘inore pase d Dedewey. taxe .
rat
wees
g 2, The BLS price index, since. it des not measure. such ‘things as
disappe liens of low-priced articles from the shelves. and quality .
deterioration, will understate the rise in the cost of living by an
additional $¢ or 4¢ an hour. aes
Le.
AECL,
; 3. The productivity of GE workers — been so great that GE's
profit take from each worker has ReTeEsee from MH, 186 a year in 1949
& to. $2 O15. a.. year dn 1950.
eRe
Pi Diu igepriaey
SeeicineRiy)
SS
Hh
i Neale
eet
in
fe
ei
EDECTRICAWURKERS
“living stendards of the Anerican people includ
Generel Electric workers are being Engen med
by soaring prices, increased productivity jen die speed
‘Up; and | unfair NERS These higher prices, ine
oreased ‘productivity. and taxes “which pay for enormous
«
war contracts, have resulted in extortionate profits
c
for big. business corporations.
ioneral Electric Workers! Wages Compared. to. Company’ s Profits
is
Between Janvery 1945 and Janus y 1951 weekly weees of
General Blectric worker's increased 33 percent.. Dur ing that same
period of time , eiheutaelyee prices have increased by 42,9 percent even
according to the. Bureau of Labor Statistics! figures which ‘grossly
underestimate the increase in cost of ‘Living.
Asa ‘Peshilt --
Ll. the weekly purchasing power, of General Electric
“workers: is an estimated “$5.15 a week Yess than it
was at the peak of World War IT.
2. ti 1950 General Electric's profits afeer taxes
amounted ‘to $173, 400, 000 ~ an increase of 194 per -
cent over profits in “1945, the. peak of World Mar. IT,
fens sud Electric Morkerg'iInereased Output Compared to Companyt s Profits
‘etwash 1945 and. 1950, the GUE pu, of the average General
Electric wor ker increased by 26 percent, This: Ancreasea output plus
©.
' the increased cos t of. ‘living should have increased the “average worker's
wages Sag ea, 69 a week. (62¢ an hour )
ue
Instead the Company pocketed the : value of the increased out~ |
put’ in. thie greater profits it extracted from each worker At “the: end.
a
of 1950 At was taking #2, 01s in’ profits a. year trom each worker .
. . Even. wi th 4 32¢ an hour wage .increase- for all ell,
“ployees . its prof its” per worker would stilt be at.
6 cer
the annual reve of $1542, far greater than in. any
other year. : oe -
‘
Workers of ‘the wealthiest eleotrical sonbiretion { in the
world still do-not poaségs a minimum adequate standard of living. ,
wverage annual wage of e General Electric worker is 93,500 year.
Wut based on Bureau of Labor Statisticst Plgures , a Family of sour needs
#o,888 a year for a minimum sta nidard.-of Living. _
Ln
opmental ‘contracts. This regulation coupled with use of negotiated
‘And based on ‘the ‘figures of the authoritative Heller Connitt ee of University of
Celifornia,: a family of: Pour requires 4,263 a year for a more adequate American
standard of living. se, F peta!
6
e
The UE denanid for 32¢ an hour would nerely’ bring the ayerage GE worker's
©
income over the ‘BLS. minima t 0, within sight of the ‘Heller Committee. Anerican
Standard of Living.
At the rate of GE profits: at the cléad of 1950, the Company could: grant
.,
® G
each of ‘its employees ar 32 an “hour wage increase, and its profits after taxes in
1951 would still be #20, 000, ee greater “shai ats profit in 1959, its previous
récord year. . . a i
5 gt
Wages Frozen, Company's Dividends, Executives! Pay and Prices Go Up
B® «
‘Dividends -* be . “
Ta Pepruary: 1951 after the wage freeze, General Electric uoteh a 25% in-
crease in dividends in February 1951. mainly benefitting the bop three saree! of
the, Company" Ss stockholders who hold 62 pebqent of the’ stock. Since 1945, dividend
payments nave increased 163 nercent,
“Executives! Pay =~ j -
The Company is nab Gree ezing its. payment, of bonuses to executives. The
Company plans to distribute $10, 000, 900 to a ton executives in 1951. under its |
fy
Nextra compensation plan", an increase ‘of 46 percent over its distribution in 1950
to tis 2s 400 top iva Sabres . Charles 5, Wason formerly President of the Company
received ‘se, 000 in Nextra compensation" : in addition to salary and fees, _ His
a
share of this "extra compensation" from the 1950 pRobits: will approximate $222, 000.
Prices - ;
While” wages are frozen, Defense Mobilizer Wilson and Price Administrator:
Disalie have exempted’ ‘all items purchased by the military departments from price’
control. until April 1, 1951. Thereafte r the Saenpeten will continue to. apply to -
all’ heavy weapons and equi pnt; "eiect onic and communication devices. and- daw
.
