The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-07-31
All Unions Of Steel
 Plants Are Withdrawn
member unions.
(Continued from Page 1)

(ConCnue0 members of so-called company unions.
 Johnson said that the company union section appeared to be con- tradictory to the National Recovery Act.
 The head of the Steel Institute, however. said that, while this sec- lion would be eliminated from the code. it was the intention of the steel industry to preserve the "sat- fsfactory relation" between indus try and labor as 1t is now main- tained in the industry.
 Lamont explained that he had anticipated Johnson's objection and was prepared to meet 1t.
 "This section was put into the code merely to emphasize that the open shop principle be maintained and that collective bargaining De maintained in a form that has proven satisfactory" Lamont said.
 However, it Is not essential ana we did not intend to inject any questions as to merits of employe Representation. I am willing to re- commend that this section be drop ped and believe the industry will approve that recommendation.
 "This is done with the under standing that it does not imply any change in the attitude of the in- dustry on the points included. The industry still believes in their meth cd of representation. Naturally the members will do everything in their power to preserve the satis- factory relationship now existing with their employees. The sole pur- pose of eliminating this section is to avoid discussion of anything not essential to the code"
 Nearly 1000 spectators. most of them in shirt sleeves, crowded the beautiful commerce auditorium when hearings began on the most vital code yet to be offered to the MIRA.
 Robert, P. Lamont, former sec retary of commerce and now presi- dent of the American Iron and Steel Institute. presented the indus try's code. In his prepared state- ment he did not refer to the an- ticipated announcement that the nouncement that the steel indus try would remove the controversial issue of company unions from it's code.
 However, Lamont changed the code in one particular. The code specified minimum rates of pay of 25 cents and 27 cents per hour in the Southern and Birmingham dis tricts. Lamont said representatives of Southern mills would be in Washington to-day to settle the final figures for Soupthern pay. He indicated they would be higher than the 25 cents and 27 cents rates.
 The code proposes a 40-hour week for the steel industry and La mont defended this proposal with the assertion that n less than a 4O- hour week the industry positively not operate the mills and meet any demands on them materially in ex- cess of present production"
 Washington, July 31-(U.P.) Powerful administration forces were aligned with organized labor to-day in its fight for the right to unionize 500,000 steel workers as the code for that giant of Amer 1can industries came up for public hearing.
 Dispute centered over a provi- sion of the proposed code by which the steel industry sought to main tain It's system of company-spon- sored unions.
 Organized labor, which in a bat tle over many years has been able to gain only a bare hold in the steel mills, claimed company unions did not give fair voice to work CTS.
 Labor appeared to have strong support from General Hugh s. Johnson, administrator of the MIRA. While emphasizing that 1t is not the purpose of the recovery act to foster unionization of any indus try, he gave indications that the la Dor provision of the steel code should be confined to a guarantee of the right of collective bargain ing. without attempting to pre- scribe the nature of the orga niza- tons through which 1t could be carried on.
 This would leave organized labor free to attempt unionization of the industry with the guarantee that it's recruits would not be denied employment.
 Further support for labor's stand was seen in the presence of Secre- tary of Labor Frances Perkins as first witness in the hearings. Long a friend of labor, she was ready to present the findings of a personal inspection of the steel centers.
 Aside from the union section, major provisions of the steel code prescribe an average of 40-hour week to spread employment: grant a 15 per cent wage increase for skilled workers; for common labor fix minimum wages of 27 to 40 cents an hour depending on the To- cality; and bar employment of chi1- dren under 16. More than 90 per cent of the steel plants in the coun- try already have subscribed to the code.
 As the steel hearings went for ward. messages continued to roll in telling of thousands of additional adherances to the voluntary code shortening hours and fixing mini- mum wages for all closes of labor.
 Tomorrow, when the agreement formally takes effect, the sign of the blue eagle will go up in fac tories. shops and offices throughout the land. procfaiming to consumers lat those. concerns "do their part