The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-10-16

for the 30-hour week, wage in
creases and so-called joint-con-
7trel of hiring halls for dock work
. ers.
It has not been indicated, how
ever, whether the shipowners will
~ accept the decision of the board.
-S So far the decision remains on
paper. The actual carrying out of
the strike-won concessions rests in
the hands of organized labor.
While William Green and other
leaders Of the A. F. of L. hailed the
AH"decision as a victory of organized
sdr labor, they failed to acknowledge
-o-the fact that had the longshoremen
: followed the Green-Ryan policies OF
s.ano strike even this verbal conces-
sion would not have been granted.
During the strike the men had
demanded complete control Of the
hiring halls. The Presidents board,
-@.-however, designates that the dock
ers shall be dispatched 1:c-c.-i .ialls
where the union and the shipown-
ers shall have one representative
each. The danger of discrimination
therefore, is not eliminated even if
lathe concession are carried out, for
..a:the ruling states definitely that the
employers shall be free to select
their men from those eligible.
In order to take matters of dis
elimination out of the hands of the
=, union men, the Board decided that
"a labor relations committee, COM
- posed Of employers and employees,
sEA shall take up all questions of viola
tons
III The wage scale set by the board
is 95 cents an hour, promise of d
.--10 cent increase over the present
scale and $140 an hour for over
-, time, a Is cent increase. The men
80 struck for 81 an hour for straight
time; s150 for overtime; and full
= union control of hiring halls.
It is clear that the slight gains
that the Roosevelt Board conceded
- the longshoremen in the decision
-. were forced by the strong organi-
-, zation of the docGers on the West
Coast, their militant strike action
and their threat to renew the &C
- ton if concessions were not grant,
-. ed. 1t is also certain that none of
90, the concessions will be actually
=. carried out unless the rank and file
oo,of the I. L. A.. use the power of
their organization to see. to it that
49,, they are fulfilled.
The decisions Of the National
Longshoremen's Board, it is under
!. stood, are not designed to affect
- the East Coast dock workers. On
the East Coast I. L. A. union men
are working under a contract which
- expired Oct. /, the wage rate being
IS cents an hour and the 44-hour
week being in vogue. The men were
80 ready to strike for 81 an hour and
the 30-hour week when the agree
nent expired. but Joseph P. Ryan,
president of the l. L. A, agreed to
- establish a truce" and not carry
81 on the strike
A committee of shipowners have
rejected the demands Of the dock
e ers.
In commenting on the West
Coast decision, Mr. Ryan said that
"the committee has indicated that
1t believes longshoremen deserve
an increase in pay" He failed to
point out, however, that it was the
" strike on the West Coast, which he
-" did everything in his power to sab
otage that made the committee
-. change its belief Ryan further in
dictated that he would be against
any form of strike action on the
~ East Coast to enforce the demands
4ts.- Of the longshoremen. He warned
against tho "threatarnd renatitioy7D
on the East Coast of the strife
that marked the Pacific Coast
70" strike