Wausnu, Wises Xpressigns 01
support fromothe entire area labor
movement ‘poured inte the offices
Sof WE Loeal 1118. as. the union
marked the Ist anniversary of the
Marathon Bleetrie lockout, “which
has: forced 750 workers onto the
picket lines. ‘These expressions of
bucking, many of then strengeth-
ened iy | financial contributions,
caine from the Wisconsin Valley
CLO) coutiei, the AIL, unions in
aod around Wausau and from many:
independent “unions. Typical was
the statement of Dorethy Batten, a
local president of the AFL Inter-
national Ladies Garment) Workers
Union. Her message declared, “ail
of the workers... are solidly be-
hind you. We feel that you are
condueting a fight; not only for
“Marathon Electric workers, but for
every worker in Wausau... Your
‘inion will net be destroyed and
svou Will not lose this fight.”
: ot * *
Cleveland—A general wage in-
crease and. increased retirement
benefits too “assist pensioners to
meet higherS living costs" were
listed among the demands to be
made on behalf of 200,000 mem-
bers by the ClOw rubber workers.
Thes@ demands will) be presented
‘in’ fortheoming — reepener talks.
Most of the rubber work are
under dS-year contracts.
i a ok
Mrie, Pae--Ul Loenl i060 Presi-
dent Johnny Nelson recently told
the Mrie City Council that the bie
GE union opposes proposals to Tilt
lost rent controls, Nebsen eon-
demned’ the plains as prt of the
“hig squeeze being applied to‘ Mric
rent payers by big Tandlords.”
; * * *
New Bedford, Mass.—The CIO
textile workers last week retained
bargaining rights for 6,000 cotton
mill workers by erushing the APL
textile workers in a NLRB elee-
tion. The vole was 3,651 for the
CHO. G64 for the APL and 192 for
no union yg og
Toronto—The Ul Canadian Git
“policy conimittee aeted to apply tor
coneiHation in current contract
negotiations with the
The move was made nfter the ecom-
mittee decided that GM neyotiators
have ne intention of bargaining: in
good faith with the unien. ‘The
current negotintions center around
pension and: insurinee issues,
* *
Salem, Oregon—ABL, CLO and
independent. unions met this. week
to work out a program of joint ac.
fion against anti-labor legislation
Now pending in the Oregon legis
lature, Corporation-sponsored bills
would virtually outlaw the opera-
tions. of all unions in the state,
company, -
4 © Friday, March 20, 1953
“ Members OK Schaffer, Pita
And Sheehan as 301 Aides
ROY SCHAFFER. His appointment
ois a new assistant business agent
wis approved ‘by the Membership
Monday. ,
UE Local 301’s:membership Monday approved the. ap- -
pointment of Roy Schaffer, Fred Sheehan and Serafin Pita as
assistant business agents for 1953. The action made it possi-
ble for the union to put into effect
anew grievance setup under whieh
the ‘Schenectady works are to. be
divided into 8-seetions, each under
the jurisdiction of an assistant,
Schaffer, a turret lathe operator
in Building 60, is, the new addi-
tion, to the’ local, staff. Selection of |
Push Women’s Meeting Plans
With Monday's membership ap- |
proval of ‘the proposal to ‘send a,
fi-person delegation to UE's “na-
ional women'seconference on ree-
ard, Local 801's leadership this
week got.down to the job of mak--
ing concrete plans to assure the
greatest possible contribution by’
the Schenectady union to the gath-
ering, ‘
OK of the G-member delegation
was given by a unanimous vote.
The approved resolution empow-
“ered President James Cognetti to’
select, the. representatives from a
group of active unionists “recom:
mended by the executive board.
Local -801’s “delegation would,
have the job of telling UN niem-
bers from all over the country of
the progress made in the union’s
Stewards’ School Ends
1953 Sessions Tuesday
CIE Loeal sol’s 158 stewards’
school will come to an end. Tues-
day when committee men and wom-
en under ‘Executive Board Mem-
hers William Stewart and Anthony:
Villano. gather at the union hall.
