16 Steel Workers -
Operate Big Plant
The factory of the future is in
operation at the Lukens Steel Cor-
poration in Coatsville, Pa. This
alloy plate finishing plant was
financed by the U. S. Navy an
cost $10.5 million. © .
" The $10.5 million plant requires
only 16 men for its’ operation.
These men work in operating pul-
. pits, surrounded by levers,’ dials,
-, ted, green, and orange lights and
two television ‘receivers, _
“A visitor to the finishing plant
“has to look carefully to see signs
of life, although production pro-
ceeds ‘at full speed. The 16-man
working force, in operating pul-
pits, is mostly outeof sight, while-
a huge transfer table rumbles from
_one side of the building to another.
The heat ‘treatment line stretches
‘ through 600 feet of the 1000 foot- .
long. building. Beyond it are a
roller lever, a shear, and a cut-
ting: device,”.a. Wall Street Jour-,
nal account reported in describing
the operation. © toe
Trial Committee
Reports
(Continued from Page 1)
Herbert acted, ts chairman.of the
committee and Jolin Smith secre-
tary. . :
The Committee's finding and rec-
ommendations, were approved at
both the second shift meeting and
first and third shift meeting,
LABOR ond STATISTICS
Study Shows Big Steel
| Gan Afford Pay Raise
$3.86 'RUI0N"
$4.10 BILLION.
te
MATERIAL COSTS, :
983[.$ 1.415 BILLION:
1985[ $1358 BILLIONS
EMPLOYMENT costs Wi
1953S. SST BILLIONS)
(955 FS (5614: BILLION :
THE ABOVE FIGURES WERE TAKEN FROM
Us S. STEEL'S 1955 FINANCIAL REPORT-
PROOF THAT BIG STEEL CAN. AFFORD A
WAGE (NCREASE WITHOUT RAISING
ORICES
et
‘Building 85
Incentive Plan
» The Incentive Plan that was ne-
gotiated for Bldg. 85, has had two
weeks of experience as we go. to
press. 2
The Plan was put into effect
Monday, July 2nd, the first week, a
four day week because ‘of the holi-
day, resulted in slightly over a 3%
increase .in rates or approximately -
7e an hour, average increase.
The*seecond week. the: bonus was
lower .when hours increased: and
production was less, however, . the.
plan paid an average increase ‘of
upproximately 5¢ an hour.
The Plan is new and will require
a-number of changes before it will
be satisfactory, One'‘of the major.
problems at present is to make’ al-
lowances: for down time, that is, be-
, yond the control of the employees .
covered by the plan, ]
Meetings with department man-
agement will be held to 1esolve
these .difficulties as they arise.
~ Vacation pay will be figured on
the ‘hew ‘earnings ‘for ‘the produc-
tion employees, | 7
‘The incentive bonus is over and
above the 15% negotiated ty the
union last’ year, a
Activities Com- -
_ tnittee Report
The Activities Committee re-
ported a net income of $2,108.10,.
Way ticket sale, . : .
The committee is’ in the process
resulting from the Spring Give-a-
of making arrangements for the -
second. raffle this year, The prizes
ure expetté@ to be a 1956 Ply-
mouth with push button drive, |
heater, radio, and. ete, also a port-
able GE Television and a’ third
prize, a GE roll-a-way vacuum,
cleaner, eo «
The committee plans the draw-
ing of prizes to be held at the
* November membership meeting.
The proceeds of these’ raffles will
be used to “finance the Children's
" Christmas party to be held in the
new Union hall, in December of.
this year, ., 7
UNION DUES IS
- JOB INSURANCE —
IUE-ClO LOCAL 301 NEWS ©
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF LOCAL 301, °
REPRESENTING SCHENECTADY
2 GE WORKERS
as
Recording Socroalry.......n--— Larry Gobo
Ass"t Recording Secratary — Allan E, Townsond
Chief Shop Steward. Wititam Mastriant
Business Agont.... wenaehoo Jandreau
121 BRIE BLVD, SCHENECTADY, N.Y.
co
| OH, WELL / -
LIVE ANO LEAR
MAKES A MISTAKE 11'S ONE OF LIFES LITTLE
WE CANNOT TOLERATE
INCOMPETANCE
: BoTuera WORKER B00-B
Copyrighted = Laber Features:
Hearing =
_, An arhitration hearing scheduled
for lust Wednesday at the Van
Curler hotel to determine the out-
come of & Local 801 grievance, was
in dispute as we went to press on
the question of whether the Sche-
~nectady case should be handled -as
u national matter or a local griev-
ance. .
