Evening star., 1939-01-22
Civil War in j. A, W.
Gives Auto Industry
Critical Problem
Battles for Control
Imposed in Courts
And Union Ranks

Imposed IN Courts
And Union Ranks
BACKGROUND
The bitter struggle for control
OF the U. A. w., groUing for
more than year, reached its
Gilman yesterday When Homer
Martin. then president, seized
the union headquarters and rec
ords and ousted IS of the "a Er-
ecutiue Board members. He ,Das
In turn impeached by the sus-
pended men.
Ey the Associated Press.
DETROIT, Jan. 2l-1mpending
battles, in law courts and in local
union ranks, for control of the
lusty young automobile workers
union, threatened the automotive
industry tonight with its most
critical labor problem since the
widespread sit-down strikes of 1887
The industry, which for three
years has had but one dominant
union-the c. I. O.'s United Auto
mobile WorkerS-now has two
unions, in everything but name.
Two factions, each claiming off
cial' status, contested for the
authority Of U. A. w. contracts with
manufacturers, for title to the
q. A. w. name and to its treasury,
and for allegiance of a claimed
membership OF nearly 100000
workers.
A costly internecine struggle in
local union ranks appeared a GER
tainty, its effect on automotive plant
operations unpredictable.
Confer With Attorneys.
Leaders of the contesting groups
were reported in conference with
attorneys preparatory to seeking
court injunctions against interfer-
ence by the opposition.
The merry-go-round OF suspen-
sions-President Homer Martin GUST
Ing Is members of the 24-man Exec
utive Board and subsequently being
tmpeached by the men he suspended
left only one international officer
untouched by the punitive actions.
He was Walter N. Wells, vice
president who is aligned with the
anti-Martin group, but who has
been out of the city since the latest
fare-up of factional strife.
Mr.. Martin met reports today that
the full support of the Congress of
Industrial Organizations had been
thrown to his foes with the state
1nent:
This is an issue between the
union; it is not c. l. O. issue"
He previously has charged c. I. o.
leaders with destroying the auton-
omy of the U. A. w.
1nsurgent board members, who
claim Martins suspensions were
illegal, said today that is c. I. O.
directors and organizers headed by
Allan Haywood. New York regional
director, and Hugh Thompson, Buf-
falo director, had arrived for STRAIT
egy conferences.
r. j. Thomas, U, A. W. vice
president, and Delmond Garst, board
members, both of the anti-Martin
group. went to Pittsburgh for
conference there with Philip Muir
ray. c. I. o. vice president, who was
q member of the Co-ordinating
Committee set up following a U. A.
W. factional outbreak last summer.
Both Mr.. Thomas and Mr.. Garst
were Martin allies in that dispute.
The Martin-controlled board rem
nant. by appointing Loren Houser
as acting secretary treasurer to re-
place the suspended" George F..
Adde's last night, presented U. A. w.
locals, for the second time in a
year, with the problem of where to
send per capita tax payments due
the international union.
Adde's Was Reinstated.
When Mr.. Adde's was ousted in
the Martin purge" last summer,
many local unions continued to
send the international tax money to
him instead of to Mr.. Garsh, whom
Mr.. Martin named to act as treas
urer. Mr.. Adde's subsequently was
reinstated.
International union funds were
frozen" in a Detroit bank, unavail-
able to either faction, although Mr..
Martin and his attorney held a con-
ference today with bank officials.
The anti-Martin group notified the
bank not to honor requests OF the
impeached president.
Before leaving Detroit to attend
local union meetings at Flint and
Jackson, Mich, Mr. Martin an
nounced that his Official board"
composed of four members loyal to
him had rescinded most of the re-
'strictive moves taken in the last
10 days by his opposition. He said
he was restored as editor of the
unions weekly newspaper and that
administrators he named for the
Detroit Plymouth local had been
'reinstated and instructed to hold
an election Of officers. Mr.. Martin
had suspended the locals officers.
,charging they were Communists;
the anti Martin board had re-
instated them.
, indicative of the tenseness of the
situation throughout the huge
union. administrative forces in every
large U. A. w. local in Detroit over
night posted strong-arm squads at
their Offices to guard the local union
records against any attempted in
vasion.