Montana labor news., 1934-08-09
New Textile Strike
Being Talked

WASHINGTON-(FP) Another
threat Of a general strike in the cot
ton mills is likely within two weeks,
when the convention of the United
Textile Workers meets in New York
August Is.
Already $4,000 workers are on strike
in Alabama, and 20 mills are closed
down. The strike could easily be ex-
tended now, but the union is awaiting
Gen. Johnson's return to Washington
for a showdown on reports on wages,
hours and stretchout. These reports
were ordered to be ready July 2, as
part of the settlement c. the threaten
ed general mill strike in June, but so
far NRA's research and planning div
ision has failed to submit its third re-
port, on wages.
The Alabama walkout wa caused by
wholesale discharge of officers of local
textile unions. Fifteen hundred mem
bers Of the U. T. w. we're fired, but
the state industrial relations board for
the cotton textile industry did next to
nothing about it.
With difficulty the North Carolina
textile workers council was restrained
last week from ordering a strike, and
cotton mill workers throughout the
South are anxious for a showdown on
the increasing speedup, labelled %"stret-
chout' in the textile industry.
Under special fire of mill %unionists
is the National Industrial Relations
Board Of the textile industry, headed
by Robert w. Bruere, who formerly
had quite a reputation as a liberal.
Bruere's board was created a year ago
and told to make the investigation of
stretchout its primary job. But to
date, according to textile unionists, ex-
actly nothing Of benefit to labor has
resulted from the Bruere boards study
- if it has made any. Leon Hender-
sons Research and Planning Division
in NRA is also of small help to labor,
according to unionists.
Forced under the cotton textile code
to pay a minimum OF $l2 a week, the
cotton mill bosses made up for the in
creased wage through speedup. The
S12 minimum represented in many cas-
es a 100 per cent increase. So the
number of weaving looms and spinning
frames assigned to each operative was
increased. The weaver who formerly
tended 20 looms now has 80 to 40. The
spinner who used to care for II sides
now has 10, IS or more.
The Industrial Relations Boards,
both national and state, have placed
on the workers the burden of proof
about stretchout. In most mills a work
er's testimony would result in discharge.
In any event, the union claims, it is
up to the Bruere board to make the
study on its own initiative and not
wait for workers to sacrifice their jobs
by volunteering information.
The same problem effects the silk
and wool branches of the textile in
duStry, and will come to a head at the
U. 7. w. convention in New York.
Some progress has been made by the
wool board. In all mills however COM
plant has been made against the in
creasing machine load imposed on
workers, to cou~nterbalance the increas-
ed wages under ne codes,
Due to overproduction the cotton
textile industry is working short hours.
Many mills in the South have shut
down while others are working two
and three days a week. Wages have
disappeared in a large section of the
industry while SO a week is common in
mills working three days a week. The
high wage of $12 a week under the
code is causing wide complaint among
southern mill bosses, union officials
report. The bosses are complaining of
northern competition although be-
fore the code went into effect it was
northern employers who shouted to
high heaven against southern compe-
tition.
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