The company lawyer claimed
they wanted an interpretation from
the arbitration ‘that would apply ‘to
all GE .plants, re ‘
The representatives of Local 301),
said the arbitration was requested
hy ‘the local union as per contract
and national ‘officers’ of the’ com-
pany had agreed to arbitrate the
local grievance’ at a meeting on’ -
‘January 12, 1956,
. The company representatives re-
fused -to allow pertinent local evi-
dence that has an important bear.
ing-on the ease to go into the,rec-
ords, ‘They wanted a hypothetical-,
set uf facts that could be uniyer-
sally applied to all plants...
- At press time the company ie-
quested a recess, :
Rate Adjusted ‘in
Bldz, 24 ge
As-a result of a grievance pre-
sented through ‘the Union effect:
ing’ a rate paid for Blectro-Plat-
ing in Bldg. 24, an increase was .
agreed upon, raising the rate from
Arbitration. © Must Prices Rise = |
| When Wages Rise?¢y_ eG
(Continued froin: Page. 2)
operating undex the ancient theory
of “what the, market will bear” on ‘
an item, ‘these: leaders, with auto-
mation now at. their command, can
mass product commodities within
the price range of -all.. They ean
still derive respectable profits by
operating on. an increased volume
basis rather than an individual unit
basis, Ys
One thing for sure:-this present: -
“pay and pass on” technique used
by the companies cannot go on for-
ever, The customer, who at pres-
ent, has no voice in the price he
pays, will finally rebel. Ata point om -
where it really hurts his pocket-l) |
book he will refuse to buy and no
amount of long’term credit financ-
“ ing schemes will change his mind.
That. day will be a-sad one for all
Z ENSIONun Z
ASECOND |. :
| LIEOTENANT
GT
thted » Labor. Foaturon
184.to 1.98%, retroactive to June __
“Te
The operator affected was Walter
Ramsey. The Union committee that
handled the ease was Joseph Droz-
dowski, Frank Sisto and William
Mastriani,
w
ARS Bn, ‘
Executive: A Nan wit
TALIS TO VISITORS SO THAT
THE OTHER“EMPLOYEES CAN | |
| GET THEIR WORK DONE,
+o cero rm eerie MANERA RSA TAR SRSA REREAD
sVol. 2 == No. 27
The Voice of GE Workers, Local 301, Schenectady,\N.-¥:
» August. 10, 1956
At a meeting last Tuesday called by: A. C, Stevens, Man-
ager of Community Relations, the officers of IUE-CIO: Local
301 were notified by the company representatives that they
demanded a statement from the union, to the effect that all
resistance to any changes made by the company would not be
opposed. by the members or the leaders: of the union, in ‘an
effort whereby the company could compete with the new
General Electric’ plants in other parts of the country.’
-. Mr, Stevens, speaking for the.local. management, said the
Schenectady plant’s position is not good compared to the
operating advantages of the new plants and this would dis-
courage the top officials of .the company to invest more ‘money
in the Schenectady location. aes
He went.on to say the North Eastern part of the U. S.
ith taxes on employers being so high and, of course, the wage
“levels are’ the highest in the nation. ° ‘
. ( Wee a tough area for competition, particularly New York state
Stevens specifically noted:
I, Earnings are a problem in old plants such as Schenectady.
Incentive workers on lower skilled jobs make more than is
_justified compared to higher: skilled jobs. Our B.W. sys-
tem is. outmoded. _
We have controlled output in Schenectady. He was-asked
what the meaning of this'was. Me explained that 8 hours
pay was earned in 5 hours. :
“ Besisiatel to any changes in methods,»
ment.
ing, job assign-
Union shop. stewards ‘are raising so much hell the fore
men are atraid to do their jobs properly. -
Noon time, meetings are not informative, they are inflam-
matory and. designed to stir up trouble. - Ss
Efforts to settle disputes at foreman’s level is hopeless.
