IUE-CIO News, 1951 March 29

Pa ses a mem neal tO ee tte mien Be Caste epee

“IN UNION
THERE IS
STRENGTH”

Volume I No. 2 March 29, 1951

‘THE GREAT HAM ACTORS ARE AT WORK ?

Simei.

The UE's statement that it will seck
a 32-cent per hour raise"for GE workers
is the. greatest piece of ham-acting GE
workers have seen since the days of ‘the
$500 package.- i

If this were a serious demand on the
part of UE, why was it that the local
UE leader said the demand would be 25
cents per hour, while a spokesman for
the international quoted the 32-cent
demand? If it were a serious demand,

wouldn’t both local and international .

people know the exact figure, and give
the same figure to the newspaper?

The common sense of GE workers will
tell them that this piece of melodrama
eas been designed by. UE to confuse
ay Jad disunite the workers. ‘UE’s record
in reeent years proves this. In 1948. and
1949, UE won ab-olutely nothing for GE
workers, Through the efforts of IUE-
CIO, GE workers “received a 10-cent per
hour increase in 1950, and those under
IUE-CIO contract are guaranteed an
eight to 10-cent. per hour increase as of
March 15, 1951.

APPARENTLY Uf IS MAKING ITS
DEMAND SO PREPOSTEROUS THAT

WHILE IUE- c 10 NEGOTIATES
THIS SUMMER, UE WILL BE DOING
NOTHING FOR GE WORKERS, BE-
CAUSE UE RENDERED ITSELF USE-
LESS BY, SELLING OUT GE WORK-
-ERS AND SIGNING A ‘TWO-YEAR
AGREEMENT WITH GE!

THIS IS THE POINT THAT UE IS

-ATEMPTING TO HIDE WITH ITS’

FAR-FETCHED DEMAND FOR. A 32
CENT PER HOUR INCREASE,

WHEN ALL GE WORKERS ARE

UNITED IN ONE. STRONG UNION,’
WITH. THE BACKING OF ALL THE.

REST OF ORGANIZED LABOR, SUB-
STANTIAL INCREASES WILL BE AN
ACTUALITY, ME JUST A WILD

DEMAND.

IT’S TIME TO GET RID OF THE
HAM ACTORS, AND GET A UNION
THAT ACTS ONLY IN THE BEST
INTEREST OF HE MEMBERS!

UE-CIO IS THE CHOICE .

OF ERIE GE WORKERS

Of the 35,000 GE workers for whom

“UE let another plant go by default
when it lost an illegal strike in Okland,
California, and GE closed. the plant.

With Schenectady GE workers turning
to IUE-CIO in greater numbers every
day, UE-will soon have nothing left in-
the GE chain but dreams of the distant
past. :

HOW ABOUT THESE
CARDS?

Many people have asked members. of —
the IUE-CIO Organizing Committee just
what signing’ the IUE-CIO card means.

{t means that those who sign want to

~ have an NLRB election held at the GE .

Schenectady Works.

You are not required to pay dues or
initiation fee - - there will be no initiation
fee, and dues will not come until after
IUE-CIO is chosen the bargaining rep-
resentative,

The card is not.a membership card,
but is an application for membership.
GE workers will be given the chance to
sign actual membership and dues check-

If COULD NEVER HOPE TO HAVE
VICTORY, SINCE IT IS A WEAK
AND DISCREDITED ORGANIZATION,
THEN UE WILL ATTEMPT ONCE
AGAIN TO LAY THE BLAME FOR
ITS FAILURE ON THE IUE-CIO!

UE now has the bargaining rights, at off cards after the NLRB election,

least 30,000 of them are in. ihe Schene-. ‘she card will be kept strictly confiden-
ctady and Erie Works. the remaining tial, and will. be shown only to the

“few thousand are se ttered in service National Labor Relations Board. The
shops and small plants throughout the vards will indicate to the Board that a

country, large number of the workers want

ecg
Fo

paca

a

tats

eZ

es

GE. workers. can expect this sequence ©

of events in weéks to come, IUE-CIO

wishes to make its position clear re-.