Their class is scheduled for 7:80
pom.
This past. week saw the last full
sthedule of classes completed, with
stewards from most Turbine sec-
tions taking part in the discussions
on grievance machinery and shop |
problems. Attendance ut the ses-
sions was good, as it has been
throughout the 4-week school term.
Classes got under way at °1:00
pmvon Tuesday when Turbine 2nd
shift stewards had their gathering,
On Wednesday night, it was the
turn of stewards under Bill Linka
and Anders Christensen. Rounding
out the week were. clisses yester-
day in which the shop representa-
tives of Turbine 8rd shift Bod
Member Larry Gebo came down to
the union Hall.
The entire stewards’ school has
_ been under the. supervision of. Buss...
iness Agent Leo Jandreau,. helped .
by his assistants, Serafin Pita and
Tred Sheehan.
largest unit aguinst corporation
policy of paying women, less. than
men. for similar work,
Out of this report and the re-
ports of other loeals, the confer-:
ence will get a complete picture of
the situation faced. by Ul’s more
than 100,000 women members. They
then will he able to make concteie
plans for ending 6nee and for all!
the “pay the women less” racket
af the bosses, ba
This conference*is being held in
accordance With a resolution made
by 80L EXecutive Board Member
Helen Quirihi at the last UF na-
tional convention in Cleveland, Lhe
=\amen's gathering will take place
in New York on May 2 and 8-. Sev-
eral hundred delegates are” ex-
pected to attend.
the union’s recording secretary fe
the job. was based on the ability ‘to
“handle. union business he has dem-
onstrated during 17 yenrs as an ac-
ive member of 301; Schaffer’s
background includes 6 yedrs as a
shop steward, 8.years as-an execu-
tive board inember and 2 as un of-
ficer of the local. He was 801 vice
president ‘last year. ‘
’ The other assistants,
and Pita, have been with’ the union
since July, 1951. All 3 assistants
serve on leave-of-absence from the
Schenectady works, os
One of the purposesof the new
division Jaf -jurisdietion,. is. to
strengthen the grievance muachin-
ery by permitting the assistants to
become.-specialists on the problems
of the sections which they service,
Another aim is to free Business
Agent Leo Jandreau'so that he ean.
“devote more of his’ time to legisla-
tive ‘matters=and other key tasks ~
in cattying’ out the policies of Lo-
nu BOL, - ;
The ‘exact division of jurisdig
tion .will be announeed — in -ne'
week’s paper.
Trish: origin and extraction,
from tip to toe.
“What is th’ open shop?
he does’ f’r his right eye,
tules, no contracts, ‘no seales,
mimbers” ” :
Dooley Understood L. R. Boulware
‘Tuesday was St. Patrick’s Day, a time for the wearin’ of the:
green and the dustin’ off of the old blarney stone, But’ for working
wen and women, it was also a time to think about the great con-
tributions made to organized labor by many men. and women of
One of these contributors was Finley Peter Dunne, ‘a great
humorist who created the immortal Mr. Dooley, a working man
Mr. Dooley expressed his views on the world
around him while sipping a few beers with his friend, Ma. Hen-
hessy, and some of those views, set down in print 50 years ago,
would. be tough to improve on today,
Mr. Dooley had to say on the subject of the open shop a
Sure, tis where they Kape the doors
open to. acommodate th’ constant. stream av win comin’ in t’ take
jobs cheaper than th’ min what has th’ jobs. Tis like this, Hinnisey:
Suppose wan av these freeborn citizens is workin’ in an open shop’
Pr th? prineely wages av wan large iron dollar a: day av tin hour, -
“Along comes anither son ay gun an he sez.’ th’ boss, ‘Oi
think Oi could hand th’ job nieely fr 90 cints.”
“Sure, sez th’ boss, an’ th' wan dollar man gits out inte th’
crool wuruld t? exercise his inalietiable roight as a frechorn Amer. °
iean citizen an’ seab on-some poor divil.