Stoppages are condoned by union representatives because
shop stewards, executive beard: members’ and -officers
participate. :
Stevens said this can ‘hot continue much longer; because:
the.plant was not making any progress. .He was taking a new.
approach by informing.the community. and public about, the .
=. company's problems. | :
: _°. The union representatives advised Mr. Stevens. that they
completely disagreed with the facts presented in his 6° point
program, and moreover, the- union representatives said they °
oe surprised to hear such a complete change of attitude .on
Lee,
e part of local management and such a change must be the
result of Mr. Stevens and other key management people at-
tending the new General Electric school-at Croton, New York. '
. Leo Jandreau, Business agent, pointed out.to Mr. Stevens
that the responsibility of good ‘labor relations.was not a one
-way street, the management had equal responsibility with the
‘union. He went’on to say that representatives of management,
foremen, wage rate and department heads would have to be
taught to respect the right and wages of the employees’ in
order to accomplish-a mutual respect for one another.” “7 ~~
Mr. Stevens was'asked whether he expected Schenectady
to compete with new and unorganized shops such as Roanoke,
- Va., Shelbyville, Ind., Waynesboro, Va,, and Jonesboro, Ark,
where General Electric-has déliberately located new plants
(Continued on Page 2)
Stevens Demands Union Statement on Sto
ppages
Good Labor Relations Call for
Equal Responsibility
As a,result of the stoppage in the Turbine Department
last week, the local’G.E. management charged-the Union lead-
ership with being irresponsible.
Mr. A.C, Stevens, who is
Manager of Community Relations, lashed out in paid ads in.
the public press as well as in letters to: the professional and.
business people of Schenectady,
claiming’ the Union “and its
leadership were threatening the welfare of ‘our “community
by causing stoppages.
The Facts On
Turbine Stoppage
On-July 23rd, a new em-
ployeé was hired and ‘placed-
on Large Layout which car-
ries a job rate of $2.69!:, per
hour—day work. He was
hired through the Employ-
ment Office as a, Boring’ Mill
Operator;
partment claimed there were
no “openings on Boring Mill
and he was given the layout
job. : * ;
The Contract requires the Con-
pany to pay i experienced man?
on at given oecupation a’ starting
rate of not less than two steps be-
low the job rate and the job rate
to be patd within @ nvonths, ‘There-
fore, the new man received a stirt-
ing rate of $2.65 per hour even
though he was hired as ‘a Boring’
Mill hand. ; ; ;
On July. 23, Exceutive Board
Member Couns, third: shift, pre-
sented a complaint to Night Sue
perintendent ~“Mollicone saying
there were employees with service
who could qualify for’ the higher
rated job. On July 24, Supt. Mol-
licone notified Executive Board
Member Coons thut nothing could
“bo done about it, On July 30th, at
au committee meeting ° betiveen
Bourd Menibers frorit Turbine and |
tcpresentatives” of Turbine man=
wement the Union protested ‘the
filling of the high rated job by a
hew employee. The management
representatives notified the Union
(Continued on Page 8)
however, the de--
The ‘responsibility of stoppages
helongs to the Union, says Mr.
Stevens. In faét, says Stevens, the
Union is planning to pull a plant.
wide strike and ‘the. Company and
the community will be the vietims.
This propaganda may have its des -
signer, effects upon people: in our
community whe do not work for
General Klectrie and*it is intended?
to mould publie opinion in an anti-
Union fashion” in order thet they
public will he conditioned for fue.
ture actions by General Kloet
Management « that” cause laber
trouble, “
The cnuse of any local labor dis-
pute arises. from a disagreement
hetweon a GLE. employee and wG.k,
foreman. ‘The Union’ tn, Sechenec-
tady is composed of all GE. face °”
tory employees and their ‘leaders
whom they elect to negotiate these
disputes unde acct of rules ‘pro-
vided for in our National Agro:
ment. The responsibilities: of both’
sides ure tested when. a -evievanee
comes before, theserepresentatives, *
Waving the rules at. one another
does not settle the ease. Mr. Stev-
ens, who has been relieved of the’
iuthority to settle disputes in a
department, is not making any °
contribution towards good’ labor
relations by paying lip service
through the local GE, propaganda
machine by letting his imagination
influence his statement as to what
taused the trouble. Ita loyal’ Gk.
employee ‘with service and a good -
_ tecord, who-has not exhausted his
potenti ability to do a higher
class of work which will give him
iu better ‘standard of living, is de-
nied this opportunity and it is giv.
