The Butler County press. [volume], May 29, 1941, Image 1

About The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946

Image provided by: Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH

                
v
-I *, i it
'1 f\"***
*y*
*V '-TT
Washington, D. C. (ILNS).—Not a
single hour's work has been lost in the
construction of United States Housing
Authority defense projects due to
strikes, Administrator Nathan Straus
reports. The USHA works in close co
operation with American Federation
of Labor building trades unions, which
have supported the agency and its
aims from its beginning.
The record of no work stoppages,
Administrator Straus said, was not
accomplished through compulsion or
restrictive laws or by setting aside
hard-won industrial rights. "It was
made possible by methods of co-oper
ation and mutual trust.
"In every case where it appeared
that a dispute might arise, the unions
and the employers invoked tne aid of
the USHA, to iron out each difficulty
by negotiation without a moment's
interruption of the urgent work in
which the men were engaged," the
administrator declared.
WAR CAN'T BE WON
BY CUTTING OUTPUT,
FEDERATION WARNS
Living Standards Require No Lower
ing In United States, Says Survey.
Washington, D. C. (ILNS). De
fense needs require no lowering of liv
ing standards in the United States, the
American Federation of Labor flatly
declares in its current "Labor's
Monthly Survey."
"Many people," says the federation,
"seem to think of America as if it
were Europe. In Europe, nations have
been forced to make drastic cuts in
consumers' buying power so as to re
duce consumer goods pi-oduction and
save plant capacity for war materials.
This has been done in England by ris
ing prices and high taxes on workers
and all consumers, in Germany by ex
ecutive orders from the government.
In America no such reduction of living
standards is necessary.
Labor Supply Held Adequate
With the highest labor productivity
in the world, American power to pro
duce is adequate to meet the chal
lenge. The Office of Production Man
agement Bureau of Research esti
mates that if we produce enough for
all defense needs now in View and all
civilian needs, we shall have to add
by December, 1942, some 6,000,000 to
8,000,000 more workers to the force
employed in January, 1941.
Union-Made to Your Measure
SUITS, TOPCOATS
Etc.
Your Choice of the
SMARTEST IN PATTERNS
THE NEWEST IN STYLE
All Kinds of Remodeling*
Also Remove Shinew
GEO. KAPPEL
162 North St.
i
v
.,' !"*.
VOL. XLI. No. 9.
No Time is Lost on USHA
Defense Jobs Due to Strkcs,
Says Straus, Lauding Unions
Record of No Work Stoppages Not Accomplished Through
Compulsion or Restrictive Laws or by Setting Aside
Hard-Won Industrial Rights of All Workers.
Work Speeded Up
The work not only has been unin
terrupted, Administrator Straus said,
but it has been speeded up. On the
very first defense project an agree
ment was made with local unions that
the work should be carried on by two
shifts, both working at regular pay.
Labor was asked to forego overtime
pay on the second shift and labor
agreed. Similar arrangements, backed
by resolutions of local building unions
and building trades councils, have been
made in all parts of the country. Some
VV'
1
f-,.t',-r
of them provide for three-shift oper
ations at regular pay.
"In consequence," Straus said, "pro
duction schedules have been speeded
up—and despite the rush, the United
States Housing Authority has been
able to set new low-cost records on
many of its defense projects. Tax
payers' money has been saved on
emergency work—a rare event indeed.
Real Story Untold
'Lately the labor stories that have
made the front pages have been tell
ing about disputes between .workers
and employers which interrupt the
smooth flow of production.
"The real story of labor's co
operation has largely been untold.
It is a story *of co-operation—a
story filled with the dramatic
good news about the unity of
America behind the defense pro
gram," he said. "The whole pub
lic ought to know this story be
cause it shows how we in Amer
ica can roll up our sleeves, buckle
down to a job, and make democ
racy work as fast as any form of
dictatorship."
"When the whole record of labor
in defense housing is written it will
reveal the tremendous contribution
willingly made by the building work
ers of America toward the defense of
their country.
"There is a lesson full of meaning
in this record," he said, "for it repre
sents the triumph of the democratic
way of getting the job done."
"This allows for no increase
hours above 40 per week and no gains
in productivity, that, is, shows the top
number needed. In addition, we may
also add from 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 to
tur military forces. This would mean
a maximum of 55,000,000 at work or
under arms by the end of next year.
"According to OPM," the federation
adds, "our labor supply is fully ade
quate to meet this demand, assuming
that people who do not usually work
(largely women), take jobs as they
did in the last war. We have today
about 7,000,000 unemployed (April)
and may count on some 3,000,000 new
workei-s."
The federation goes on to say
there are only two serious shortages:
not enough plants to produce basic
metals, especially steel and not enough
skilled workers if production expands
much above present levels.
The way out of the first difficulty,
the survey contends, is to "expand
plant capacity now for our fullest
needs, and plan for high workers' in
come and high living standards after
the war.