; “fA so it goes on, Hinnessey. An? who gilts th’ benefit? True,
it saves th’ boss money but he don't eare-no more fr money thin
“t's all principle wid him,
their indipindence regardless ay anything else.’
“ ‘But,’ said Mr. Hennessey,
say the’ are [’r unions iv properly conducted.’
“Sure, said Mr. Dooley, ‘iv preperly conducted, an’ there we
vareAn” how would they’ have thine conducted?” “No strikes, no
Take, for example, what
He hates. (’ see min robbed ay
‘these open-shop min ye menshun
hardly iny wages, an’ dam few
Sheehan
ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS
%
ooo anna actA gE
SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK
Friday, March 27, 1953
a
vie, Pa——After months of stal-
ling, the Sims Co,. finally came
‘through with a decent contract of-
fer to members of UM Local 629.
The offer provided 2 9¢ hourly
package ‘for the workers as com-
pared with the company’s previous
proposal for a 8e wage boost. The
reason for the company’s change in
attitude: A vote of the UK niem-
hership to take strike action,
et kok
"Atlantic City, 3 . J—Nearly un-
animous approval was given to the
ptineiple of a united labor’ move-.
ment by the national convention of
the CIO aute workers this. week.
After the motion. was carried, Wal-
ter Reuther, President of both ClO
andSUAW, urged the delegates to
go back home and work for: unity
“at the bottom.”
€) Pe ae
New York—A joint negotiating
committee made up of representa:
tives of UE and of the AFL metal
polishers has been selected to face
the management which. runs both
the .Aetna Metaleraft Co. and the
Broadway) Chrome Co.
aereement was arrived at to avoid
any possibility of the boss setting
one union nyainst the other.
kK ok
‘Washington—John ¥. Rifle, vet-
eran official of the steelworkers,
has been selected by CIO President
Walter Reuther as ClO Executive
Vice President, the post held by
Allan Haywood until his death sev-
eral weeks ago. The temporary
appointment was generally regard-
ed as an attempt to heal. the widely
reported breach between the. CLO
and the steelworkers, :
k ke Ok
Newark, Nod Iimployees of
the Ralph C. Coxhénd Corp. have
been foreed to strike to gain a
Wwige inerease and to protect their
C Mvact against company attempts
i ara many basie provisions.
Among the demands of the UR Lo-
cal 487 member's are a 10¢ hourly
pay raise, an 8th paid holiday, im-
_proved vacations and. better. hos-_
pitalization. The company sought
to lay the basis for breaking the
union by erippling seniority, weak-
‘ening overtime provisions and
damaging. the -grievanee machin-
ery, |
The unity:
Members Nix GE Pr
Offer on Wages, H
Angered by GE. mariagement's failure to either offer a re
any union demands on inequities, UE Local 301 member:
company preposals in shop meetings held throughout t
Most UE Pacts Assure
Saturday Holiday Pay
Gie's stand that it will not pay
‘for Saturday holidays:places it’ be-
hind the majority of fiems: whieh
have contracts with UE and whieh
do pay for Saturday holidays.
This. was vevenled’ by the union's
national allice Whieh. released: a
breakdown of holiday: provisions in
pacts with major corporations and
smaller companies. ‘The brenkdown
showed that G04 of the UE cone
tracts which provide for 7 or Move
paid holidays alse, provide for full
payment for Saturday holidays
'Phis represented a majority of all
pacts signed hy the union,
Aniong the corporations fram
which UE his avon payment of ‘Sat
urday holidays are Westinghouse,
Sylvania, Deeea Records ind Gen-
eral Cable. All of these firnis have
national agrecments with the un-
ion, , :
Some oof the ather compinies
which provide ut least 7 paid hoti-
days regardless of the day in the
Week on whieh they fall are Ana-
conda Wire ‘and Gable, Amerienn
Safety Razor’ Capehart Farms-
worth, Columbin Records, ‘Thonis
‘Mdison Coy, Magnavox, Morse Twist «
Drill, © Sonotone . Corp., Tungsol
Electric, Waldes-Kohinoor, Wileo!l-
ator, and Westinghouse Airbrake, .