(non-conpetitive) bids for 90 percent’ of present military contracts, spells wm,
Limited profits opportunities for companies like General Metric. Beonomi¢
"Stabilizer Johnston state es that” Companies! higher prices ohne the Government
have already eaten up the: 4d billion dollars tax increase ‘of ‘ast fall obtained
“yan biy” from ‘the. pay envelopes of wage .¢ earners —
i a
Workers! Savings. versus GE Conuany!s-Resenves
“howokding to the U8. ‘Federal ‘Reserve Boardy: the. average. “skilled and
semi-skilled worker ‘in 1950 had savings of only 8150 in bank accounts, postal
savings and ‘government uence} the unskilled. worker had no savings.
n
The average GE workén who. buys a house, is lucky if he ‘can repay the
Pr 6
mortage : in 25 years.” “tg a be
f The. General Electric Combany on the other hand, has uundi stribut ed
profits amounting to $506, 000, 000 even. after: the payment 3] dividends of over 1. n
f
billion dollars.’ These undistributed profits: amount, to 42, 225: per vein, In
other words, the General Blectris Company s undi stribut ed profits a 27 times:
greater than the personal. liquid savings of all its. workers,
“In addition, the Company spent $500, 000, 000. after World War II to buy
new plant, and ‘equipment, $200; 000, og of which it had to borrow. “atthoug most. =
of this loan was not due until 1966, the company has repaid all of it’ out of its
a
huge» profits,’ and ; is planning a. ‘further expansion programe
.
Workers! Taxes: Means Profitable War Contracts for General Blectric.
6
Taxeatiaiont is supposed to bé based on ability tio pay. “ALL profits. should
&
—
_be taxed out of swollen war CONLEAGES «
Ye
But the average worker with ‘hwo children ‘aieiag $3, 300 a year has te pay
over #700 in Federal, “state, city, dibéct ‘and indirect taxes, One ‘day's pay ‘out’
a,
sz every week goes into taxes ‘for the é-average family whose income already is below
we
subsistence ‘levels.
Although the greate ast proportion of these taxes are going to companies
like General. Mlectrin in lucrative war contracts, . ». vhese corporations . are eseaping
heavy taxation, . During World War, IT, General mlegints paid 7% per:
pact tes in Federal Revs, under a bax. law which Pre sident Roosevelt criticized
%,
as: "relief for the greedy and not ‘the needy." But in 1950; with its ees far
-greater than that in World Wap II,-Geveral Electric paid only 533 of its profits
in taxes,
~~ Company's Low WoRe. - High Price Podbey vo
.
hourly earnings dn. Septenber 1950.
The cost of this wage, incre ease amounting tc he 4% of prices: could easily
have been, absosbed by the company’ 3 “erlorimous po of ib maréin of 26%-on the. sales
‘dollar during the dast three months of. 1950. res
Tratead, after registering enormous profits in the” first nine months of
+1950, it increase ed its prices s LS percent curing 19500 As a result it reporbes a
“greater vrettt~ in the last quarter than.in any ent ire Word. War Tr, year.
_the Company 8 prices” “euguedne sy not™as a result of the moderate ‘wage
increase, but-as a-result. of. hes greed. fom. profits. at. the ex) 2 “of. higher prices
charged the consumer and the government .
women nx ploitation versus Company! s Profits .
In 1945, a Labor ‘Bard found that” “ex
#8
“existed in Géner al Electric. ‘ The” Board found ‘teh what tie differentials
between rates for women's and men's jobs which cannot “be justified on’
the basis of comparative job content." The Board. recéfihended a 4¢
general wage increase for. women. wi th certain exceptions plus a fund
i :
‘2¢. an. hour, - asi a nstep" in elimina tion of. differentials.
a
OL
To this day the, Company ‘Hae refused to go along with these
minimum recommendations , Jed we only minor adjustments in jobs worked
on a women. ‘Tn, some’ plants: the Lowest women" s rate is’ as much as 2lg¢g
n ot
an hour below common labor.
‘ ' . We
The Company: make s super profits on women. In the lamp.
department | where the overwhelming ma jority of employees. is women ,: the
Company s rete! of re e turn on invested aapital.- is eee higher, than: the
n'a ment of Justices
)
company Sets Up ‘Plan ts. in ‘Low age. Area to. TIncreas2 Profits
‘The-Company ‘has been ‘building new plant s in low wa age aneas.
where it ‘sets, lower rates for higher work loads. “The se newer p ants
with rates as ‘much as 20 cents an hour ‘lower. than those in. ‘establishes
6
plants threaten wo undermine rates ‘in the entire Comes ny.
‘The Gonpany, claims. that cost of living is Lower. in these
communitiss. But accor ding to U.S. Gover nmen t figures the cost of
“Living | ise 5, 4 per cent higher in Bos ton than Clevelen ae But GE workers
at 1 East Ros ton ‘Lamp works receive iv¢ an hour'tess than cn Cleveland
lamp ‘workers for Gomme labor jobs.
. The ‘Company has been able to build tha se: plants with its ©
‘enorinous profits ‘made Bt the, ‘expens se of the cons umer: through price
jouging at the ‘expense of its worker s° through. ape ed. “Up and at the
xpense of: the American taxpayer “through. tax concessions ana cheap
jbant bierpheséa., from the Government + "The Company bought a1 plants
irom “the” Government at’ 60" peromt a cost during: a period’ of: ‘inflation,
