od
- {UE-C1O Local 301 — Bellevue Little League .
Employment Not improving
At Schenectady GE
(
Continued, from Page J)
The statement of Mr. A. C. Stevens, which was re-
ported. to the Mayor's Committee on Unemployment at a
meeting held in City Hall last week, claimed a reduction
in employment from’ 37,000 to 36,500 since June of this
year or approximately’500 employees.’ Our report shows
846 employees removed from the payroll with another 965
transferred to other jobs because of lack, of work and in
most cases a reduction-in wages... We suspect there has
been some reduction in the salaried unit which would in-
crease our figure of 846; however, the reports received by
the Union are confined to our own bargaining, unit. . The
survey made by the Union does not include the last week of
September which had not yet been received from the Com-
pany. a
Mr. Stevens, speaking for the Company, claims that
the present situation does. not call for. a change of present
plans. The, plans referred to involve the transferring of
the control and industrial. heating work out of Schenectady.
These plans include the jobs of approximately 4,000 G.E.
workers. We think there is plenty. of danger already show-
ing as it affects a prosperous Schenectady and sufficient
to require the Company to cail a halt to their plans of trans-
ferring work and cancel any further farming out of work
that can be done in the local plant.
The Company's spending program .on laboratories,
drainage systems and industrial clinics will not provide the
kind of jobs that will absorb the people displaced. — Like-
wise the motor work mentioned in Mr. Stevens’ report has
so far only given employment to relatively a few and since
these are counted in the large number who were transferred,
it has not decreased the unemployment figure, Moreover,
the rates paid for this line of work are lower than the'go-
ing rates in the plant, resulting in a decrease of earnings for
every production worker .who has been transferred into this
department. ©” ;
“Mr. Stevens stated that business forecasters saw’ a rise ye
We hope’
ing business barometer in the months to. come,
so — but until then. let's lay the facts on the table and: try
to protect the investments of the. little business men in town
and. particularly: the G.E. workers whose main stake are
CORRECTED CHARTS ——_
New Rates and Progression Tables
Under the new. Contract, a revi
d schedule of day. work pro-
gression rates will hecdn effeet, !¢ is important that all-sshop stew-
atds and workers in day work groups be aware of the new schedules
published in the chart below in order to make sure that (he contract
is chforced in regard to these rates. 4
The applicable-rates for picee workers who are temporarily on
productive day work jobs, or who: for.one reason or another are
being paid the idle time rate het
charts published on this page. It. should be noted that beginning :
are contained in the second of the two
i
with the 1.585 A.EAR., a 3 step differential between both the idle
time and productive day rates and the A.ELR. applies.
DAY WORK PROGRESSION
Start
Job
3rd
Mo.
4th 5th
Mo. Mo.
Rate
‘1.485
2
AS
1.685
1.685
1.6385
“1425
1.485
1.485
1.585
1.585
1,585
1.735
1.735
1.735
1.735
1.735
1.91 (Merit)
1.91 (8 Mos.)
1.98 (Merit)
INCENTIVE WORKERS D.W. AND IDLE TIME RATES
AER
(dle Time
1.485.
1.52
1.555
1,585
1.085 |
1.685
1.785
1.785
Labor
Grade
ste itis D
Labor.
Grade |
Productive DW. a,
1.485 1.39
1.485 1.425
1.485 1.465
1.485 1.485
1.555 1.555
1,585 1.585
1.635 1.68
1.685 “1.685
DAY WORK RATES
Old New
Rate Rate
Ad
148
2 WORK RATES
AER.
Old New P.W.-D.W,.
A.EUR, Rate
1.445..
148.
JBL,
V545..
eh G9... . .
— 1G 1.555
1.69, . j 1.585
ATS885.. A785. 1.635
tite Be. 1.685
1.85. whe WAT85
A1.008.. ee
196:
}
5.
2.06,
iD may
BER a ar eRe
sore
neers
ADAG
oc
peu -Sloners,. have: felt,
Vol, | — No. 29 |
October 8, 1954 .
fegister
% ,
Pensioners Will Get Benefit of
New Social Security increase
The GI. Company has decided to
give the pensioners the benefit’ of
the increased Social Security rates
which average approximately $7.00
per month. This is an about face,
on the part of the company. The
last time‘ there was a Social Se-
curity inerease the company de-
‘ducted it from. the pension. allow-
“ances, thereby keeping. GE. pen-
sioners at their ‘meager and sub-
standard level. This. Union . has
constantly complained to the com-
‘pany, over the past years, about
inadequate pension allowances, As
.-a result of constant union pressure
e company has been forced to,
“ihake ‘several changes, liberalizing
the pension plan, to give higher
benefits.