CONTRACT ‘CONFAB.
. These meetings were-held by the
executive board members after the
hourd veted unanimously to recom-
mend outright rejection of General
Mlectrie’s arrogant: “offer,” “This
recommendaiton owe ~made Mon-
day in a resolution which pointed
vut that the company had failed to:
1. Make a reasonable wage offer.
2. Solve the problem of the 2
Saturday holidays which would be
lost this year,
3. Provide anything to eliminate
inequities in regard to day work-
“including women and skilled
fismen, or peographieal differ.
entials,
Instead the company sugpested
that the-union xecept one of 2“xere ,
or less" proposals, ‘The first. of
these would provide a Wage boost
only if the old BLS consumer price
index figure for Mareh 15 is higher
than that for Sept. 15, 1952. Since
the index has alrendy dropped frets
the Sept. mark, it is almost sure’
that acceptance af. this gimmick
would mean no wae inerease al
Hie
As an allernative, the company :
offered the equivalent of. a 1.79¢¢
Wage increase (minimum b.7he)
provided UR cgive uncits right. to
negotiate wages and other con-
tract issues in the fall. ‘Phis “dn-
erease” would be bused on produc-
livity arid cost of living, with the
netual boost being «caleulated as
ey
: UE Local 301’s executive board is pictured above
proposals to the union on Monday, After going over the so-called offer,
minend outright rejection to. the unio
,
. How,
oposal— Demand Real
olidays and Inequities
asonable wage increase or to meet
$ voted overwhelmingly to turn down.
he Schenectady works.on Wednesday.
the amount of money needed to
bring wage, levels 10.586 over
“those of March 1h, 1DAL.
In short, Gk) manapenient sup
gested that we give up the right to
seck real contract! and money im-
“provements until March, 1954, in
exchange for 2 voudple of pennies
In voting. to “reeommend ‘re
jection of thé offer, the 801 exeeu-
tive board endorsed 4 nationak une
jon suggestion that’ the company
take these few cents arid aupply
them toward payments on the holi-
days and- inequities. From. that
point, discussion of a genuine wie
increase. could begin, However,
the union position stressed that
under no circumstances could the
giving up of fall negotiations be
considered,
G's attempt ito hoodwink. its
employees into closing auton bare
gaining this year was undoubtedly
based on the realization that with
the wage freeae and all price con.
trols ended, rising living costs anil
growing demands for united action
hy nll unions would greatly
strengthen the workers’ hargain-
ing position in the nest fev
manths,
CE negotiators will give the
company the answer of the work-
crs. to its proposal at a meeting
scheduled for next Tuesday, Mareh
at.
as if met to study GE's contract
the board: voted dnanimousty to
Samemaber shape. eo gee ede ees
Bus Strike Leader
Faces Deportation
A clear demonstration of the use
of the McCarran-Walter act as a
strike-breaking , Weapon by the
companies was given this week
when the chairman of the negotiat-
ing committee: of the CIO Trans-
port Workers Union was picked up’
for deportation ‘in the middle of
negotiations, to ‘settle'a walkout of
Long Island bus drivers. ©
The victim, Canadian-born Gor-
don Barrager, is being held on Ellis
Island. without» bail’ and without
any (specific charges against’ him.
He was arrested Friday while in
the midst: of negotiations with the
Bee Lines,
Company President Harry Carter
is a close friend of Nassiu County
Republican Jeader, d. Russell
Sprague, Sprague is a close friend
of Attorney-General Brownell, who
is in charge of administering the
McCarran law.
Could Be!
Workers on the overload. re-
lay test line in Bldg. 69-2 are
wondering if the harassment |:
and attempts to-force a speed-
up on Charlotte Passikof€ by
Foreman Don Jones is connected
with the fact that, one: of her
first acts was to apply for: UE
Local 301 membership.
These workers joint out that
Jones’ threats are partciularly
out of line since Mrs. Passikoff’s
production is unusually high for
a new worker.
