Montana labor news., 1935-01-10
Witnesses Bare Com
pany Union Tricks

NEW ORLEANS. - (FP) II Dock
laborers have been ~dragooned into
company unions which possess labor
contracts with the New Orleans
Steamship Association. L%ongshore-
men have been intimidated by city po-
lice and others in the pay OF the as
ISOLATION. The International Long
shoremen's Association locals actually
represent the majority OF the long
shoremen OF the port.
Such was the testimony at a Ma
tional Labor Relations Board hearing
in New Orleans. The hearing was
ordered, after futile mediation efforts
by the regional board, to determine
whether to hold IN election among
longshoremen of three years stand
ing to choose representatives for col
lective bargaining. The record is to go
to the N. L. r. B. in Washington.
James Sparks, longshoreman, testi-
fled that the company union was or
gained when a large number Of men
had collected because of reports of
work. He said that the docks fire
doors were closed and that Roy Ged-
ney, terminal superintendent of the
Lykes-B Ripley Steamship Com
pany, had made a speech about choos-
ing representatives and told them to
apply to the company's office for
further information. Later, the wit
ness said, he went to work for the
Norton Lilly Steamship Company, and
dues for the company union were de-
Quoted from his pay without his con
sent. Wilfred Harding, another long
shoreman, said he had been arrested
twice for union activity, once brought
to trial and acquitted Of a vagrancy
charge, and that President Paul Hart
man Of the company union had told
him that detectives would beat his
ears off" if they found him with an
L. L. A. card. The witness said that
quarterly deductions of $3.50 had been
made from his pay without his con
sent. A third longshoreman, Fred
Jackson, said he had made an affidavit
for the last hearing of the regional
board, and that a detective had told
him that he would beat the hell out
of him" if he found that he had made
any such statement, or done "any-
thing against the steamship ~associa-
ton"
Five l%ongshoremen testified that
they had been forced to join the com
pany unions under threat of losing
their jobs, that men were overworked
and underpaid, the wage scale being ex-
tremely irregular, that they and others
were dissatisfied with present condi-
tons, had no faith in the company
unions and wanted an election in which
they could vote for the bona fide un-
ions.
Another witness withdrew when he
was told that he would have to give
his name and address, saving he was
afraid OF losing his job. That fact was
recorded.
President Terrence Darcy of the
white l. L. A. local stated that $50 of
the 47O white men employed on the
docks were dues-paying members of
his local. President Hayward
Augustine of the Negro [. L. A. local
said that he had obtained signatures of
900 Negroes and 200 white longshore-
men to a petition asking that a river
front election be held. Vice-Presiden
Charles Stein of the white local de-
clared that a man named Alvin Har-
ris, engaged in terrorizing %longshore-
men and forcing them into company
unions, had stated in the presence of
the witness and hundreds of men on
the docks that he was paid $40 a day
by the steamship association to keep
those black -- down"
The company unions notified the
N. L. r. B. that, while they were con
fident that they would win an election,
they had been advised by their attor-
neys that the board had no jurisdiction,
and therefore were taking no part in
the hearing. The boards authority
also challenged by five groups Of
steamship lines and freight-handling
companies on the ground that there
was no code in the shipping business
and that they we're not engaged in in
t~erstate commerce.