While the GE Pension Plan: has .
been greatly improved, us the re-
sult of Union pressure, it is still
far from being -adequate, Pen-
~the...increased
cost vof' living: more. sharply “than
probably .any other .group.
The GE Pension Plan will come
up as one of the major items to be
negotiated next year. The IUE-
CIO. tried to negotiate changes: this __
Control Committee
Calis Upon Mayor
The Industrial Control Com-
mittee To Save Jobs called upon
Mayor Memple this week, for a
meeting with his committee, to
discuss: the proposed transfer-
ring of. jobs from Schenectady.
The Control Committee is com-
posed of Executive Board mem-
bers and officers working in the
Control Departments that would
be affected by the proposed
move, ..The ‘Committee Chair-
man, William Mastrianni, : noti-
fied the Mayor that the Control
Committee would like to coop-
erate with the committee ap-
pointed by him, however jobs
were at stake, affecting approx-
imately 4000 people, and the
Control Committee was pledged
to. do éverything possible to
prevent this. program of hard-
. ship: from taking place. ,
The Mayor pleaded a busy
schedule, but finally arranged
to have a meeting this Friday.
year, but’-the company. took. ad-—
vantage of the’ contract, which. did
not. allow for changes (unless mu-
tually agreed upon) until Septem-
ber, 1955. This. obstacle will be
removed at our next’ year’s con-
tract reopener. a
ote
If you have not. registered, do it today or tomorrow.
October 8 and 9. The polls will be open Friday, October 3.
from 10:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. On Saturday, Cctober 9,
they will be open from 7:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. ,
On Election Day, Tuesday, November 2, your vote will
help choose the best: public officials to serve your State and
The offices to be filled in the November elections
Nation.
will be:
Propose Long
Thanksgiving
° j
Holiday -
The Union has received a pro-
posal by management, which, if
accepted, will allow a four day
week-end. for Thanksgiving, with
two paid -holidays,
The Thanksgiving Holiday falls
on Thursday, November 26th,
which would require employees to
work the day ‘before and the day
following the holiday, in order to
qualify for payment on the holiday
itself. The proposal calls for sub-
stituting the Friday following No-
vember 25th for the Friday prior
to New Years, December 31st
(this is also a paid holiday). This
would provide two consecutive paid
holidays, with the qualifying work-
ing’ days being the Wednesday
prior to Thanksgiving, and the
Monday following the holiday.
Tf the above. proposal is ac-
cepted, regarding the New Year’s
holiday the worl: scheduled for the
day before that holiday would be
the same as in previous years.
That is, employees would be per-
mitted to go home early, after their
lunch period. This, proposal: ‘does
not in any way affect the Christmas
Holiday, whereby the contract pro-
vides for holiday payment on the
‘Friday .prior’ to Christmas.: The
Board members have been in-
structed to poll the members in
their respective sections, and noti-
fy the Union office, not later than
October 15th,
Governor
Lieutenant Governor
Comptroller
Attorney General
Judges for Court of
Appeals
State Legislators
Congressmen
Judges ‘for State Su
Court —
Convention Report
In a report to the Shop Stewards
lust Monday the delegates repre-
senting TUE-CIO Loeal 301 at, the
6th Annual Convention of the LUE-
CIO pointed out that over 750 dele-
Bites were ‘present, representing
over 400,000 organized workers in
the electrical and radio. industry,
A program designed to bettor
working conditions in the shop and
fo increase the standard of living
tor the workers in our industry
was adopted. Resolutions calling
for improved social legislation and
more job Security were adopted by
the convention, Plans for organ-
izing the unorganized workers in
our industry, particularly jh the
small towns and in the Deep South
Where GF. and other large com-
panies are moving, were approved.
The ‘convention adopted * unani-
mously the action taken by the
General: Mlectric Conference Board
calling for “No Contract — No
Work” next September,
The delegates heard speeches
made by See. of Labor Mitchell,
former Senator Claude Pepper,
and Senator Matthew Neely of
West Virginia, ,
Phe, Schenectady. delegates were. - =
warmly greeted: by the delegates
and National Officers and: many
old acquaintances were. renewed,
The Local 801 delegation observed
with interest the sincerity and sol.
.... (Continued on Page 4)...
Hy may Pa Oana MEA
x
N. Y. State Power Authori ty Repl ies
We lave received an answer: to
the letter sent to Governor Dewey
hy Business Agent Leo Jandreau,
requesting that the equipment to
be used for the St, Lawrence Pow-
er Developnient be purchased from
U.S. firms, namely the GH .Com-
pany. This request was made be-
cause of the great unemployment
problem facing this community.