Show Roosevelt Film.
“The Roosevelt Story,” a> film
depicting the life and accomplish-
ments of the late President was
slated to be shown to the executive
board yesterday afternoon. | The
movie is ‘being distributed -by the. -
Ull_ national’ office in. connection -
with the 8th anniversary | of the
death of FDR;
-Ex-U.S. Aide Hits McCarran
Measure as ‘Sham and Fraud’
z All people who believe in. America. were called on last
‘Friday to fight for repeal of the McCarran-Walter immigration
law. The appeal was : inte by former U. S. Solicitor-General
Union Classes End .
UE. Local 301’s steward’s school
ended its 1958. session Tuesday
evening when shop representatives
‘under William Stewart. and Anth-
ony: Villano had‘their gathering..
A report of the union, office in-
dicated that a large majority of
the union’s 630 stewards attended
‘the ¢lasses which ran. for more
than 4 weeks.
Contract énforce-
ment, union policy and shop prob-
“lems wee discussed by the stei-
cards and by Business Agent Leo
_Jandreau and his assistants.
Philip Perlman. Perlman headed
the Presidential commission. whi
studied the vicious measure.
“The McCarran-Walter act is a
fraud and a sham,” Perlman de-
clared in an address before 'the an-
nual conference of the Civil Liber-
ties Clearinghouse in Washington.
He cited.the threat against. the
well-being of millions ‘of Ameri-
-eans contained in the bill as ample,
reason for its repeal and replace-
ment. by a fair law. |.
Perlman revealed that a com-
* mittee of distinguished scholars is.
working out a new immigration “
law; which they’ hope President
“isenhower will sponsor. as -a re-
placement for the racist MeCarran
measure. .
Bldg. 11:, On. job S.0. 228-3041
the price taken frony a standard,
table was cut from $81.15 to $25.85
* without notifying the operator or ,
changing method. This is 2 vio-
lation ‘of contract article, VI-5d.
‘The union demands restoration of
the $81.15 price. ~
Bldg. 17: On Job 208B902, stand-
ard punching 8.0, 251- 1005, opera-
tion 1, blank hand feed, the price
was established “without obstruc-
tion on the machine, As the re-
sult of.the installation of a new
fixed guard, the operators are now
obstructed and can not make their
AER. or maintain previous earn-
ings with the same effort. In ac-
cordance with article VI-5d, the
union demands an immediate re-
vision of price. :
Smoke. and fumes in the harden-
- ing room under Foremen-Forte and
lirickson create-a safety hazard for
the entire proup and for adjoining
groups. The union demands that
management correct this condition.
Bldg. 18: On Jobs‘S.0, 223, 2015
and 2016, moto? assemblers under
Foreman Franco feel.that the rates
being paid are too low on the gen-
erators being built when compared
with rates on similar jobs in other
‘buildings, ‘The. union demands a
2-step increase in the timing rate.
Bldg 29: Edward .Pangburn
works on the. straightening tape
ean job, | He is not receiving his
share of overtime, The. union de-
mands equal distribution of over-
time in accordance with the con-
tract.
Bldg. 40. Bernice. Teal was em-
“ployed in the cafeteria for 7%
years. When the GE Athletic As-
socintion corporation, whieh had
the cafeteria concession, was dis-
solved in December, and the cafe-
teria —-- ownership..vas.. formally...
transferred to the company, she .
was assigned to a job in 40. Su-
pervision is trying to take the po-
“sition that this worker is a new
_ abide by his agreement.
2 °
Friday, March 27, 1953
Thousands of grievances are handled by UE Local 301
each year at,all levels from the steward up to final appeul:
in New York City. .To keep members posted, we shail
each week list some’ of the grievances that have not been
settled-at the steward-foreman level and-haveé' been re-
fennad to the executive: board-tnanagement level.
employee. ‘The union: deniinds ‘that
she he given full service credit for
her work in the cafeteria. .
