The Butler County press. [volume], April 17, 1936, Image 1

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By A. F.
•fl* M«wa Senrio*.
Washington, D. C.—Joseph B. East
man, federal co-ordinator of trans
portation, recommended to congress
the enactment of a law providing un
employment compensation for ap
proximately 1,504,000 workers in the
railroad, motor, w^ter and air trans
portation industries.
The measure was drafted after a
prolonged study by the labor relations
section of Mr. Eastman's office. It
proposes that unemployment in trans
portation industries shall be on a na
tional instead of a state basis and
would exempt these industries from
the state insurance plans provided un
der the social security act and estab
lish a uniform federal plan.
Unemployment Insurance
Law Urged By Eastman For
All Transportation Employes
According to the Eastman program,
funds for the insurance would be pro
vided by payroll taxes on railroad
companies of 1 per cent in 1936, 2 per
cent in 1937 and 3 per cent in 1938 and
following years. These rates are the
same as those fixed in the federal
social security law enacted by con
gress last year.
Plan Involves 1,564,000 Workers With Maximum Benefit
of $75 Per Month
The insurance or compensation pay
ments under the Eastman measure
would be based on the wage loss prin
oiple. A totally unemployed worker
would receive benefits equal to 50 per
cent of his average earnings up to a
maximum of $75 a month. The aver
age earnings would be determined by
selecting the highest monthly earnings
in each quarter of a year and aver
aging the earnings of the four months
thus selected.
Mr. Eastman pointed out that by
adopting the wage loss principle the
plan would allow a part-time worker
benefits based on a mathematical for
250 St. Louis Tailors
Strike For Higher Pay
St. Louis, Mo. (AFLNS)—Demand
ing a 20 per cent increase in weekly
wages and shorter hours, about 250
members of Journeymen Tailors'
Union, Local No. 11, declared a strike
affecting most of the men's clothing
stores and some smaller independent
shops. The clothing departments in
the large department stores were not
immediately affected, because these
stores, although not operating under
union shop agreements, recently
granted wage increases.
Frank Petera, business agent of the
union, said the tailors now receive an
average of from $18 to $25 a .week,
while the bushelmen, who make al
terations and do minor tailoring work,
get between $18 and $27.50 a week.
Some of the men now work as much
as 52 hours a week, he said. The
union wants a working week of from
40 to 44 hours.
Other union demands mentioned by
Petera included advance notice of dis
missal and prohibition of dismissals
without cause, improved lighting in
most of the shops, and division of work
among all union members so that no
member will be without continuous
employment.
mula. A transportation employe who
normally earns $100 and whose earn
ings were reduced by part time to $40
a month would receive $25 under this
program.
Earnings in excess of $150 a month
would not be considered in the benefit
calculations.
The law would be administered by a
division of transportation unemploy
ment compensation in the Federal So
cial Security Board. The measure
also creates an advisory board com
posed of representatives of employers
and employes.
MAYOR LA GUARBIA'S
COMMITTEE
Finds May's Dept. Store Re
sponsible for Strike
New York, N. Y. (AFLNS)—A
strong report charging the officials
of May's department store in Brook
lyn with responsibility for the strike
there a number of months ago was
made public here by the committee
appointed by Mayor La Guardia to
investigate the walkout. The com
mittee made the progressive recom
mendation "that shoppers of Brook
lyn make their purchases where a
sense of justice controls employment
policies."
According to the report of the com
mittee which was appointed by the
mayor on February 13, after the strike
had been in progress 17 weeks, the
walkout was caused by the discharge
of two store employes, members of
Local 1250 of the Department Store
Workers' Union. The committee's
survey revealed that wages at May's
were at least 30 per cent below the
city-wide average for department
store and retail trade employes.
Weekly wage examples cited were a
$11 .50 average during October, 1935
a $12.97 average during November,
$13.47 in December, and $11.21 last
February.