Mr. Robert Moses, Chairman of the
Board of Trustees, has replied, giv-
ing eight reasons why the equip-
ment may be purchased from for-
cign firms,
This reply from the Power Au-
thority does not indicate that there
will be any particular effort made
‘by them, to influence the placing
of the orders with U. S. firms. On
the contrary, the letter reeks with
apologies, to justify why the work
may be done by foreign labor.
The Union is in the process of
formulating a reply to the State
Authorities. We ure also consid-
ering sending a delegation to the
Governor, with the hope that we
may impress him and his appoint-
ed Trustees that the equipment to
be used at the. St.. Lawrence Power
Development, can be made in hy~
own state, by workers who are e
perienced in the manufacture of
such equipment, and who need the
work,
The following is the text’ of the
letter which we received.
>» POWER AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
270 BROADWAY _
NEW YORK 7, N.Y.
TRUSTEES
ROBERT MOSES, Chairman -
WILLIAM WILSON, Vicé Chairman: °
JOHN E. BURTON
EDWARD H. CASE
WYMAN 8, BASCOM
Mr. Leo Jandreau,
Business Agent
. Local 301 IUE*CIO.
501 Liberty Street
Schenectady, New vork
Dear Mr. Jandreau:
WILLIAM S. CHAPIN:
General Manager
J. BURCH McMORRAN
Chief Engineer !
THOMAS F. MOORE, WR.
General Counsel:
September 27, 1954:
4
Governor Dewey has referred to me . ‘the: Leber which: you addressed
to. Bite on September 8, 1954,
When the ‘time comes shortly, we shall give full. sympathetic consid-
eration .to your point of view with which we are not unfamiliar,
Let me meanwhile frankly point out to you certain basic facts which
you have not mentioned.
To begin with, the power development at the-St. Lawrence is inter-.
national.
second:
international project,
Third:
Fourths
Our. main power: dam straddles the. international line.
in Canada, half in the United"States.
by manufacturers, including firms from the United. States.
RLifth ¥
U.S. Federal agencies under the Buy America A :
We are partners with Ontario Hydro under an international’ agree-
saa supplemented by legislation. .
Our power work must be dhomesit retial with another complicated
namely the Seaway. . wo :
Half is
fhe Canadians are committed to more. or less open competition
Low foreign
competition but on the basis of a substantial ‘differential in favo yf 5.
firms.
Sixth:
Our duty is to get power ,to the ultimate consumer as eee
as “we can and to that end to make every BESEIULE saving in the costs of adminis
tration and equipment.
Seventh:
Eighth:
We' must insist that U.
“hake reasonable bids within our means. «
S. Firms.
’ foreign’ eatipe tito assuming a differential in their. favor.
SincerelLy,,
We have to get our work done within a niaia budget with
money supplied by private investors in our bonds. .We have no State credit.
sharpen their pencils: and
Tf they-do so they shoulda not fear
ROBERT MOSES, Chairman
J
LM. and Generator Management
ba Heads In the Clouds
Swinging from their Isfty nerches in the clouds, the new
d young management of the Large Motor Generator Dept.
re subjected quite often to lightheadedness, because of the
altitude and vacuum that surrounds them. Because they are so
far-from the job, it is difficult to get ‘the facts straight, when
trouble occurs on the ground floor.
With the blessing of Depart-
mental Authority, given them
through the Company’s Decentrali-
zation. Plan, some of these over-
‘ night Generals are out to cut a
new mark for themselves, in the
field of Labor Relations, by using
one of the oldest and obsolete
methods—“Rule ‘by the iron fist.”
In a recent case, affecting an in-
adequate price in Building 52, the
Foreman attempted to force a
group. of employees to do a job
that had been done twice before,
and which record showed that the
men did not make their usual earn-
ings each time the job was com-
pleted. The shop steward tried to
get the price adjusted, but without
success.’ Finally, the group was
provoked into stopping work. The
Union officers advised the group
to go back to work, pending a
meeting.. The workers did this,
-after losing approximately half an
O)
ur, The Department. Generals
‘cook over at this point, taking
their direction from their book on
“How To Be A Successful Execu-
tive”, by Lemuel Boulware, They
immediately issued a Bulletin, say-
ing “The foreman had no requests
for a meeting to discuss the piece
price, AND—even if the request
was made, and refused by the fore-
man, the stoppage of work was
illegal”.
you do is against the law.