In the group- under Toreman
Mellon, crane followers and ma-
«terial handlers are being used for
porters?
plenty of work of their own, The
union demands the assignment of
a porter to this group in. order to
provide safe and
conditions,
Group «under Foreman Tanski
have repeatedly asked. that the
practice of blocking up the main
aisle be stopped because it is a
major safety hazard. The union
demands that this dangerous prac-
tice be stopped iramediately.
Bldg. 46: Alfred J: Cionek was
asked by the foreman to do.2 jobs
with much lower timing rates than
the work he normally performs,
One job was on the floor for 4
weeks, and the foreman ordered
him to either do it or go home. The
union demands that the operator
be given an adjusted price: so.that.
he suffers no loss of earnings. It
further demands. an end to the
practice. of _a foreman
thre ats to try and force an oper-
ator to do lower rated work.)
Material movemen. under _Fore-
man Link are doing worl in the ex
peditor catewory. ‘he union, there- ‘
fove, demands they be reclassified
from M. material movemen to C exe .
peditors with proper rate adjust-
ments,
Bldg. 52: The price for steel
blasting large cooler frames has
been -§2 for the past. 6 years, Now,
supervision has cut it to $1.65 in
violation of contract, The union
demands restoration of $2 price...
Bldg. 60: When a_ time: study
vas taken on job 128L854 in Jan-
uary,, the foreman agreed to pay.s
price adjustment totalling $2.97 to
He now refuses to.
The un-
demands immediate payment of the
the assemblers.
jobs although they- have.
clean working.
- ber. (see Bldg
-issuing :
adjustment.
Bldg. 66: On Saeuainy, March 7,
2 crane operators. were working in
west bay while--only one was on
duty in east bay. When the east
bay man went off on his break,
Robert Penman went over to the
bay to work. This move was dic-
tated by safety considerations, but
supervision has seen fit to. repri-
mand the operator. The union asks
a full discussion of this to clarify
the situation and avoid further
disagreements.
Bldg. 69: When GI Athletic As-
sociation was dissolved in Decem-
40 above), Grace
Piper, with 4 years of service in
the cafeteria, was, transferred to
69, Her foreman now insists that
she be treated as a new employee.
The union demands that this work-
er be given full service credit.
Bldg. 84. Leo F.. Kelly and Leo
S. Hanrahan have been classified
ns hand are welders.for several
years. However, they have been
doing are. and gas welding under
hazardous conditions: The union
demands they be reclassified to
special. hand. welders with mannone-
tive rate adjustments.
Bldg. 269: Theresa Madejka is
classified as a routine tester,.$1.41 °
job rate. She has been doing get-
ter flashing, aging and stabiliza-
tion jobs, on which” 2 operators
ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS
UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO & MACHINE
WORKERS OF AMERICA (UE)
Local 301 -
oR 2
Published: by tho Editorlal Committes
Prosident---____--..--ames_ J. Cognotta
Vico President—nmemeeineadosoph Alols
TrOOSUlO lan mm emnnennenedoseph Whitbock:
- Recording. . Secrotary—___.__—_.... Rey - Schaffor..
Ass't RecordingSecratary_...Rudy :Rlssland
Chief Shop Stoward.....Willtam = Mastrlant
Businoss “Agont—..-——..—-Loo. Jandreau
S01 LIBERTY ST. SCHENECTADY 5, N.Y.
ve
-to the
have always worked_.to maintain
an 8-hour output. She has been
subjected to a vicious speedup, first
being called on to produce 661:
tubes per’ shift, and now being
forced to meet an 800 quota. This
operator is a day worker, and
should not be.asked to do: incentive
work. The brutal work load. is
dufecting her health. The union de-
mands an..end to this speedup and
unreasonable production
loads
woman,
Bldg. 273: Alberts requests
manarement investinesion of the
possibility of transferring him to
the Ist suitable opening.
Bldg. 285: Since 1947, George
Russell has been classified as a
non-working leader over 2 groups
of machine repair and maintenance
men, .He was ill recently, and the
groups were separated and put un-
der the direction of a methods man.
