The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1938-12-22
A. A.F.ofL. Wiremen
Miss Postal Ballot
CIO Menaces Postal Tele-
grdph SdYs Telegraph
ers' Head


graphers Union, an affiliate of the
American Federation of Labor, the
National Labor Relations Board an
nounced that it had removed the name
of the union from the ballot in the
forthcoming nationwide election or
dered by the NLRB among employees
of the Postal Telegraph Company to
determine collective bargaining
agency. The result of this action is
that the name of the c. |. O. American
Communications Association is the
only name that will appear on the bal
lot.
Mr.. Powers told the Board that the
Commercial Telegraph Union has in
its possession membership applica-
tions of a majority of Postal Tele-
graph Company employees in 45 cities
designating the Commercial Tele-
graphers Union to act for them, and
emphasized the fact that there is no
evidence whatsoever that the en-
ployes in any Of these cities favor
repudiating the C. T. L. by desig-
mating the c. l.. o. American Com
munications Association to act for
them.
Postaps Financial Difficulties Stressed
at is my understanding" Mr.. Pow
ers said, "that the Postal Telegraph
Company is closer to the brink Of
liquidation than it ever has been be-
fore. The company has been in the
process Of reorganization proceedings
under the Federal Bankruptcy Act
since 1885, and the records in that
case will show the company is bank
rupt with slim possibility Of becoming
solvent.
Activities of the A. C. A., which
is Communist through and through,
have brought almost total strangula-
tion of the Postal Company system. If
Postal is forced into liquidation, some
$4,000 employees will be thrown out
into the street. They are the ones who
will suffer, and the American Com
munications Association (CIO) will be
solely responsible. Furthermore, A.
c, A. is guilty of showdown, a typical
Communist technique.
after the Wage-Hour law went in
to effect the company withdrew a plan
for reorganization which had pre-
viously been submitted to a Federal
Court in New York, for further study.
1t was found that it would require
from S250,000 to s1,000,000 more an
nually to meet salary increases, if the
company was to adhere to the provis-
ions of this new law. Messengers were
laid off to help cover the cost. The
Federal Communications Commission
was appealed to for Is per cent rate
increase, which was denied. The Gov
ernment was asked to increase its rate
Of payment from 40 per cent to 100
per cent, which request is still under
consideration.
Even if these requests are granted,
it is considered doubtful that the
Postal Company could avoid what now
seems the inevitable, liquidation of its
business and the resultant unemploy-
ment of some 15,OC0 persons.
These requests are serious ones
and before being made much thought
and deliberation was given them by
the company, and, in addition to these
problems, which were enough in them
selves to practically throttle the life
blood of the company, the A. G.. A.
deliberately increases the woes Of the
company by its system of sabotage.
"The Telephone Company is in bust
ness unfairly with the telegraph COM
panies through the use of teletype-
writer service. The next session of
Congress is expected to consider leg
islation to restrict the telephone COM
panies to telephone business. Such leg
islation would undoubtedly release
considerable business back to the tele-
graph companies. If the Postal Com
pany were then non-eXistent, it would
place the Western Union in the posi-
ton of having monopoly, for which
Western Union could give thanks to
the National Labor Relations Board,
with its proc. |. O. tendencies, and
the A. c. A, with what appears to be
a we'll regulated and oiled system of
destruction
within the past year the 4. c. A.
has turned its attention toward West
ern Union employees but has not found
any sentiment there. At the present
time we have several thousand Of such
organized and we hope to
have many more in the very near fu
ture. We have reason to believe that
the employees of Western Union will
not be allergic to the poisonous ven
ON dished out by A. c. 4. or any Of its
kind"
Patrick J. Taft, counsel for c. T. L.,
made the following statement:
"We asked that our name be re-
moved from the ballot in the nation
wide poll among Postal employees, or
dered by y. L. r. B., because we do
not want to be party to an action
which will assist materially in the
final destruction of the company. I'M
til the board ordered the nationwide
election be held, we had been fighting
for the employees of the company in
40 cities who had evidenced their de-
sire to have c. T. L. represent them
as sole bargaining agency by signed