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Page 2 Western Maryland Voice Of Industrial Labor O/flctal Bi-Weekly Publication of the Western Maryland Industrial Union Council Affiliated witS The C|'eti ml Induetriat OriieliitiHt JAMES BLACKWELL. Managing Editor CLYDE D. LUCAS. Secretary-Treasurer Subscription Price—sl.oo Per Year Mailed la Anv Addreaa Publication Office: Room 400 1512 Walnut Street - Philadelphia. Pa Editorial Offices: 12 8. Mechanic Street. Cumberland. Maryland Phone 471 or 1852. Entered aa eecand<cla*a matter at Poet Office. Philadelphia. . under th® Act of March I. 1579 Vol. 3 JANUARY 2, 1941 No. 15 Safety in '4l The year of 1940 saw a series of mine disasters that cost the lives of more than 270 miners. The same year saw a session of Con gress sit idly by and refuse to even permit the Neely-Keller Bill for federal inspection of mines come on the floor of the House of Representatives for debate. The situation can be squarely blamed upon Representative Joe L. Smith of Beckley, West Virginia, chairman of the House Mines and Mining Committee in whose constituency, ironically enough, occurred the latest tragedy. The Senate has already approved the Bill. The New Year will doubtless see a renewal of the road safety campaigns. Governors will name their safety committees, the school lec tures and club addresses on traffic safety will go on. But very few in high places give heed to the cries of the widows and orphans of the coal diggers whose lives have been sacrificed by political maneuvering and the lobbying of coal operators. It is indeed high time for the nation to pro test the callous attitude of the House Mines and Mining Committee in keeping the matter even from discussion on the floor. There is every indication that the United Mine Workers of America and their friends will commence vigorous efforts for action in the new session of Congress. That these efforts will be crowned with success should be the wish of all who are genu inely interested in safety all the way round, even if it does hit the coal operators a little. The Legislature The Maryland General Assembly has con vened in biennial session and for the next ninety days it becomes the duty of the organ ized labor movement of the State to make vigorous efforts to induce the solona to give heed to the aspirations of the majority of those who elected them. Two years ago, it will be recalled, the leg islators had as one excuse for inaction the fact that the labor movement itself was divided on the measures sought. This came about, in large part, by the methods of Joseph P. Mc- Curdy. president of the State AFL, whose obligations to the working people had been obliterated by the Governor naming him to a “full time’’ job on the Unemployment Com pensation Board for six years at $5,000 per year. He was, and still is. permitted to retain his numerous paid posts in the labor move ment. The excuse of the legislators and the sus picious arrangements of the Administration are partly nullified for the present session by reason of joint conferences having been held with representatives of all sections of labor and the Commissioner of Labor and Statistics. The purpose is to attempt to reach a common legislative program to benefit the working people of the State. The State and D. C. CIO Convention of three weeks ago adopted a forward looking program of needed legislation which has been presented to the joint conference and which will be dealt with fully in this paper during the coming weeks. The main planks arc a State Labor Relations Bill; State Wages and Hours Bill; amendment f the Unemployment Compensation Law; regulation or abolition of industrial police, ■aually referred to by workers as “company Ihngs." AIL except the latter, were presented to Use last session of the Legislature and were Bely ginored. In addition to the excuse* of the legis lators the Baltimore Sun opposed action on the State Labor Relation* Bill and the State Wages and Hours Bill because the Federal Acts on the subject were in an experimental stage and were likely to be amended. The State, said the SUN, should wait Federal action. We are now waiting to see what new excuses the Bal timore Sun will trot out in opposition. We say that there is no justification for the lawmakers in Annapolis to withhold the benefits of the Wagner Act from the Mary land workers who are engaged in intra-state commerce. If there are any reasons it is fitting that the Legislature should state them and not forever be led around by the Baltimore Asso ciation of Commerce which opposed State Unemployment Insurance for yeara and years. We say that there is a crying need for • State Wages and Hours Law to protect working men and women from the ex ploitation of conscienceless employers. We have dozen* of letters from sweated workers in our files. We have some Cumberland restaurant owners paying "wages” of $2.50 to $6.00 a week and thare are other service trades just a* bad. Vs goiatodlg ask what the women mem- bers of the Allegany County delegation intend to do about it now they are in Annapolis 7 Yes. we know the Cumberland Chamber of Commerce is vigorously opposed to the State Wages and Hours Law to guarantee even the paltry minimum of the proposed law. They have been opposed to legislation of any kind to benefit anything except their own abort sighted