Russell has been ordered to work
full time, but is denied all over-
time. . This is. a clear case of dis-
crimination and coercion involving
a number of contract violations.
The inion demands restoration of
Russell’s previous status as a non-
working leader.
R. Sommers is ‘classified as a
piece worker on bench assembly
nnd is. assigned to do all general
repair work on the final assembly
of solenoids. Therefore, he is be-
ing taken off, his regular p.w. job
to suit company konvenlerice and
‘should. be properly compensated
through payment of average earn-.
ings,
Recently, 2 women were " sent
home for lack of work by Foreman
Lawrence. At the same time, the
foreman utilized the services of a
man for inspection on job 9605"
C-1, The union contends that t!
was no lack of work, and that
women should not have lost etme,
It demands that management cor-
rect-this situation,
Airport: The union demands re-
‘elassification of Edwin Burchell to
Avaircraft mechanic, He is entitled
to this rating because of his exper-
ience, ability and. performance.
ELECTRICAL UNION: NEWS
vd UE Local 310 proved beyond
and , harassment of | th” ;)
Wins Silicosis Pay
* GE's fight to deprive an El-
mira silicosis victim of" work-
a men’s compensation and disabil-
ity insurance has ended with the
company ~ surrendering com-
pletely.
Thescompany tried to prove
‘that the disease had not. been
contacted on the job, However,
any doubt. that the silicosis, and
a resulting tuberculosis. condi-
tion, came from the victim’s job.
As a result, the worker, Anth-
ony Sherant, will receive $32
weekly compensation and a.
monthly disability pension of
$84.50." The compensation wis
made retroactive to June, 1951..
Tobey Hints McCarthy
Too Much Even for GOP.
Sen. Joseph McCarthy, the anti-
labor witchhunter from Wisconsin,
may have gone too far for even
his Republican colleagues. This
was /strongly indicated by GOP
Sen, Charles Tobey of New Hamp-
shire, who characterized McCarthy.
as the “bad boy. of the Senate” in
.a recent TV interview.
Tobey strongly condemned his
fellow Republican, asserting, “if
he were a man he would have de-
manded a full investigation of
questions about his financial ”deal-
ings. raised by ¢ a. Senate subeom~
mittee.” ‘ Bs
That subcommittee report. indi-
¢ “se ated that the Wisconsin redbaiter
ad used monies raised to help his
“fight on communism” to speculate
on the commodities market and to .
make a handsome profit.
UE Made Some Albany Legislative Gains,
But Corporations Balled Big Victories -
With the 1953 New York State legislative session at an end, UE Local 301 was able this
“week to point to several important victories, in helping to prevent. a number of key anti-
labor laws. However, the basically corporation-controlled character of thé Albany senators
and assemblymen. blocked the ac-
“ceptance of any major parts of the
union’s program for action on be-
half of working men and women.
On the credit side was the fail-
ure of the corporations to. jam
through a payroll tax for Sche-
nectady.. For .a_ time, this ~ tax
seemed to be a‘“sure thing.” But
UE and other labor organizations
went into action, and by the end
of the legislative session, Sunday
night, most, state and city politic-
iuns were doing thei best to. give.
the. impression that they had never
even heard of the wage levy.
| Similarly, the attempt to sneak °
through a vicious set of laws to
effectively outlaw political action”
by labor organizations. was blocik-
ed by prompt union efforts. Local
301 spearheaded this fight by send-
ing a delegation to the capitol to
lobby against the. company bills.
Also on the positive: side of the
picture was the passage of the Os-
trander amendment which makes it.
impossible for private power com-
panies to grab off_public lands in
the. Adirondacks for their own
profit, UE Local 801 took a major
part in fighting for the amend-
ment in order to protect the recre-
ational facilities used by so many
MO FevenareD
PRESS
GIVE HIM OUR LOYALTY TEST...SEE IF HE'S. WILLING
To WORK FoR, 15. BUCKS A WEEK...
