LOCAL. PROGRAM
~~ In Schenectady and Schenectady County, it means:
1. Reduce the outrageously high assessments and taxes on small home-owners
by placing the proper tax load on big industry, such as the General Electric, Ameri-
can Locomotive, etc. . us
2. Join with other. municipalities in insisting that the State Legislature assist the
municipalities out of the State surplus — and that means, specifically, for education
and teachers’ salaries.
3. Approach all civic improvements -~ including the Town of Tomorrow — with
the view that they must not increase the tax load on home-owners, but that on the
contrary, the tax load on home-owners must be reduced. .
4. Repeal the anti-sound truck ordinance and guard against any other infringe-
ment of civil liberties. :
5. Increase the pay of city and county employees to meet the rise in cost of |
living and also to meet the union standards established throughout the area in pri-
vate industry.
6. Develop immediate self-supporting municipal housing programs in Sche-
nectady. .
7. Establish a working program to unite the many races, creeds, and national
groups of our city, through a city ordinance forbidding discrimination in’private and
public employment or otherwise by reason of sex, age, creed, race, color or national
origin, and to make sure that all municipal and county appointments are made on the
basis of merit rather than political. influence.
8. Protect our children through increased parks and playgrounds and child
care centers — so that mothers who find it necessary to work may have their child-
ren under proper care and guidance.
9. Use the influence of municipal government to fight anti-labor legislation in
Albany and Washington and to advance the cause of working people in their efforts
to raise their living standards, whenever the occasion arises.
ILECTRICAL
THE VOICE OF LOCAL 301 - - - UER&MWA - » - GLO.
Vol: 5 — No. 33
SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK
September 5, 1947
Preparing to Report on Job Rates Stewards Urge
A session of the Job Evaluation committ
ee of the Executive Board. Left to right,
James Cognetta, Victor Pasche, assistant to the business agent, assigned to work
with the committee, Anthony Villano,
Mary McCartin, Alfred Pelrah, Eugene
LeMoine and William Templeton, alternate. Four members, pictured below, were
not on hand for the group photograph. George Judway, Michael Tedisco and Charles
Ferris were on vacation and William Stewart was called away to méet his Turbine
Division stewards. ‘The committee’s report is scheduled to be presented to the
Sept. 16 membership meeting of 301. Se
Judway
Tedisco
Veterans' Center
The 801 Veterans’ Center is open from
1 to 5 pm. every Tuesday and Friday
at 801 Liberty St. a: ;
e story on page 4.
‘Burnison Pays Visit
To Turbine Division
After flatly refusing the union's de-
mand for a straight eight hour day in
the Turbine Division, James Burnison, '
representing top .management, paid a
surprise visit Wednesday to the Turbine
section of the plant. With him was
James Reed of the local management.
They visited Bldg. 60 where workers
are indignant both over the carboloy tool
speed-up and the newly installed 7%4-
hour day. When this week’s issue of EU
News went to press there had been no ,
official comment on the inspection tour.
Turbine workers are standing united
and firm in their determination to work
no overtime until the company grants
their demand for an eight hour day.
Special meetings, held by all three shifts
of Turbine workers at the union hall
last week, voted solid support of the no
- overtime work policy until the short
shift is ended, a
Leo Jandreau, business agent, report-
ed to the Turbine workers that Burnison
refused to make any concession to the
union’s demand on the work schedule
matter at a meeting last week in New
York City.
Burnison claimed that people were sat-
isfied with the 744-hour day and that
/ "(Continued on Page 3) ;
Special Session
For GE Locals
The meeting of the Stewards’ Council
Tuesday voted’to urge the national UE
officer's to call a special conference of GE
locals “to plan concerted action to meet
the company drive against its workers.”
The recommendation for the national
conference was part of a resolution
adopted condemning the General Elec-
trie Company for firing three women
workers at the East Boston Lamp Plant
and holding the threat of firing over 41
others “because of their inability to work
under conditions-of intolerable heat and
humidity.”
‘Schenectady workers also have felt the
company’s “vicious attitude toward its
loyees and their union,” the resolu-
tion ‘stated,
In reference to the East Boston affair,
the stewards said:
GE Attitude Hard-Boiled ‘
“The company's hard-boiled attitude,
its indifference to the welfare of its em-
ployees, was shown not only in the fir-
ings, but also in its refusal to allow hun-
dreds of other workers at the East Bos-
ton Lamp Plant to go home when other
plants and offices in the area, including
the state offices, had closed because of
the impossible heat,”
The rest of the-resolution stated:,
“The company’s action in East. Boston
is the worst in a series of acticns show-
ing its recent vicious attitude toward its
employees and their union. We have felt
this attitude here in the great difficulty
in settling legitimate grievances. We
have felt it particularly in such actions
as the company’s establishment of the
74-hour shift in Turbine, its general
speed-up drive, and its recent threat
against a steward over the lunch hour
discussions of his group.
Company Attacks Union
“It is evident that under the direction
of Charles I. Wilson, the supervision of
General Electric is engaged in a drive
against the basic rights of General] Blec-
tric workers and against their union, the «-
- UE-CIO:
(Continued on Page 4)
Officers Broadcast.