It was found that part-time em
ployment was the rule rather than the
exception, with only half the em
ployes working full time during last
December. In addition, uncompensated
overtime, deductions for a benevolent
association and unsanitary working
conditions were listed as other abuses
causing dissatisfaction among the em
ployes.
SATURDAY SPECIALS
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Smoked Bacon 22c lb.
Van Camp Milk, tall cans 4 for 25c
The committee was unable to settle
the strike because company officials
refused to reinstate 10 of the strik
ing employes.
The report was signed by the Rev
John Howard Melish, chairman
Christopher C. Mollenhauer, Patrick
Scanlan and Justice Rosalie Loew
Whitney. Will Maslow, of the staff of
Paul Blanshard, commissioner of ac
counts, aided in preparing the find
ings.
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'•0:'
I I IF BUTLER COUNTY PRESS.
VOL. XXXVI. No. 2 HAMILTON, OHIO, FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 1936 ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR
0i! Workers Demand
Two years ago the union first took
its challenge to congress. At that time
President Flemming appeared to ar
gue for embargo, presenting a state
ment in which he was joined by the
American Federation of Labor, the
railroad brotherhoods and other organ
izations. At that time Edward F.
McGrady,"now assistant secretary of
labor, was A. F. of L. legislative
representative.
Face Powerful Opposition
"We know we are facing formidable
opposition," said President Flemming,
"Among the great companies that op
pose embargo are the great Rocke
feller-Mellon-Morgan companies, in
cluding Gulf Oil, American Oil, Con
tinental, Atlantic, Standard, Sun,, and
Texas. Here we have a group that
typifies the whole oligarchy of wealth
in opposition to human welfare and
progress. This is made even clearer
when we know that not a one of these
companies operates under union con
ditions in the United States.
"By and large the union-oper
ated companies either favor em
bargo or they are not opposing
the Disney bill as a minimum pro
tection.
"While American wells, drilled for
the most part under state permis
sion, are being choked back, their un
derlying pools being polluted and lost
forever, we are importing a volume
of production equal to the output of
the state of Kansas, losing about
$11,500,000 annually in wages to
Americans in oil fields and refineries,
in addition to transportation work
that is lost to our own people.
Fat Profits Garnered
"Paying pitiful wages in Vene­
The Battle Is On
GREAT ANTI-UNION OIL COMPANIES
ACCUSED OF GOUGING U. S. PUBLIC
Giant Concerns Import Big Volume of Cheap
Labor Oil From South America, Reaping
Harvest of Profits and Resulting in Huge
Wage Loss to American Workers.
Washington, D. C. (ILNS)—De
mand for absolute embargo on im
ports of petroleum and petroleum
products is to be made by the Inter
national Association of Oil Field, Gas
Well and Refinery Workers, in a hear
ing promised shortly before the house
ways and means committee.
The ways and means committee has
before it the Disney bill for curtail
ment of imports, an excise measure.
"If we cannot secure complete em
bargo we will accept the Disney bill
as a beginning," said President Har
vey Flemming, of the Oil Field Work
ers, "but we want to make it clear
that we demand absolute embargo and
nothing less will be satisfactory."
w
zuela and Colombia, these great
oil companies are selling their im
ported product from American
pumps at filling stations for the
same price they get for domestic
production, taking by that means
another huge gouge out of the
American public. The companies
are winning from two directions,
while the American people lose
from every direction. Big busi
ness is simply up to its old game
and we are asking congress to put
a stop to the game.
"Our information is that a house
majority is friendly to our position.
We intend to find out and we ask la
bor organizatdns throughout the
United States to demand action by
writing letters to congressmen, by
adopting and forwarding resolutions
and by asking other groups to do like
wise. If congress refuses this action
it will be helping no one but the oil
barons and South Amercan tyrants."