“en to outside ‘people who have
(Continued on. Page «ly.
URS
MR STEM
res
ea EES OITA ER
THe Lecat CorNER
(A Column Written by Leon Novak‘of Novak & Diamond,
_Attorneys)
Important Changes in Social Security Law
Affect Many Workers |
The new umendments to the So-
cial Security Law have been signed
by the President and will take ef-
fect on the dates set for the
changes by the Congress,
The’ most important of” these
changes gives women the right to
retire at age 62 instead of waiting
until they are .65. However, not
all women who retire at age 62 in-
_ stead of 65 will receive maximum
‘benefits at the carliet retirement
age. Widows at age 62 will be
‘able ‘to. receive full “benefits but
working women and the wives of
retired men wil collect only a re-:
duced amount. For example, work-
- ing women will receive oniy 8067
of the maximum wand the wives of
retired jivien will receive 75% of
the maximum. ‘ Co
Working. women and -the wives
of retired men, who continue to
work after are 62 can still retire
before reaching. 66 and will) res",
ceive an increased pereentage up- |
“con
retirement for every month
worked after 62... -
~Payments for women who re-
tire under age 65 cannot begin be~
fore Noveinber 1, 1956. These
women can make application at
any time’ without. loss of benefits
right up to November 1,°1957 and
thelr payments will be. due them
_ retroactively to November Ist,
1956. . :
Another important. class of
worker brought under the benefits
of the Social Security Law is. the
disabled. worker His: benefits as a
disabled worker will start after
duly 1, 1957 and, if he is substan.
. tially disabled he can receive such
payments starting at age 50. Ap-
plications for these benefits which
will start in. 1957; can’ be made
“alter October Ist. of this. yearn .
Another .cluss affected by the
“new changes, ineludes. eértain des.
pendent mothers, Up to.now, a de-
pendent mother, tinder 65 years of"
e age, was entitled to benefits until
* the youhgest child msiched 18, at
which time her ‘benefits came tot
stop. Today, « mother who has a
disabled child over18 years of age
will continue to receive benefits.
‘Application for these payinents
“in be made starting in October.
Other changes in the Social Se:
eeurity. Law will) be -diseussed in
fulure articles.
~ It Pays to Belong
tot e Union
GE's Progress
Proposes Wage _—
Reductions :
“Draogeress is Our Most Impor- -
tant Produet”, says G.E. — even
when jt results in) price cuts, and
lower \wiges, says Turbine Depurt-
ment heads, oo ;
This isthe cuse ufecting Field
and Armature Winders in Bldg.
278 ‘The Company introduced a
new insulation called. “Polyester”
which repluced Mica insulation
The actual time required in using. |
the new material is exactly the
same as the old. Asjob that. for-
merly paid $142.00° to make came
out with a price of $67.00,;.with the
foreman saying’ take it or leave it
The group is composed of most-
‘ly long’ service,-people while the’
job is.a highly skilled one carrying .
oan AER. of $2.56 per hour with
‘earnings averaging approximately
“$8.99 per hour, The Turbine man-
agement: siys it-is a -change of
method: which entitles them to a
chihge in price. They propose to :
time*study the whole. job.and take
advantage of. the efficiency the
Winders have obtained over’ the
years’ which compensates. them
over and above the normal incen-.
tive job rates, The Winders stopped
work in protest to the proposed
wage cut which was ordered to go
into effect on Monday, July 30th.