JELECTRIGAL UNION. MEWS -"
“ment workers.
Schieneetady workers. .
However, the Ostrander, amend-
ment still is subject to a public
referendum at the next election,
and Governor Dewey, apparently
acting..on behalf..of the private
power interests, has indicated that
he “will seek to have it defeated
then,
On the debit side of the ledger
was the failure of the.union to se-
cure passage of any of its pro-
gram to improve workmen’s com-
pensation and unemployment in-—
surance benefits, A particular bit=
ter ‘pill for the union to swallow
was the betrayal on a bill which
would have given silicosis victims
compensation for partial disability,
The present law provides payment
only for “one foot in the grave”
total disabilities.
The silicosis bill was lost in the
shuffle during. the final hours of
the. session,.
force it to a vote, and virtually
pledged that it would-be passed,
By the same token, promised help
from Oswald Heck of Schencetady,
powerful speaker of the. assembly,
was apparently not forthcoming.
Local 301 adopted a new ap-
proach to legislative lobbying this
year. It attempted to mobilize the
-support of union members who are,
leaders in. local political affairs:
On one delegation, Peter Pisano,
77, chairman of the Schenectady 9th
ward Demoeratic club and Henry
Burke, 2738, Republican 9th ward
supervisor, accompanied ~ legisla-
tive sub-committee chairman Wil-
liam Stewart to Albany. Others to
take active part in delegations
were James De Magseo, 49, and
Frank D’Amico, 40. :
Frame Union Head
President Abram Flaxer of the
independent United Public Work-
-ers of America was convicted this
week on frameup “contempt of
vongress charges.”
Flaxer’s conviction arose out of
> his refusal to provide the McCar-
run witchhunt committee with the
names of all of the union’s mem-
bers, many of whom are govern-
For many year's,
organized labor has fought, for the
Hight. to keep its, men bership rolls_
“secret \ ‘when such secrecy is neces>.
’ sary to prevent bosses from setting
| up blacklists, sO
- News
» Quirini, 81,
‘ even though Sen...
Thomas Campbell had promised to
Pick Some Women’s
Meeting Delegate’s
UE Local 301’s officers'this week
“worked. to ‘complete. plans to send a
'.G-member delegation to the union's
national women’s conference sched-~
uled to be held in New York, on
May 2 and 2.
At the time that this asl EU
went to press, President
James Cognetta had not yet com-
pleted the job of selecting the dele-
gates from among the candidates
proposed by the. executive board.
However, 4 places on the. delega-
tion were definitely filled by Helen
Sadie IJovinella,, 81,
Ethel Furman, 10C and Frank
D'Amico, 40. ‘
The Schenectady delegation will
go to the conference at the Hotel
McAlpin armed with full reports
on the efforts made by Local 301
to combat Glt’s practice of paying:
» women less than men doing the
same work,
They will. undoubtedly ennghoatze
the importance of “fighting for
equal pay for equal. work for both
men‘and women workers, The un-
ion’ has learned from experience
that when the company is able to
keep women’s pay down, it has +
weapon with which to. forée the
‘pay of men workers down to the
same levels. This ein be done
~ simply by threatening to replace
men, who seek to gain better pay or
to hold decent rates, with women.
About 85% of UE’s meinbership
nationally are women, It is hoped
that the. May conference will -pro-
.duce a concrete program for fight+
ing ‘the “pay the women less”
racket in the shops, through the
grievance procedure and in local
and national ‘negotiations.
Women’s Group Set Up
UE Local 301’s executive board
voted Monday to establish a special
committee to study problems of
women workers in Sehenectady.
The committee will consist of board
members who have large numbers
of ‘women in their divisions, An
organizational meeting is planned
in the near future,
Steel Profits High
/Despite the long steel strike last
year, U. 8S. Steel managed to eke
out. bare living in 1958, Com-
pany : ‘profit «reports: issued © this
week indicated that the steel mon-
opoly had'a net gain of $144-mitl-
lion during the year,
«Friday, March 27, 1953 ° 3- q
