The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1939-08-11
GUILD CONTROL OF
PROOFREADERS Is
GAINED in DRIVE
Intl Typo. President Says Guild Has
Gained Control OF Certain Dailies.
BY JOSEPH A. WISE


Chicago, Ill. (ILNS) Charles Will
fong, chairman of the composing room
of the Chicago Hearst daily news
papers, said to me at a union meeting
that C. M. Baker, president of the
International Typographical Union,
had told him that the American News
paper Guild had gained control of the
proofrooms of certain daily news
papers.
l knew that the guild had such an
attack in mind, but did not know that
it had acted~on it at any place.
wrote an inquiry to Mr.. Baker and re-
ceived highly illuminating reply. |
am sure that it will prove interesting
to trade unionists of all crafts. 1t
reads, in part, as follows:
"When the executive council of the
international Union met with the ex-
ecutive board of the American News
paper Guild at New York on May 26
the international officials of the latter
organization informed us (rather
strongly that they had taken into
their jurisdiction proofreaders at GER
tain places and when these were ques-
toned they mentioned Portland, Me.
Mailrooms Also Invaded
"In other localities, they have in
vaded the mailrooms and have also
taken into membership copyholders.
Frankly, l have emphatically in
formed the guild that their broad ju-
risdicitional claims could not be recog-
nized by the International Typograph-
ical Union and that if they insisted
upon invading the confined of union
composing rooms or even those which
were unorganized that controversy
and strife would follow
cit is, of course, their psychology
that they are entitled to organize all
'unorganized' workers in the printing
and publishing industry.
"To agree to any such proposition
would mean that the international
Typographical Union would sacrifice
all possibility of future growth This
| cannot agree to.
Air is Cleared
81 am confident that if the meeting
in New York on May 26 had no other
result, it did give to the guild officials
a recognition that the International
Typographical Union would not sub
nit to having jurisdiction over which
| it has exercised control and consis-
tently endeavored to organize for
more than century invaded by an
other union, thereby setting up dual
jurisdiction in the union composing
rooms. Such a condition would be
intolerable."
Additional information in reference
to the guild acquiring control over
proofreaders was received from Mr..
Baker later. He says:
"Since writing you, have received
a letter from the secretary of Bis
marck Typographical Union in which
he states that in Fargo the proof
room is under the jurisdiction of the
/, guild on the Bismarck Forum
"It seems astounding that where
the Typographical Union has most,
if not all, of the proofreaders en-
ployed in locality under it's juris-
diction and under contract the guild
should step into those shops where
efforts of the Typographical Union to
organize the proofreaders have been
unsuccessful and accept those men,
bers into newer organization.
"Of course, the lower rate of dues
is attractive to non-unionists because
they do not realize that more than
80 per cent of the sum they pay to the
Typogra phical Union goes for old-age
protection"