The same day, after the em-
ployees resumed work, and after:
the issuing of the department’
bulletin, the shop:
steward requested 2 meeting to’
discuss the price.
propaganda
said it was too late to start “such
a meeting. The next morning,
two hours after starting time, the
shop steward made 2 second re-
quest, The foreman replied that
he was not ready yet. Later on
that day, a meetin was finally ar.
ranged,
It is this kind of provocation on
ae part. of Supervision, which is
to Pported by Department Manage-
ment, that causes Labor trouble.
Calling the action on the part of
the employees illegal ‘only reflects
the lack. of experience on the part
of those in charge. | It likewise re-
flects the lack of responsibility
that the company is legally bound
‘to, ‘under the terms of the Union
Contract, i
Tt also seems to us that these
litle men in big jobs should: throw
tuvay their new brooms, and. sturt
digging into the source of: these
In other words, ‘,we are:
holier than thou’, and whatever’
The - foreman!
Executives,
Over 2500
Transferred in
Nine Months
"The Placement Committee re-
ported over 2500 factory employees
transferred to: other jobs, because
of lack of work, during the first.
hine months of 1954. In many cases
the transfer resulted in a drastic
reduetion in take home pay. Those
employees going from piece work
jobs to day work jobs, were the
hardest hit.
Reporting for the Placement
Committee, Joseph Whitbeck, Wil-
liam) Christman, and Joe Alois
claimed that: some reductions. in
take home pay amounted to as
much as fifty cents an hour, or:
twenty dollars a week. The com-
mittee reported that there were
very few women: working in the
factory with less than ten years
of service.
of being placed were having diffi-
culty in finding much selection for
satisfactory jobs. The same holds
true for men with service less than
1952,
rc
Local 301
Dollar Stretchers
“See Your
Shop Steward
work steppages, and eliminate
theit cause. It would lend towards
better labor relations, and ‘may
help to get more respect for the
If NEVER FAILS
\T Gores THE WAY THESE POLITICIANS
ay Kallas
THEY EVER
GET INTO
COMING TO
eS VOTE DEAR J\
Au YEAR KE GRIPES
AND COMPLAINS
ABOUT THE MESS
IN WASHINGTON...
— BUT COMES ELECTION
DAY — THE ONE DAY HE
The Purpose of Court Hearings
In Compensation Cases.
Women with longer
‘service who were in the process
Almost every worker who has
been injured and who has filed a
compensation claim must appear in
court for a hearing at least once
and sometimes more often. These
hearings are held before a referee
whose vole is to decide what claim
the injured worker has as a result
of his injuries and what remedy is
to be given to the injured worker.
An injured worker who appears
at a hearing usually is‘sfirst ex-
amined by a doctor who is Hired by
the State Government to give a
written report of whether the
worker is. still suffering trom his
injury.
Naturally, if the worker has ful-
ly recovered from his injuries, the
case’ is usually closed, the Com-
pany being responsible now for
any medical treatments he was re-
quired to receive as a result of his
accident and also to pay him for
his lost time or earnings resulting
from the accident,
There is usually no dispute be-
tween the worker and the company
in such cages except if the worker
feels, despite what the. State Doe-
tor has said about his having com-
pletely recovered, that he is still
having trouble as a result of his
injuries. In such casos, the referee
allows the. worker more time, be-
fore closing the case, to bring in
medical reports from his own doc-
_ tor, as to his physical, condition,
The role of the referee. in com-
pensation eases ts. to listen to’ the
claim the injured worker is making
und to settle n dispute if the Com-
pany states that the alain is un-
founded.
Disputes’ sometimes arise in cer- *
tain types of cases. The Company
for example, may dispute .whether
an accident, has taken place alto-
gether and this:will put the worker.
to the proof.that an accident has
in fact. taken place. Supposing a
worker, for example, faints while
at work and falls to the ground,
hurting his: head. Here, the Com-
pany’s dispute might be that this
was not an “accident” arising out
of the employment but just an un-
fortunate incident for which the
Company should: not be held re-
sponsible. The referee, at this
point, wants to know all the facts.
The union’s lawyer guides the
worker’s testimony at the hearing
so that all of the facts are pre-
sented. Did the worker faint be-
eause of the nature of the work, or
for private reasons? Did the work-
er hurt himself with some tool or
equipment after he fainted or did
he just fall to the ground? When
all of the facts are in, including
even the testimony of witnesses,
the referee will make decision.
Hither side, if it does not agree
with the decision, can take an ap-
peal. The lawyer’s role is to argue
the appeal, if his client has lost
the ease. and if he feels that the
ease should have ‘been won.
SIC EArETY
HAZARPS Your 4 .
SOP