and aelflsh interests. Representatives of the Western Maryland Industrial Union Council of the CIO are willing to debate this matter every week with the Chamber spokes men and give actual employers in this city who are sweating their employes at starvation "wages." The Chamber offers absolutely no plan to end this condition. The Unemployment Compensation Act amendments have been well discussed by the Allegany County Advisory Committee and the huge balance in the Board's treasury is ample demonstration of the need to liberalize the Act. When first passed the small benefits were excused on the ground that we must first experiment and build up the fund. The fund is built up—so what is the new excuse) On the company police restriction question it is safe to say that the entire community hereabouts is united. There is hardly to be found a more well-hated bunch than those who wear the uniform of the Celenese police. They are a con stant reminder of something repugnant to free men and women. Their actions of last September have forever barred them from the respect of decent people. The Legislative Committee of the Western Maryland CIO is an active group. It intends to use the columns of this paper, and other means of education to struggle for the adop tion of laws by the Maryland General As sembly to aid the working people and thereby aid the entire community. Let the hostile and reactionary interests come right out in the open and state their reasons for objection to the program. Watch This Case A case vitally affecting every Maryland worker will come to trial January 9 in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County at Tow aon. Seven members of the Industrial Union of Marine & Shipbuilding Workers will be tried on ancient charges of "riot, rout and unlawful assembly" that grew out of last October s strike at Bethlehem Steel. The seven recently were indicted by the Baltimore County Grand Jury. Originally the workers were accused on lesser charges after a disorder between pickets and finks. An ambitious prosecuting attorney. Lawrence Ensor. uncovered the musty but serious "riot, rout and unlawful assembly" charges, and with the sympathetic approval of two magistrates employed by Bethlehem Steel, lodged them against the CIO members and demanded bail so high that premiums for it cost nearly $1,200. If the men are convicted and a precedent is set. any worker caught engaging in a tussie on a picket line—or even present when one oc curs —may face a "riot" cherge instead of the usual "disorderly conduct.” may face several months or even years in jail instead of a minor fine. The worker's union, moreover, may have to provide—as the Shipyard Workers did— s2,soo bail on the "riot” charge instead of $26.45 ordinarily demanded as collateral for "disorderly conduct." Obviously, picketing under that set-up. can "legally" be violated and union treasuries sacked. Just as obviously, it's up to the union movement and its friends to help provide the seven accused workers with the best defense money can command. Attorney I. Duke Avnet is representing them. He can do a good job, but he can do even a better one if an aroused CIO membership and its friends provide the wherewithal to fight the case as it should be fought— to the last law book and bench in the land. We want neither martyrs nor anti union procedents if they can be avoided. —From Baltimore CIO News. Hysteria Labor organizations, regardless of affiliation, will do well to pay heed to the warning of President Philip Murray on the dangers in herent in the so-called model State Sabotage and State Guard Laws. The measure* will be presented to the Maryland General Assembly. We know perfectly well that the members of the Maryland General Assembly have had to be pushed and pushed to enact remedial legislation for the people. It is up to labor to see that these hard won rights are not filched from them through a wave of hysteria. it is alto well to realize that the dictators against whom we align ourselves used the sup pression of labor’s rights in their first steps to complete autocracy. A defense conscious nation and an efficient nation of workers re quires the liberties of free men if desired re sults are to be achieved. We believe that Representative William D. Byron expressed the right attitude towards ill conceived and hastily enacted legislation againat labor when he spoke at the Hagers town Convention last month. We hope that a similar well reasoned attitude will be taken by the members of the Legislature on this question. No doubt there will be public hearings on these proposals and it is up to organized labor and its friends to see that the dangerous fea tures of both these bills are removed prior to enactment. STERN MARYLAND VOICE OF INDUSTRIAL LABOR THE W MATTERS OF INTEREST By George \1 -TEXAS " . . HAS MORE ' W 1 FARMS THAW ANY STATC inthe u.s. 500,000 (ANSWBft TU*T Wt-KS ScUCfaM) \ j/ THE CANE OF PRESIDENTS " A CANE OWNED BY fl 5 w Vhe first parachute Tump” HAS HAND CARVED NAMES from AN AIRPLANE AND DATES OF ALLTHE PRESIDENTS INMARChW FROM WASHINGTON TO M C KINLEY g\j CAPT.BERT BERfIY AT JEFFERSON BAARAtH MISSOURI Readers wishing to have matters of interest depicted in this feature are invited to send details to George Newhouse, VOICE OF LABOR, Cumberland, Md. ■■" '' ~ —— The Rubber Neck total world factory floor area of the Goodyear Co. The world-wide rubber empire of Goodyear Tire and Rub ber Company includes rubber factories in seven foreign coun tries. as well as the seven plants in the United States. The Akron factory is the original plant, and since 1898 when it was ; first established, hat been expanded so that it is now a unit made up of several factories. The Akron plant is the biggest rubber factory in the world, and covers more than one-half of The development of Goodyear *“ " i factories outside of Akron has , been steady since the Bowman . villc plant in Canada was opened 1 In 1910. Up through 1935 two j plants had been started in Canada. a plant in Australia. In England. | in Argentina and in Java, as well as domestic plants outside! 