Labor Day Message
President Andrew Peterson, Vice-Pres-
ident William Hodges and Recording
Secretary Helen Quirini took part with
Milo Lathrop in the Labor Day broadcast
of Local 301 over WSNY.
Sister Quirini pointed out that the
Taft-Hartley law “demands that em-
ployers and unions shall discriminate
against workers because of their politi-
cal beliefs.” She said the sponsors of
the act “‘want us to begin to fight among
ourselves, to weaken our organizations, ©
so they can rule ‘all of us in the inter-
ests of the few.”
Brother Hodges declared, “Some pow-
erful groups in America take a look at
the future and are afraid. We are not
afraid of more democracy. That's what
we want. Those scared ones — who
passed the Taft-Hartley law — wrote
into the law a provision which attempts
to prevent working people from organiz-
ing to undo the damage which Congress
has done. They have passed a law to
keep the working people out of politics.”
Brother Peterson quoted the famous
speech President Franklin D. Roose-
velt made. in 1944 to the Teamsters
Union.
Union Representatives Attend
Meeting of Traffic Committee
Helen Quirini and Willard Kuschel
represented 801 Wednesday at the meet-
ing of the city-wide traffic committee
established through the initiative of the
local. The Transport Workers, Local
2054 of the Steelworkers, the Schenec-
tady Railway Co. and the city were rep-
resented, but nobody from GE or ALCO
managements appeared.
Wendell Nelson, assistant to the works
manager of the GE plant, sent word the
company will install two more bus stops
on its property. The bus company -will
re-route shop buses up - Edison and
Veeder to avoid streets congested with
traffic,
ELECTRICAL UNION NEWS
Unirep Evecrricat, Rapio & MacHine
Workers or America, CIO
Sauznzerapy GE Loca 301
age
Published by the Editorial Committee
William Templeton, Chairman
; Mary McCartin, Secretary
Willard Kuschel Victor Pasche
Leland Sisto
Editorial Office - Electrical Union News
301 Liberty St. - Schenectady, N. Y.
"Telephone 3-1386- © :
SCHENECTADY PRINTING GO., ING, |
MUL NtWt URvIEL
Thai's Dillingwell-lHe spends all his
Ly
lunch hours playing’ bess =
Next Membership Session
Will Elect Trial Body
The Sept. 16 membership meeting will
elect a trial committee of nine, under
the constitutional provision, to conduct
the trial of three members of the union
charged with planning a campaign to
discredit Local 801. The Aug. 19 mem-
bership meeting directed the union,
officers to file the charges: against the -
trio, Frank Fiorillo, who calls himself
chairman of the “Democratic Action
Committee”, and Martin Stanton and
C. J. DiGirolamo, stewards in Bldg. 69.
Pros and cons of the case cannot be
argued at. the Sept. 16 meeting. The
only business in connection with the
charges will be the election of the com-
mittee, consisting of the nine members
receiving the highest vote of persons
nominated from the floor. The committee
will make its report and recommend-
ations to the October meeting.
It is charged that the three “jointly
planned a campaign to discredit Local
301 of the UR, its officers and member-
ship, and in furtherance of said cam-
paign did prepare an anti-union state-
ment for newspaper publication, which
appeared in summary form as a news
Board Seeks Arbitration
Of AER Step Rate Case
Following a deadlocked discussion on
the New York level, the Executive Board
“voted to submit to arbitration the com-
~pany’s vefusal to comply with the con-
tract as it affects timing rates on piece
workers’ AERs. :
The contract provides that all AERs
should be set on the same standard step
vatés as stablished tor day” workers.’
The step rates provided increases for
day workers from. 44 cent to 4% cents
an hour, which have already been put
into effect.
However, similar piece work rates
have not been put into effect and com-
plaints from workers in Bldgs. 14, 49 and
60 were filed.
Business Agent Leo Jandveau report-
ed that a session last week with James
Burnison brought no satisfaction.
301 on Air
Turn on your radio at 7:15 p.m. every
Monday to hear the Local, 801 program
over WSNY. —
item in the Schenectady Gazette on Aug.
5, 1947, and enpaged in other anti-union
-activities.”
September: 5, 1947
ELECTRICAL UNION .NEWS
Carey-Block Clique
Vote Fraud Exposed
Despite an effort to elect Carey-Block
followers as delegates to the national
UE convention by a fraudulent vote,
nine pro-UE delegates have been chosen
by the big. Westinghouse local, 601, at
Pittsburgh, Pa. .
The election committee consisted of
nine members of whom five were mem-
bers of the Carey-Block clique or sym-
pathetic to it. The first count was an-
nounced as showing five pro-UE and
four Carey-Block delegates elected, It’
was later revealed that’ Harvey Koontz,
chairman of the committee, a member
of the Carey-Block group, had called the
results from the ballots for over two
hours during the count without anyone
checking on his’ accuracy.
Chairman Koontz defied an Executive.
