LOCAL 301 NEWS
July 24. 1959
IUE-CIO LOCAL 301 NEWS
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF LOCAL 430i,
REPRESENTING SCHENECTADY
GE WORKERS
Published by tho caitera Committea
Prasidont John H. Shambo
Vice Prosident ». Willlam J. Kolly
Troasurar s.ssessesveeeee Pat J. Donato
Rocording Secretary ... Roy ¥. Schaffer
Ass't Recording Secratary..David Gunn
Chief Shop Staward ... Joseph Mangino
Business Agant ......... Leo Jandreau
121 Erio Blyd. Schonoctady 5, N. Y.
Editor — Art Christopher
EB 3
Dapper Dans,
Sesqui Belles
Frank Etzel, Louis Lezzi, Bill
Mastriani, TEisther Altieri, and
Chet Boreski have voluntarily
. formed a committee to organize
Dapper Dan and Sesqui Belle
chapters in the plants, Any others
interested in joining them are
cordially welcome to do so for the
~ egoming Sesqui-centennial Celebra-
tion which will take place in Aug-
ust.
Toppers,, derbies, mustaches,
sideburns, beards and string bow
lies will be the formal dress for
the Dapper Dans while the ladies
will don bonnets, etc, to fit the
occasion,
Every Monday and Thursday
in July will be Official Dress-up
Day. Let’s get off to a flying start
and join in the fun.
Building Trades
Form Committee
As a result of a recent meeting
of the Building Trades a commit-
tee of six has been formed to deal
with any current problems which
might arise in that group, They
are: Stockheim, Masterson, Bis-
callon, Zyzes, DiCaterino, Mitchell
Mastriani, Cognetta Attend
Legislative Conference
Niews highly favorale to enactment of a $1.25 Federal minimum
wage and a fare non-punitive labor reform bill, were voiced by
many members of New York State's Congressional delegation in
Washington last weels.
The occasion was an off-the-record dinner held by the N. Y.
State AFL-CIO for the Congressmen. Twenty-five of the. state's 43
Representatives, the administrative assistant of one U, 8, Senator
and leaders of the state body and a dozen major local central
bodies attended.
Sa
President ‘Harold C. Hanover
welcomed the Congressmen and
outlined the three areas of cx-
change of views, minimum wages,
the labor pill and aid to econom-
ically depressed areas,
“We-believe that a face-to face
meeting with you may help ma-
terially to develop a mutual un-
derstanding and, we hope, support
of thase views which hold upper-
most the greater good of the
greater number of our fellow
citizens and ourselves," he said,
Noting that since” jurisdiction
of Union Business Agents ended
when members left the shop and
returned to their home communi-
ties, Louis Hollander, State AFL-
CIO C,0.P.E. Chairman, told the
Legislators that "we look to you
to be the business agents of the
people with the government here
in Washington.”
The labor leaders present, he
said, were representing not only
the members but the home town
butcher, grocer, banker, insurance
man and real estate man in areas
where runaway businesses “take
thousands of jobs away and
affect the economic well-being
not only of our people but every-
body in the communities where
this. happens.”
“Democratic unions are the ba-
sis of democracy,” he said. “There
can be no political democracy
You have the power to protect.
that democracy in the labor
movement just as you have the
power to protect industry. If you
do that you will protect the com-
munity and the jobs of the work-
ers as well.”
commenting ‘on the pending
labor bill, Legislative Chairman,
Raymond R, Corbett said that “in
New York we have a labor bill
that will not cripple labor’ and
expressed the view that Sen.
John LL. McClellan “would do
‘better to seek enforcement of the
U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights
back home in Arkansas instead
of being so anxious about his dan-
gerous so-called Labor Bill of
Rights.”
Attending the meeting was Wil-
Mam Mastriani, Legislative Chair-
man and James Cognetta, Presi-
dent of the CIO Council.
Fight On Inflation
Some people are getting a bit tired of the stuck-whistle repeti-
tion of the nonsense about President Hisenhower's fight on inflation,
The President is illiterate on matters of economics. He preaches
against inflation whatever someone will write down on paper for
him to stumble over, There are some who doubt whether he would
grasp a simple cconomic fact if it were spelled out for him in one-
{syllable words,
Right now the President is pushing for an inere case in interest
rates on government borrowing.
_ It means that the bankers of this country will talke a still pleat
slice out, of the national wealth, They are doing quite well already..
16 banks reported gains in earnings of 13.9% last week.