"New steel capacity can then be
used for automobiles, refrigerators
low cost housing on a vast scale, hos
pitals to provide adequate medical
care and other elements of a high
living standard."
CHICAGO MARKET CO.
Discussing how to cope with the
second shortage, the survey says:
"Present programs to train skilled
workers are very inadequate. The A
F. of L. offers its skilled members to
work with management under union
agreements in a vast training program
to build up the skills we need.
"This war has been rightly called a
'battle of production.' It cannot be won
by cutting production and living stand
ards. The forces of democracy must
and can out-produce the dictatorships
Our immediate need is to build plants
and train workers. In steel we have
85,000,000 tons yearly capacity we
need 111,000,000."
Front and High Stii* Phone 5000
CHUCK ROAST..... .. 19c
i SIRLOIN STEAK ». 25c
I HIGH-QUALITY OLEO «,. 10c
ALUMINUM WORKERS' PAY UP
Mobile, Ala. (ILNS). Wage in
creases ranging from six to seven
cents an hour have been announced
for employes of the Aluminum Ore
Company. The men are members of
the A. F. of L.
My.x
v :T vc.*£sT 7 ,*
I^M' Service
". "*?"''VyV. £%,'**»' v .v
V H.- V:Ji
Biloxi, Miss. (ILNS).—Inviting in
dustry to exploit low wage labor mar
kets is disastrous, General Philip B.
Fleming, administrator of the Wage
and Hour Division, U. S. Department
of Labor, told Mississippi bankers at
their convention.
"Small rural communities," said
General Fleming, "which once served
as trading centers for fruitful agri
cultural communities, find themselves
hard pressed when agriculture de
clines. They are especially prone to
turn to industrialization as the solu
tion to their problem.
.-a
1
TilE IH'TLKIt COUNTY PRESS.
HAMILTON, OHIO, HPffciftA ¥7 MAY 29, 1941.
Trtvrpfr*
Lure of "Cheap Docile Labor" Assailed by General Philip
B. Fleming Before Bankers' Convention—Subsidies are
Sometimes Provided and Often Result in Boomerang.
New Shop Solves Nothing
But it is easy to forget that the new
factory building in itself solves noth
ing. It has no beneficent significance
unless the people who work in it are
going to be better off than they were
before. Otherwise the town is import
ing, along with the factory, congestion,
slum conditions, new problems of com
munity sanitation, and new problems
of financing health, police and fire
protection.
"Almost every town has some ad
vantage to offer to at least one type
of industry. One has excellent rail
road facilities another is on navigable
water another is near the source of
certain necessary raw materials an
other possesses advantages of climate
or proximity to the mass market. Some
towns can offer a combination of sev
eral attractions, all legitimate.
"But if the only, or principal, at
traction offered is 'an abundant sup
ply of cheap docile labor,' look out!
For if the manufacturer has been
coaxed in merely to exploit the poor
you are compounding human misery
and making worse the conditions you
are trying to cure.
Subsidies Often Provided
"Very frequently the invitation to
the manufacturer carries with it some
sort of direct subsidy. Sometimes the
local Chamber of Commeire places at
his disposal a factory building, rent
free. Sometimes the town itself bonds
its people to raise the funds to put up
the factory building. Sometimes the
town furnishes free light, free power,
and free heat.
"In one New England city an en
terprising Chamber of Commerce
bought for taxes a factory building
that had been abandoned by a rubber
concern. Then it induced a 'run-away'
shoe manufacturer to set up shop in
the building under a contract which
assured him free rent for ten years,
free heat, free sewage privileges, and
then threw in the free services of a
night watchman for good measure.
"The watchman worked from 6 p. m.
to 6 a. m. every night including Sun
days, of a total of 84 hours a week,
tv-V--\''
\-vA*
Memorial Day
for which he was paid by the Chamber
of Commerce the munificent sum of
$10 a week. Naturally, on that wage,
he couldn't keep up the payments on
his home and lost it.
Joke on the Chamber
"Labor in the factory was paid $2
or $3 a week, and after an investiga
tion by the Wage and Hour Division
the employer was forced to pay them
in restitution the difference between
what they had received and what they
should have received under the law.
But when it came to the night watch
man, the division billed his employer
the Chamber of Commerce for
$650, the back wages due him.
"That gave the boys in the Chamber
several sleepless nights during which
they reached the conclusion that per
haps their enterprise in attracting a
sweatshop industry wasn't much of a
service to the town after all.
"From our files I could cite nu
merous instances to show that the of
fering of something for nothing in an
effort to attract sweatshop industries
seldom works out to the advantage of
the town that pays the subsidy. The
steady, reliable, dependable manufac
turer isn't looking for something for
nothing. He is perfectly willing to
pay his way. And the fellow who has
to be bribed to set up shop in the town
usually isn't worth having. Paying
subsidies to him is an injustice to every
other businessman who does have to
pay his own way."