The Union leaders prevailed on the
amen to return to work and a meet-
ing “was: arranged with. avermg’
uarnings paid to the Winders while
discussions continue on the griey-
ance, L mae
This is another example ofeawhy
there are work stoppages. The
vause of the trouble is quite obvi-
ous — a reed-for more profit ‘at
the expense of-the workers, GEL
Inanagement then creates a-smoke
sereen -to. hide these tactics’ from
the publie by charging the Union
leadership with fomenting labor
trouble, With tricky slogans, such
as’“Progress is Our Most Tinpar-
tanit: Product”, «
standard of diving.
| Westinghouse Strikers |
Vindicated by Arbi
On Stoppages
(Continued
‘Stevens Demands Union Statement
from, Page 1),
and where the community wage rates are among the lowest
in the country. *
.! The management's reply to this question was neither clear
nor specific. Mr. Stevens continued to press for a statement,
from the union on its responsibilities.
Leo Jandreau replied that such a statement must include
joint responsibility, . Stevens M
the union, covering the company’s position. ;
Jandreau replied he would consider an exchange of letters,
said he would’’send a letter t
and would. parallel the responsibilities that were committed in
such letter by management.
It was the opinion of the officers that the company is-set-
ting out to take advantage.of the community by. threatenin
to iviove work out of Schenectady, and to charge the unio
‘as the cause of it. This is being dorie in hopes that the pro-.
gram of’ reduction of cost fo
will be a success.
country as a goal for GE ma
cost ‘of production is certainl
It proves the lie-behind the tri
‘Progress is our most important
un
- of General Electrie suchas: ‘
product”, ‘What is good for GE is-good for our country’.
r the purpose of “more profit”
The setting up of. the lowest, standards of living in our
nagement to compare. rates and
y.moving ‘the clock backwards.
ckery and well publicized stories:
If the program outlined by Mr: Stevens succeeds, it will.
of our community and damage .
curtail the purchasing power
4
the prosperity that Schenectady and the surrounding areas
have enjoyed over the years. True progress niust bring with
it greater security to the working people and an increasing
trator
‘The final issue of the 156-day strike by the Electrical
Workers against Westinghouse has just. been resolved by an
arbitrator who set aside or m
firm on 35, strikers.
“The arbitrator, William E. Sim-
kin’of Philadelphia, ordered 20 out
of 25 discharged workers restored
to their jobs and either completely
wliminated or reduced . suspension
periods for six out of 10 others.
1UE Pres, James B. Carey de-
seribed Simkin’s , auction as “a severe
rebuke to the -company’s attitude
of vindictiveness toward strikers.”
The question of 97 discharges
loomed, important’ in’ settling“ the
strike which ran Irom Oct. 17, 1955,
to Mar, 20. When .the strike was
ehded the, company had backed
down on 61 discharges and agreed
to arbitrate the remainder after
veclussifying them as indefinite
suspensions. ;
Simkin held Westinghouse re-
sponsible .for much ef the strike:
trouble through its back-to-work
movements which failed. He said
in part:
“It is almost a maxim of labor
relations that a real threat to a
union’s continued existence — will
bring forth all possible legal eoun-
ter-meusures on the part of the
union and its most active members.
. &Moreover, te) aun be “predicted
With almost equal certainty: that
most, acts: will ‘Mop over’ the bor.
derline of legality if the threat
‘persists over-a periad of time,”
odified
National UE.
Reports Gains ©
In New Members
penalties iniposed by the
Secretary-Treasurer Al recut)
raported to the General Executiy
’ Board at its’ last meeting. held off
July 15, that in the past 3° months
15,200 new members have joined
the 1UE, The total new members
“duvelve 191 new bargaining units.
Kighteen of the victories: were °
won through Labor Board elections
while .173 of the units came into .
‘the TUE through the’ process, of
: (Continued. on Page 4)
A
a
“Record of Hospital MIM Payroll _ Current Events |
"), The Union will be obliged by the
‘first of the year to notify the Com-
pany as to whether the Compre-
hensive) or Corridor
covers each bargaining unit.
