Evening star., 1937-05-23

J" HE American FederatlOn OF La
Dor will open Monday at Gin
cinnati special meeting of
L all its affiliated national and
international unions to discuss and
possibly translate into direct action
the fedora tons plans to combat the
Committee for Industrial Organiza-
ton.
The open controversy between the
followers of John L. Lewis, chairman
Of the c. i. O., who favor the indus
trial form of organization for mass
production industries, and the craft
unionists in the federation. is now
more than year and a half old.
and thus far all efforts to bring
about peace between the rival groups
have failed.
The federation has, in the past,
made several peace" proposals to
Lewis, all of which were unacceptable
because of certain stipulations they
imposed. There are indications now
that the federation may drop, tenn
porarily, at least, its conciliatory at
titude and take several steps that will
widen the breach between the rival
forces. Many craft leaders feel that
the limit had been reached when Mr..
Lewis, at the recent convention of the
International Ladies Garment Work
ers' Union. indicated he did not seek
peace because the A. F. of L. had
nothing to offer the workers of
America.
That the Cincinnati meeting will be
stripped for action is indicated by
the fact that no Federal unions, CEN
trail labor bodies and State federations
OF labor have been invited to attend.
These units are small af1liates of the
strength, but with considerable vocal
power. Since many Of them are SYM
pa thetic to the c. 1. o. their presence
might have precipitated lengthy but
futile discussion. Since the c. I. O.
unions are under suspension and will
not be represented at the meeting, it
is foregone conclusion that whatever
action the Executive Council of the
federation suggests, will be adopted.
May Seek to Retaliate.
1t is considered likely that the fed
Grafton may seek to retaliate against
the c. I. o. for the inroads which the
latter group has made in its men,
bership. by chartering new unions in
fields where the c. I. o. holds sway
Thus, the federation may attempt
to strike home against Lewis by issu-
ing a charter to the Progressive Min
ers, a group Of coal diggers who for
years have been in bitter opposition to
Lewis own union. the United Mine
Workers Of America In the past there
have been long and bloody wars be-
tween the rival mine groups before
Lewis gained the upper hand. If a
rival union attempted to encroach on
Mr.. Lewis union it Is almost cer-
tainty that this bloodshed would be
renewed
Another field where the A. F. Of L.
might issue a charter is In the mems
clothing industry. Here there are
already two unions, Sidney Hillman's
Amalgamated Clothing Workers Of
America, c. I. o. union, and Thomas
R. Rickert's United Garment Work.
ers, an A. F. OF L. affiliate. For many
years the Amalgamated remained out
Of the A. F. OF L. because of a juris-
dictional controversy with the United.
Finally, in 1888, the Amalgamated re-
joined the Federation and agreed that
the United should control the manu-
facture of mems working clothes.
while the Amalgamated should make
dress clothes. In addition, the
Amalgamated paid a large sum, re-
ported to be $50,000 a year to the
United, for the use of its label.
From the start OF the G. I. o. con-
trove.sy Mr.. Hillman has been one
OF the closest hackers of John L.
Lewis, and this fact, combined with
his long absence from the A. F. of L.,
has made him decidedly unpopular
with the Federation. Because Of these
conditions, 1t is not unlikely that the
Federation will authorize Mr.. Rickert
to undertake a drive in the mems
dress clothing industry.
Debate How to Fight C. I. o.
Other things that the A. F. of L.
will consider will be how to fight
back against new c. I. o. unions in
fields where the A. F. Of L. had for
years been established.
Recent instances Of c. I. o. inva-
sions Of fields held by the A. F. Of
L. include transportation and elec-
trical work. For years the Amalga-
mated Association Of Street, Elec.
trc Railway d Motor Coach opera-