PRESIDENT HAILS
BRITISHAID DRIVE
New York City (ILNS).—President
Roosevelt hailed the current nation
wide campaign of the American Labor
Committee to Aid British Labor as
"most welcome" in a letter addressed
to Matthew Woll, vice-president of the
American Federation of Labor and
chairman of the committee.
The President's letter was in re
sponse to one informing the Chief
Executive of the purpose of the com
mittee, formed under the honorary
chairmanship of William Green, pres
ident of the A. F. of L., to collect
contributions in money and supplies
from trade unions in this country in
support of the British trade unions.
The committee is co-operating with
the British War Relief Society.
The committee, Woll said, is now
functioning in all parts of the country
through special committees appointed
by the 800 central bodies affiliated-with
the American Federation of Labor.
The American workers have taken
1
With
."
j.e.
s
Communities Promoting Exploitation
of Low-Paid Workers Face Trouble,
Wage and Hour Administrator Warns
i
&V?
a- i
the cause of British labor to their
hearts," Woll said, "and are showing
great enthusiasm and initiative in ef
forts to provide substantial relief for
the British working people, who are
in the very front ranks of the fighters
against totalitarian tyi-anny."
Arkansas Labor Demands
Outlawing of Communists
Pine Bluff, Ark.—A resolution call
ing upon Congress to outlaw the Com
munist Party in America and all other
subversive groups now operating in
this country in efforts to destroy free
dom by hindering the national defense
program was adopted by the annual
convention of the Arkansas State Fed
eration of Labor here.
MACHINISTS* PAY RAISED
Seattle, Wash. (ILNS). Members
of the A. F. of L. International Asso
ciation of Machinists here, numbering
1,000, have received a 10 per cent per
hour wage increase in a new agree
ment approved by local members and
employers.
mf
PHILCO
YORK
AIR
CONDITIONER
Start the day right with the
energy and vitality that comes
with refreshing sleep in cool
comfort. Now even on the
hottest, most sultry nights—you
can sleep in fresh, cool air
with a Philco-York Single-Unit
Air Conditioner in your bed
room. Quickly and easily in
stalled—no plumbing, no wiring
THift* Ntyti lm (Mitq-Lmk
ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR
AFL NAMES MEANY
TO VISITENGLAND
Washington, D. C. (ILNS).—Meet
ing here in annual spring session, the
American Federation of Labor Exec
utive Council accepted an invitation
from the British Trades Union Con
gress to send a delegation to England
to study war-time conditions. An
nouncing acceptance of the invitation,
President William Green of the fed
eration said that Secretary-Treasurer.
George Meany hoped to make the trip
by air in June.
Another A. F. of L. official may go
with Meany, but no selection had been
made, Green said.
Green also announced that the ex
ecutive council had voted approval of
action of federation officials in vigor
ously opposing the Vinson bill, for
compulsory "cooling-off" periods be
fore calling of strikes in defense in
dustries. The council, he added, had
discussed plans for legislative and
legal action to combat restrictive leg
islation proposed or enacted in Florida,
Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, and other
states.
TO RECOMMEND NEW
MINIMUM PAY RATES
Washington, D. C. (ILNS). Ap
pointment of a committee to meet in
Washington on June 10 to recommend
a new minimum wage for the women's
apparel industry has been announced
by Philip B. Fleming, wage-hour ad
ministrator.
Under the Fair Labor Standards
Act, the committee is instructed to
investigate economic and competitive
conditions in the industry and to rec
ommend the highest minimum wage
up to 40 cents an hour which will not
substantially curtail employment.
David Dubinsky, president of the
International Ladies' Garment Work
ers' Union, will head the employe rep
resentatives on the committee. They
will include Julius Hochman, Morris
Bialis, Harry Greenberg and Rose Pe
sotta, all of the same union.
MEAT CUTTERS SIGN PACT
Memphis, Tenn. (ILNS). Wilson
W. Rowland, business agent of the
Amalgamated Meat Cutters and
Butcher Workmen, announces nego
tiation and signing of an agreement
with Swift & Co., covering workers in
the company's crude oil plant.
PAY INCREASE FOR PRESSMEN
San Antonio, Tex. (ILNS).—An ar
bitration decision granting 70 cents a
day increase to union pressmen on the
San Antonio Express-Evening News
and San Antonio Light has been
handed down by Dean Lloyd K. Gar
rison, chairman, following a recent
hearing at Chicago. Retroactive to
April 1, 1941, the decision makes the
pressmen's new wage $8.20 a day for
journeymen and $9j20 for men in
charge. Arbiters included S. B. Marks,
an international union vice-president.
-W*:
,kt
itly|trateq
Model
There's a Philco-York Air Con
ditioner for every tixe room,
mw priced of low a$
¥29%
W m* w
1. L'"
TERMS