Board order to haveca recount. The local
president had to goto court to get an
order to turn the ‘Ballots over to the
control ‘of the local. Newspapers an-
nounced that Harry Block went to Pitts-
burgh personally to advise his clique on
strategy in the ballot case. :
When the recount finally took place, it
showed that all nine delegates elected
were pro-UE delegates and that every
Carey-Block candidate was defeated.
The figures showed that the nine pro-
UE candidates had had from 100 to 135°
votes stolen from them and that the four
Carey-Block candidates first declared
elected had been handed from 16 to 72
votes which were not cast for them.
President Thomas J. Fitzpatrick of
District 6 sent the facts about the elec-
tion to all locals, because newspaper
icity was so distorted. :
He Falls Off Ladder;
Gets Warning Notice
‘An electrician working for V. Li Hoppe
on test maintenance, Bldg. 11, fell off a
ladder Aug. 28 when he was seven feet
from the ground. His throat was cut in
the accident and his’arm bruised and he
was treated at the works’ hospital.
Next afternoon he received a warning
notice (for being unsafe). Unfortunately
he signed the warning notice and now
he’s plenty worried.
Giving a warning notice under. such
circumstances is something new, but
foremen are making a policy now of
_ Sprinkling the notices around. This in-
cident makes it timely to remind mem-
bers not to sign warning notices. They
aren’t required to sign them and the
union doesn’t recognize notices as having
any authority,
All September Meetings
Outside Working Hours
The Executive Board voted re-
cently that all meetings of the un-
ion, its committees, the Board it-
self'and the Stewards’ Council dur-
ing September should be held out-
side of working hours:
“The purpose is to save the cost
of lost time and help build the
treasury, in view of the Taft-Hart-
ley law and increasing difficulties
in our relation with the GE”, Leo
Jandreau, business agent, said in a
letter to all stewards.
First shift stewards met at 7:30
pm. Tuesday for their monthly
session and second shift stewards
met at 1 p.m. the same day. Third
shift stewards could attend either
meeting. The agenda was the same -
at both meetings and votes taken
on any issue in the afternoon were
added to those taken at night.
Burnison Pays Visit
To Turbine. Division
» (Continued from Page 1)
overtime is being’ worked whenever re-
quested, i
“T told him he was getting misinfor-
mation from the Schenectady manage-
ment,” Jandreau declared.
The Turbine workers at their meetings
branded as untrue the management
claims about overtime being worked.
The: expressed indignation about this
kind of rumor spreading on the part of
management. The meeting of third shift
workers repudiated a rumor that work-
ers on that shift were accepting over-
time, They stand side by side with the
other shifts, they made it clear, in hold-
ing the line in this union fight.
The three meetings of Turbine work-
‘ers netted only three votes against the
no overtime policy, out of hundreds of
members attending. Board Member
William Stewart presided at the meet-
ings. 7
a
IS THE MAN NEXT TO YOU
A UNION MEMBER?
100 Per Cent PAC
Steward Donald Siskind, third
shift, has collected PAC dollar con-
tributions from his whole varnish
group in Bldgs. 67, 71, 75 and 79.
ie is in Board Member Alfred
Pelrah’s section.
Peterson Hits:GE
Grievance Policy
The General Electric Company is say-
ing “No” to all grievances involving re-
quests which would increase costs,
President Andrew Peterson told the 301
shop stewards’ meeting Tuesday.
The request of a worker who is getting
his job rate for an increase is regarded
- by the company as a bid for an increase
in job rate and in ‘cost.
Because of the company attitude, the
‘union is now processing to New York
City only cases involving violation of
contract..Increased efforts must be made
to settle other grievances right here in
Schenectady, Peterson declared.
“Even on grievances involving con-
tract violations,” he charged, “the com-
pany in general says ‘No’, regardless of
the merit of the cases.”
He cited the East Boston plant firings,
the 7% hour work shift arbitrarily im-
posed on Turbine workers in Schenec-
“tady, and other instances.
“Part of the company’s anti-union at-
titude is its refusal to arbitrate. It has
openly announced it won’t arbitrate any
case involving cost.-This is a violation
of the contract.” - ;
Union Passport
A 301 check-off card was the only
thing that saved Nicholas Camiunale of
Bldg. 77 trom an enforced stay in Can-
ada on his recent visit there. When he
got to Rouse’s Point he found he had
lost his wallet containing his various
papers. But tucked away in another
pocket was his latest 801 check-off card.
The immigration officials accepted it as
proof of his identity and he came back
home. z
Written Grievance Did Ht
When seven girls on the night shift in
Bldg. 60 were kept waiting two hours for
materials recently, they were paid only
orie hour waiting time. Steward Mary
Skrocki tried to reason with Foreman
John Dickson on the basis of the con-
tract, but he said it would be one hour,
and that was that. The next night she
handed him a written grievance, citing
chapter and verse. The seven girls got
their waiting time vouchers without fur-
ther word.
Appointed for Chest Drive
The Executive Board has named Vice-
president William Hodges to represent
Local 801 in the Schenectady Commun-
‘ity Chest campaign. He will confer with
GE management on plans for the drive.
:
Any
betes