- garding this matter,

Since May 25, 1950, when IUE-CIO

won the bargaining rights for 65,000
GE workers, the workers have made
gains of 10 cents per how in wages,
improvements in the pension and wel-
fare plans, and improvements in their
“plract, By May 25; 1951, this record
A be improved by another eight to
70- cent per hour wage increase. That
is a good record, in view of the fact that
UE could win nothing in 1948 and 1949,

Besides. this,, IUE-CT0...will. be-at-the-

bargaining table. again this summer,
making improvements in the contract
with GE, and in wages, working con-
ditions, and welfare benefits.

But this by no means: indicates that:

UE has 35,000 dues-paying members in

the GE chain!. In Erie, of the 15,000°

workers eligible for the union, less than
2500, about 20 per cent, belong to UE.

Erie workers believed UE’s lies thit
it would win the majority of GE workers
before last year's election. But the work:

‘ers in Erie aren't swallowing the. UE:

line ‘any longer, They are turning to
IUE-CIO by the thousand, because they
realize the need for a strong union.

And of the -few thousand members
UE had left in small plants, several. hun-

dred have been lost just recently,

The. big. service shop on Long Island

voted UE last year, but workers there
disaffiliated from UE, to join TUE- CIO
just recently,

another election - - want another chance

‘to choose the bargaining agency of their

choice,

GE's Theory on Inflation
General Electric, which has invented
scores of. gadgets, has now inyented a
new economic theory to justify its an-
nounced wage-cutting program, Presi-
dent Carey told a meeting of GE Con-
ference Board in New York City.

G's theory, said Carey, is based on
the discovery that “eating caused in-
flation.” It works this way:

When. workers ‘eat they . reduce the.
available food supply,

Therefore, if patriotic American work=_
ers want to halt -inflation they should
stop eating!

‘alr ntesaraawouresenr sist aunt ate ous AERIS EMI SOROS DM a AR Sense anand banner ana es
- <asnentnit mann tnimetM tert dat we rennin i it wae eft aat he Md cee

IUE
~ ATOMIC WOLKE
OF |

LOCAL. 30f)
3 | x a ae ae es | UNITY IN CIO MBANS HIGHER W.GES |”
UE GOON SQUAD ATTEMPTS > acm TUB=010 nas chartered in Novonbor, 1949, the avores
a aoe — “ . J Pee, wage in the GE chain was $1.4 per hour, » 1949, the average
Tt WE . , ei oa . Today , through the efforts of IUE CIO that — : |
‘ i f, ‘ : : : ’ . 4 - z orage st
TO STOP FREE SPEECH —|__ ex 2 REE BS 2 EO et ero ste
[ty all GH workers under IUE-CIO contract. will bring the hourly

IT STR Say : T CTICS i ae vf ‘average up another eight to 10 cents, .
' \\ Hi N G ARI i ; A er ehee re a a Thus, after thrve years of nothing but promiscs under UE,

HE PPD AEE TA PURE aD AR A OULD
%

"7
A
we
i

marae tener

IUE-CIO NEWS Maret 29, If )

GE worlcrs arc f anally begin ling mak QLNs "
GE Worx ker 68 are under IUE contrac ts ‘ while 8 till ol : -
i 1g Yl ghts flor 3 fe r oC Oo 4 d . UE h ds bargain

SIE TST YE CT theta

LARGE GROUP WITNESSES ae | te iantiy sic _
| a wg! a worker oan een is, unity among all GE workers in CIO, the GE
UE GANG UP ON TUE REPRESENTATIVE : Z : > ab ia CotEataie Lntesteite: tho avupage wages establishod
; SEES UE SUPP RTER HIT WOMAN | _ ma ” Saf 08 “die pilnoem of Labor Statistics figuros show that tho average.

the CIO Steclworkers is $1.86 por hour, a , Aut
“Yorkers, $1,81 per hour, _ “s and of the auto

setcyemions amie saerst

: : Workers in the stecl a to indi de ada. the
Last Thursday morning, in o disgraceful display of brute strength, the UE showed“how it intends to fight the IUE-CIO organi{ } Ts ie ’ throu gh unity in CLO ¥ nd auto industrics made these gains

ing campaign. -
Workers in the slcetrical industr i g :
; : y suffered because UE
failed to work with the rest of labor, but tk
h the 5 ah 4 ~
this condition is changing, , mongh IUR“GTOs

Having no ‘defense for the failures‘ of the past year, the UE apparently intends:to put fear in the hearts of all GE workers, and
thus prevent them from turning to IUE-CIO to build a .strong union.