- We have provided forms to the
Shop Stewards -for the purpose of
having the members who” have
used the hospital insurance give us
information on how much of, the
vost they were obliged: to pay
themselves and what portion of the
“pxpense. wits paid by the Insurance
“Company,
Recently we
anesthesia’ was not ineluded in
hospital services. This was’ a
separate: bill given to! the ‘patient
cby,a doctor to be paid to him di-
’ Syeetly. ‘This charge falls definitely
found
» within the allowances provided for
in both plans as hospital chargés
and should not: be. considered is
pirt of the Typé B expenses or
medical expense.
Families: that have ‘other gitoup
coverage ure another problem
which has not been satisfactorily
-vleared up. As it stands at pres-
nt, if the wife ot husband has in-
Suranee through employment with
another employer, they will not be.
paid by G.E. Insurance untib all
other benefits have been exhausted.
In this instance the Union should
he consulted inasmuch as the cost
of dual coverage ‘is high for the
henefits you are entitled to. =~
If the Union recelves-this infor-
‘mation, we will be in a position to
advise “the members son what
changes to make; likewise, we will
be in-a-position to recommend the
hest plan based on experience by
the end. of the yeu ‘The Insur-
anee Plans are new and. informua-
tion received from the members
é } lead to necessary changes in
A * a
q
é plan,
| Executive Board ©
MEETING
Monday, Aug. 13th
‘7:30 P.M.
UNION HEADQUARTERS
121 Erie Blvd.
Insurance’
Plans will be the one plan: that,
out, that:
P Cost Needed © Fouled Up —
Joe Koral says, “What's going
on in Payroll, I have been short in
my pay for the last 5 weeks. “I’m
standing in line each week trying
to get: my wages paid properly”.
Joe said there are plenty of
other MIM employees in the same
boat. ‘He said he was notified two
weeks in advance what his vaca-
tion pay would be, but, when he re-
ceived his pay the week -he was to
get his vaeation pay, it was not
there: vos ;
- This. has, caused a. lot of lost
time ‘with MIM’ employees stand-
ing ‘around to get. the record
straightened out and then going to
Bldg, 41 for a cash advance. Joe
sitid he-noticed ‘the Company did
not. mention: the ‘stoppage ‘of work
and lost’ time involved over: this
“situation in ‘their “extended,” pub-
licity. program to the community,
Some, workers have been. forced ‘to °
go over the weekend without pay.
As | See lt
by CHARLES SCOTT
Asst. Business Agent
In reviewing a few of the many
vases Chat are referred to me for
the purpose of arranging negotia-
“tion meetings on the managenient
livel of the grievance procedure, I
ean /see thes reasons why individ-
uals and groups of -workers lose
their patience with Company rep-
‘resentatives while in. the process
of. settling complaints on the job.
For_example —
: BLDG. 66
Observing the type of cases. that
provoke thes most trouble among
sour members, [ find that they are
snot those that are of national im-
portance but more personal in nas
ture.’ In the Welded Products Sub-
Seetion of the LM&G@ Division, - SLaay D
Bhlg. #278, there issn pioblem of.
Docket #6005-56 las. caused unrest
uninng the employees of Bldg. 66,
This is a case of an assembly; price
that-came out-originally for $82.90,
After u& complaint by an Assem-
bler, it was paised to $385.00. He
‘did the job under protest, The next
‘time the job was to be assembled,
ow diferent. man was given the job
“nid he and his steward went over
a breakdown of the job and super.
vision raised the price to $3990.
The Assembler protested and said,
a fair price would be $43.90. Three:
medtings’ were then held between
the .Assembler, _ Shop Steward,
Board) Member and’ supervision,
with our members asking for
either the price adjustment or a
» time study to prove to supervision
that the $39.90 was low, To: date,
suporvision has refused to cither’
“raise the priceto the amount asked
or time study the Stator rane in-
volvect even, though there is no
Piece Rate Table to cover this type
of Stator Frame, ,
From My Section
hy ALLEN TOWNSEND
Asst. Business Agent
In the local, press during the
past week G.E. has spent large
_sums of money trying to convince
the people that. there is’ a conspir-
acy afoot to strike the plant. .