Extension of Disputes Act
To All Industry is Sought
Montreal (ILNS)—A petition is in
circulation in the province of Que
bec asking that Dominion industrial
disputes investigation act be amended
to make it applicable to all industries,
Now the act applies to public utilities
and a few other specified industries
Sponsors of the amendment claim
it will enable unorganized workers,
to secure investigation of their griev
ances by an officer of the Dominion
government, or conciliation boards
constituted under the amended act,
and redress of their grievances by
the pressure of an aroused public
opinion.
It does not appear that the trade
unions are impressed by the views set
forth in support of the petition, their
experience being that the pressure of
public opinion is no substitute for
effective organization.
BERRY FORMS LABOR GROUP
TO BACK UP THE PRESIDENT
Washington, W. C. (AFLNS)—Maj
George L. Berry, co-ordinator for in
dustrial co-operation, announced the
formation of a new political organi
zation called "Labor's Non-Partisan
League," designed to mobilize sup
port among the workers for President
Roosevelt in the 1986 campaign.
3
Aosmute
Bar on All Foreign Petroleum
Hopkins Names McDonough
To WPA Labor Policy Board
Washington, D. C. (INLS)—Works
Progress Administrator Harry L.
Hopkins has appointed Michael J.
McDonough as a member of the Labor
Policies Board of the administration,
to succeed James Wilson, of Cincin
nati, resigned.
McDonough, whose home is in San
Francisco, is a member of the Oper
ative Plasterers" International Asso
ciation, w'as for years pi'esident of
the building trades department of the
American Federation of Labor, and is
now its secretary-treasurer.
POLISH POLICE ATTACK
STRIKERS, KILLING
According to reliable reports from
Cracow, Poland, police fired on 20,000
striking workers on March 23, kill
ing six and wounding a large number.
The strikers were marching to the
residence of the provincial governor
to protest the ousting of striking rub
ber workers from a factory in which
they had barricaded themselves.
J.
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C. SHANESSY
Barbers' Union President,
Is Dead
Indianapolis, Ind. (AFLNS)—James
Colmer Shanessy, general president
of the Journeymen Barbers' Interna
tional Union of America since 1932,
died here on April 4.
Mr. Shanessy was a prominent offi
ficial of the American labor movement.
He was born in New York on July 1,
1870. His father was a switchman.
He was self-educated, with short
terms in primary day and night
schools. He went to work at the early
age of eight years.
Mr. Shanessy was employed as a
barber from 1894 to 1902 he became
business agent of Barbers' Local Un
ion 102, St. Louis, Mo., in 1902 and
held that position until 1909, when he
was chosen general organizer of the
international union. In 1922 he was
elected general president, which office
he held until his death.
He was instrumental in bringing
about Sunday closing of barber shops
in several states, and wrote a number
of pamphlets dealing with barbers.
President Green, of the American
Federation of Labor, requested Frank
Duffy, secretary of the United Broth
erhood of Carpenters and Joiners of
America, to attend the funeral here as
his personal representative and the
representative of the American Feder
ation of Labor.
In a telegfam to W. C. Birthright,
secretary-treasurer of the Barbers'
Union, President Green said:
"President Shanessy has been an
outstanding figure in the American
Federation of Labor and in its delib
erations at conventions covering a
large number of years. He was held
in high esteem and high regard by the
officers and members of the American
Federation of Labor. Both the Bar
bers' International Union and the
American Federation of Labor have
sustained a great loss as a result of
his death."
Memphis Mayor Fights
City Workers' Unions
Memphis, Tenn. (ILNS)—Mayor
Watkins Overton has warned all city
employes against organizing or be
longing to labor unions which might
call them on strike. The mayor's ul
timatum came in a brief warning to
truck drivers that "there will be no
labor unions serving the city."
Fifteen city firemen were dismissed
a few weeks ago for attempting to
form a union. This action was fol
lowed later with a school board reso
lution outlawing the Memphis Teach
ers' Union, an affiliate of the Amer
ican Federation of Labor. More than
half the city's white teachers are
members of the union.
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