What happened last Thursday is this, Allan Waite, a UE supporter, and one of his cohorts stood to the side during the. leaflet
distribution at the Subway Gate, and began hurling insults at a woman who was distributing IUE-CIO literature; The slurs were

of such nature that this newspaper cannot print them. 1. 7 t IUE-CIO COST OF LIVING INCREASES RETROACTIVE TO M.RCH 15
Because of the snow, there were just two IUE-CIO representatives at the gate. Finally, they told the UE supporters to argue oe. . “

the issues of trade unionism, if they insisted on arguing, and stop their attacts on individuals. When they’ persisted, the IUE-CIO
representative did what any man would do under those circumstances. He walked up to Waite and struck at him.

‘The cost of living incrcasc due to GE workers under IUE-CIO
contract will be retroactive to March 15, although the Burcau
} _ ; ; . of Labor Statistics figures on the inercase will not be é
Immediately three more UE goons appeared, and five of them ganged up on one man, Finally, when Waite saw that his companions a until the middle of April, ; &® ready
had pinned the man to the ground, he walked up to the woman and hit her in the mouth with his fist. As soon as this happened, ‘ ;

these UE “gentlemen” got inside the gate as quickly as possible. IUE-CIO has ple dgod itself to try bs win this i
: 3 has god its is increase
for all GE workers, but it is doubtful that. the inerease for

A large group of GE workers witnessed this disgusting spectacle of five men using brute strength against a man and a women
those not under. IVE contract will be retroactive.

in an effort to put ap an iron curtain around the GE plant. It was the second time in two weeks that a-UE “gentleman” had the
courage to hit a women. On March 8, Joe Sococcio pushed and hit one of the women in an effort to knock her leaflets from her

hand. UE apparently feels that women, are easier to insult and beat down than men. Management has claimed that it will attempt to reccive

3 Y ermissi 5 .
UE stooped to this method of preventing free speach when-a petition to stop the IUE-CIO campaign failed completely, The peti- : ; i tte TORE items iy! ines © eae c t a tho cost of : Living
tion was addressed to the General Electric Company, and requested that the company stop the IUE-CIO leaflet distributions, But ‘ oan. fight to win ‘such inero asces for i was vietord ous in its
GE_workers refused to sign the petition in sufficient numbers, because GE workers do helieve in the right of free speach. — eo ; S OF ' its mombcrs.s
Oddly enough, UE has stood by for many long years and watched the Communist Party distribute its venomons anti-American tee ; 4 Previous to . that, GE fought against oost of living increase
literature. UE has not. turned a hand about this situation, because, UE claims, the Communist Party is entitled to exercise ty) ae | RE Wes possible, including using Charles E, Wilson, head of
TC) ean mobilization as thoir tool, ° ; ” e

right of free speech. . .

_ TUE-CIO has made this pledge to GE workers: This union will fight against the strong arm methods of UE asa matter of self- |. S oo TUE-CIO LOG: terara: ie pep. é
defense, whenever it is necessary. And IUE-C1O will fight as long as is necessary to help GE workers build a strong union which qe 3 gh hs , CaL301 WINS RAISE FOR ie

will concern - itself with wage. increases,.not.with insulting women

Atomic Local 301's most rocent victory brought. wago.inereasos

: ° i ; a ee . a cage i . es Bo ‘lé2 mon bringing all those i on : al
We urge that GE. workers have no fear, Basleally, these UE goons are cowards, for only cowards would stoop to. hitting women. mA NgLNE 8 those in the Spru Department at t he
‘ : up to the top of their classification. _ notte

Wo of IUE-CIO challenge UE's goons to fight like men, if they must fight, or not to fight at all.

Ineorcascs ranged from one to three : 3 ‘ :
to Fobruary 26. Bt c Ge TeOps and wore rotoractive

The local is ongaged now in an cffort to wi .
. : in a general
inercase for all wEC workers, above the cost of Living increase
because of tho naturo of the .watkin which they aro ongagod. °