Evening star., 1936-08-17
OPEN LABOR WAR
NOT LIKELY SOON
c. |. O. Is Facing Big Task
in Steel, Auto and Rub
ber Organizations.

Indications along the labor front
today were that both craft ana IN
dustrial groups would be too busy
for some time with their internal
affairs to engage in open hostiltles.
In protesting the suspension OF 10
of u insurgent unions forming the
Committee for Industrial Organiza-
tion by the American Federation of
Labor Executive Council last week,
David Dubinsky, head OF the Inter-
national Ladies Garment Workers,
warned of an inevitable conflict be-
tween local unions of the two factions,
each fighting the other and seeking
to recruit members from the oppoSi-
ton.
Arthur o. Wharton, head of the
international Association OF Ma
chinists, another council member and
leader of the craft faction, replies with
the announcement that recognition
of the Progressive Miners Union,
which withdrew from the United Mine
Workers four years ago, would be
"a perfectly natural course" for the
federation to follow if the U. M. w.,
another of the c. l. o. unions, should
be expelled at the federation con-
Vention in Tampa, Fla, in November.
c. L. o. Faces Big Job.
However, C. I. o. has a major
operation ahead in organization OF
the steel, automobile and rubber
workers. The federation will very
probably have on its hands an in
ternal rebellion of respectable proper
tionS. despite its recent purge OF the
'insurrectionist" unions suspended for
dual unioniSm.
The c. I. O., in addition to need
ing all its energies for the organlza-
ton of the steel, rubber and auto
mobile workers, has recognized the
value of craft unions where they are
effectively organized, and has an
nounced its campaign will be confined
to the mass production industries
In the steel campaign, for example
C. I. o. leaders will make no at
tempt to organize the railroad, dock
or hotel workers employed by the
steel companies in the many branches
of their business activities, but con-
fine themselves to workers in and
around steel plants. Even SO, the
Organizing Committee will run into
some iurisdictional difficulties.
In accepting structural steel work
ers in manufacturing plants, the c. /
o. will be technically invading the
domain of the building trades. But
the C. I. o. has announced it will
take in structural steel workers only
IN steel plants, where the building
trades unions are not efeetually or
ganized, and not invade the jurlsdlc-
tion of the structural steel workers
engaged in erecting buildings, where
they are effectually organized.
Volunteers to be Accepted.
Such local, national or international
unions as volunteer to affiliate with
the c. /. 0. will probably be accepted
into membership, but to date at least
the C. I. o. has no intention OF In
augurating campaign to raid fedora
tion unions.
The rebellion within the ranks OF
the federation will probably not break
into the open until the Tampa con-
Vention, and perhaps not then.
If the rebellion does not develop
there, however, it is sure to crop out
strongly if the expulsion of the 10
suspended unions and 2 others
which escaped with q warning" to
cease and desist giving aid and COM
fort to the c. l. o. is voted. It will
become an issue Immediately in every
State and central labor union in the
country, with one side or the other
victorious, according to the complex
ION of the local or State groups
membership.
Thus in Pennsylvania, for example,
or in Alabama, West Virginia, and
other States where the U. M. w. is
strong if not the strongest single
group, the federation will have trou-
BILE from the moment President Will
liam Green issues an order to expel
all C. I. o. locals from central labor
bodies and the State federation.
Up to the past year or two, such a