Doesn't it scem a bit strange that the President isn't con-
cerned about managed prices and their effect upon inflation?
Doesn't is scem strange that he doesn’t consider an increase in the
price of money as being inflationary?
Doesn't it seem odd that the President regards a little pros-
perity for the worker as inflationary, while at the same time. he
rejoices and takes credit for the fact that profits this year promise
to break all previous records?
and Griffith,
(Reprinted from the Labor News Digest)
4
\
}
Vol, 5, No. 56
The Voice of GE Workers, Local 301, IVE
July 31, 1959
=
ALERT STEWARD (KENYON) GETS UNION MEMBER $220 BACK PAY IN MAC DEPT. _
WHO'S 10 BLAME FOR COST-OF-LIVING RISE?
On Wednesday, July 22, 1959, it was
announced on the front pages of the local
newspapers that 16,000 General Electric
employees would begin to receive {400,000
more a year, BIG DEAL -- well, let's take
a L-O-N-G, S-L-O-W look at this momentous
sum of money,
’ THIS AMOUNTS TO an average of only.
$25, 00 a year,
STEAM TURBINE ANNOUNCED a shutdown
for inventory on a work day, That is 8
hours pay lost at General Electric's own
average of $2.60 an‘hour ~ $20.40 out of
one week's paycheck, That. huge {25,00
a year inerease has now shrunken to $420»
16,000’ employees sharing {}400,000 ,
sounds good, but it only amounts to ,012
cents. per hour, 48 cents average a week,
Many employees have lost much more than
e48 cents an hour through downgrades ‘
alone; so that .48 cents a week helps,
dust a iittle.
A 400,000 annual increase’to the
Schenectady payroll sounds good, but let's}
take a look:
- To Show just a portion of GE's lay-
off, in the May 22nd,°1959 issue of the
G,E, Schenectady News, the company ann-
ounced that between March 31st and April
30th alone, 350 less employees were
. employed, Using GE's own figures of $2,60'
an hour, ° 40 hours per week, 52 weeks a
year, $1,892,800 annually was lost from
the Schenectady payroll = how come no
headlines??
WHO WAS BLAMED for the raise in cost-=
of-living in the article? Steelworkers
are on strike, GE. employees haven't had
& wage increase since 19583 Auto workers
haven't had a raise lately; so whots to
‘blame? The papers never lay the blame
for increases in co ‘St-of living where it
belongs ~ higher prices caused by the
greed for higher profits, There will be
no blame laid out now for a cost-of-living.
increase until the newspapers! favorite
whipping boy, Labor gets another wage
increase,
HAVE YOU SIGNED FOR:
LOCAL 301's
DAPPER DANS OR SESQUI-BELLES?
The alertness of the Union and its
representatives was recently demonstrated
in'the MAC Dept. Approximately two years
ago a man was hired as a Millwright's
Helper, The contract states that jobs of
this rate will get automatic one step
increases one month apart until the top
rate is reached, In this case, the Company
gave this man his monthly increases as per
contract up to the final step, At this
point, they gave no further increases,
Steward Kenyon, under Board Member
| Wagar, upon questioning this Union member
found out that he had been waiting for the
final step for over a year, Steward Kenyon
immediately contacted Board Member Wagar
who in turn made a verbal complaint to the
MAC Rate Dept. After a few days investig-
ation, the Company, realizing that they had
violated the contract, paid this man the
back money in the amount of $220.00 which
was owed to him. This is another fine
example of good union representation in the
ShODs
nate pam perme
SESQUI ~ DRESS UP DAYS
WILL BE EVERY DAY
FROM NOW UNTIL AUG, 29TH
—_—
§0 WEAR YOUR TOP HAT,
DERBY, BONNET, AND WHAT HAVE YOU!
msec naennoraens TE eT NP
THE STEEDVORKERS WILL WIN t !
Contrary to the article in the GE
News dated July 24, 1959, entitled, "The
strike no one can win", tne United Steel~
workers WILL WIN OUT...
The entire force of the AFL-CIO com=
bined with other indepmdent unions
throughout the United States have ded-
icated thansélves to the cause of the
Steelworkers, They are united 100%, It
is up to us, as individual members, to
support then in every possible way we cane
Remember, we may be asking for their
support in 1960.
_ In reference to the GE article which
states that“"the industry is losing $3.
million a day, not inéluding lost sales!
we'd like to point out that "you never
lose anything you haven't made’. -
CONTACT YOUR STEWARD OR BOARD MEMBER NOW,
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0