1 Akron, starting In 1920 with the California plant. i Strange 1 Both as far as jobs are con ■ cerned. as well as the number of ! plants involved the movement for I world wide expansion outside r Akron was much larger before 1935 than since 1935. We em phasize this point to Indicate that : expansion outside Akron since ■ 1935 is part of a long time tent 1 - f ency and cannot be M blamed” on r the union in Akron, yet the open ing of plants in Windsor. Ver mont. and Jackson. Michigan, and 1 St. Mary's. Ohio, since 1935 has 1 been used to try to turn Goodyear Akron workers against the union. In the same period plants have also been built in Sweden and Brazil. The Job of the United Rubber Workers is clearly to organize all Goodyear rubber plants in the United States and Canada, no matter where they may be located. Local Unions exist in Akron, | Gadsden. Los Angeles. Cumber- ( LIBERTY TRUST COMPANY’S 1941 Christmas Clubs ARE t : OPEN | Be rmm\ : Prepared t i NHrt Xmas ® Liberty Trust Company Main OKU, Branch Office 1 ! Cor. Baltimore and S. Centre Main St. r Cumberland. Md. Lonaconing , Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation land and Jackson, Michigan. Early in November a local was chartered in the Bowmanvllle. Canada, plant. The union has explored the situation in Windsor, Vermont, and St. Mary's. Ohio. Tbe Goodyear rubber workers in the coming year must be organ ized into the United Rubber Work i ers of America so they will have j the strength to bargain with the ! powerful Goodyear Company. Organize It has been estimated that there arc about 14.000 Goodyear rubber workers in the United States eligible to Join the union, out of a total 47.000 employes of this in ternational organization. The 47.000 figure was reported by Litchfield to the stockholders in the report for 1939. The 14,000 *£cuj it with. whatever the fit % Jjrft ‘ JSk occasion they are most waP* acceptable. BOP P'S FLOWER SHOP 75 BALTIMORE STREET Phona 2552 Open Evtninga __ __________ j figure is the estimate of the In- i ternational union of the United Rubber Workers of America. Ak- I ron. 9,000; Los Angeles, 1,500: Gadsden 1,200; Cumberland. 725; Jackson. 800: Windsor. 600. The . St. Mary's figure is not included , since the plant did not open until , the very end of 1939. Fooling Workers A company with a number of plants can ur this situation as a weapon against the union. Goodyear tries to play off the workers in one factory against workers In another factory. In the first place. It can give the Impression that an organized plant Is making production so i difficult that production must : be sent elsewhere. Tills argument has been worked f overtime in Akron. It certainly > is true that the union tries and Continued on Pago Four I Start the New Year Right Resolve "1| TO INVESTIGATE THE SOURCE OF YOUR I bread! ZS3}' and to Compare H Difference H piß' pp IF YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THE MANY SATISFIED CUSTOMERS TRY O^HOME^BUMreR^ BREAD is the staff of life and is beyond a doubt your cheapest and best food. OLD HOME BUMPER BREAD measures up to the highest standard of whole* someness and contains an abundant source of nutrition. It is made of finest grade short patent flour and other excellent quality ingredients such as pure leaf lard shortening, pure cane sugar, fine flake salt, pure extract of malt, milk and high grade yeast, in a clean sanitary plant equipped with modern machines and ovens. THE COMMUNITY BAKING COMPANY’S PLANT. heated on Henderson Boulevard, is beyond a doubt the largest, most modern and most sanitary baking plant in the Western part of Maryland. KEEP THE FAMILY FEALTHY DURING 1941 BY USING THE BEST BREAD MONEY CAN BUY OLD HOME BUMPER BREAD Baked by Leaders in the Art of Baking The Community Baking Co. ■ PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS I Expert “ I I CAREFUL , Service | | | I TOM’S S SPECIAL | MEN’S SUITS MEN’S TOPCOATS 1% 11 Q WOMEN’S PLAIN UM DRESSES AND CASH AND JACKET SUITS CARRY We Call For and Deliver for 75c You Will Appreciate Our Service jj| I TOM’S CLEANERS, ioc. I 100 S. Liberty St. (Opposite Strand) Telephone 2282 Plant: Frederick Street Ext. Phene 682 You Can't Find a Better Tire to Save Your Life! SUKTTtUCTKHI CRIP TIRES Guaranteed 18 Months ... In Writing! Sears Allstate Traction Grip Tiros are Fleet-Tested" to Insure longer wear at less cost per month of use! —Guaranteed 18 months In writing! Guarantee covers any common road hazards! Be Safe, not Sorry! . . . Use Allstate Traction Grips! 179 Baltimore St. Phone 2432 Cumberland, Md. Thursday, January 2, 1041