However, the trouble in the plant
is caused jinvariably by the Com-
pany. as in. the following case in
which the Company took a posi-
tion so ridiculous. that it would
seem, that they are deliberately
trying to foment trouble. a
“L-Awill cite as ‘an example Docket
#5859-50 filed ‘by Board Member
McLean of .CART, This case re-
quested that a "test job be raised
toa higher rate due to the skill
‘ yequired on the job.
discussion the Company agreed to
split up this job and upgrade the
. better part of it with a two step
increase, There .weré two men
working on the job: Berniege with
fifteen years of-serviee, who signed .
the original docket asking for the
inereasé. in rate, and another man
with, one and a half years of serv-
ice. Berniege has every qualifica-
tion todo the better part of ‘the
job. which he had been doing up
until the time the docket was filed:
however, the Company, ‘true to
their attitude of -making trouble,
upgraded the man with one and a
half years of serviee.. When the
Union Committee protested © to
“Foreman Honan and. asked him.
“why the shorter service man was
upgraded, -he replied that service
did not mean’a thing to-him in up- -
“grading and that all he was in-°
terested in was ability. This is a
eolossal example of the Company
deliberately making: trouble.
‘BLDG, 27
In the Steam Turbine Division,
pricing welding in. Shop -Stewaid
Thomas’ group that is of ‘long
stunding, This case has been filed
under Dueket #5950-56. The pric«
ing method used on the welding: of
the Brackets, Mlbows, Valves, ete.,’
is 08 a cubic inch for all avelds.
Our position is that if a job -has
much overhead and vertical .weld-
ing, the 08 & cubic inch price -is
vory inadequate, There is-no spe-
cial compensation, for — diffieult
welding, such as vertical volume-
_tries where, there are, only inches
between the supports to he welded.
We do not believe that.a flat rate
ean be used for pricing: of All Po-
sition and including Contoum Weld-
ing. The Stewards and Welders
have. been meeting periodically
with ‘supervision to. try to obtain
a fait pricing table which will en-.
able the men to maintain their rate
of earnings. To date, there has
not been-a satisfactory solution to
this problem,
After much, -
Cost of Living
Index Pays Off
_ More than 100,000 G.E. workers
covered by the National IUE Con-
tract will, receive increases rang- °
ing from 1%e to 2%ée per hour as
the result of the Cost of Living
Provision in the Contract. This
eost of living increase is over and __
above a.-wage increase of 39 —
which employees will receive on
September 15, next month, which
‘is also provided for in’ the Con
tract. ah
Under the “August 1955 Agree-
ment, for each half percent that the
Bureau of Labor Statistics Cost of
Living .Index rises over a base
figure of 1144.9 G.E. employees
would receive a half percent in-
“erease in wages. The July index
hy the U. S. Labor Departinent
was, $16.2,
vides that if the ‘cost of. living
falls below the base figure of
114.9, the employees would: lose
- only the cost of living increases
which they previously received.
The. 5-year Agreement provides
Sep increase in “rates but not less
than 4tge per hour hext month, on
September 15, and also next year,
September 15, 1957. ‘Fhe following
two years the percentage increase
woos up to°8.489e"and 8.46% re-
spectively, but not. les sthan Ge
per hour, 5 §
The Facts On
Turbine Stoppage
(Continued from Page 1) °
ut this time they would hire new
‘people from the gate at.any time
they thought they “needed them.
The third shift stopped work spon-
-tancgusly that night; the following
two days the Turbine employees
refused >to work. Work was re~
-ssumed on’ Thursday, August 2, as
a "result ‘ofthe Union leadership ,
insisting: they start work. oo
On August 2, a Union committee
met with management inv an ate
tempt to resolve the dispute, “A
management representative claim-
- ed that if they can obtain people
“with the necessary skills from the,.«~
outside, they would hire them, In
the past it was a practi¢e to up-
grade employees from lagging and
amall layout jobs. Approximately
threes long service day shift work-
ers were offered the chance to fill:
the opening on 8rd shift; however,
no 2nd or Bed shift employees were
approached. ‘The case was referred
to the New York level of the griev-
ance procedure.
The Local Union has notified the
Company of their willingness to
meet to resolve the dispute.
Similar cases, affecting Boring:
Mills had been processed weeks
prior to this latest incident; there-
fore, the issue involved was not a
new one,
The Contract also pro- ~
