Evening star., 1941-03-05
Strike Set Tomorrow
In Plant With Huge
Defense Orders
100000. 900 Contracts
Involved; 200 Roofers
Quit Maryland Jobs
5s the Associated Press.


at the Ingalls, Iron Works Co. ir
Birmingham. The plant has defense
contracts spproximating sl00, ,000, 900
Their announcement followed close
on these other developments affect
ing the defense program:
Twelve hundred A. F. L. roofers
went on strike in Maryland, walk
ing off jobs that included projects
at the Aberdeen Proving Ground
Edgewood Arsenal and a Glenn L
Martin airplane factory. The union
spokesman protested that carpenters
were being given work which rightly
was the roofers'. Thirty-flve walked
out at Fort Meade, but only few
barracks were involved.
C. I. o. members at the Alum
inum Co. of America plant at Edge
water. N. j., called for a vote to
decide by Friday morning whether to
authorize a strike. They have been
busy on materials vital to aircraft
manufacture. Overtime pay argu-
ments are at the bottom of the
trouble.
Firing Range Strike Ends.
Elsewhere there were these de-
velopments:
A strike of construction workers
at a $4,000, 900 Army anti-aircraft
firing center in North Carolina was
ended today but an A. F. of L. walk
out continued to hold up $4,000, ,000
in essential defense building work at
Wright Field, Ohio.
Settlement of the strike at Camp
Davis, N. c., was announced last
night by Frank Sheehan, Federal
concilliato-. He said the strikers on
the big firing center project had
agreed to return to work today al
though no decision on terms had
been reached.
The union had asked a preferential
shop, time and one-half for straight
overtime and double pay for working
on Sundays and holidays.
The Wright Field strike, a recur-
renee of a late January Walkout,
brought statement from the War
Department that work essential to
the expansion of this post as one of
the most important military aircraft
centers in the United States" had
been halted.
Testing Laboratories Hit.
The Army is constructing testing
and laboratory facilities at Wright
Field. near Dayton. and the strike
of 200 A. F. L. building trades work
ers tied up work on a wind tunnel,
torque stand. radio laboratory, dy-
namometer laboratory and admin
lstration building. The War Depart
ment statement said the facilities
were needed both for the testing
of engines and planes now on order
and for the development of new
types"
The A. F. L. men walked out when
G. I. o. employees of the Penner
Construction Co. resumed work on
an electrical installation job in the
dynamometer building The jan
uary A. F. L. walkout ended when
the Army ordered the Penner COM
pany to suspend operations tenn
porarily.
Shortly after the War Department
issued its statement yesterday, Pres
ident Roosevelt commented at his
press conference that only about
one-fourth of / per cent of defense
projects were affected by strikes,
although some persons had an er-
roneous impression that the delays
were much greater.
More than 100 A. F. L. carpenters
who had left their jobs on a S2,500,-
600 Army construction project at
the general reserve depot in Colum-
bus, Ohio, agreed to return to work
today pending a conference Mon
dav on a wage dispute.
Harry Bennett. personnel chief Of
Ford Motor Co., agreed to visit
with" special commission ap-
pointed by Gov. Murray D. Van
Wagner of Michigan to mediate a
threatened strike at three Ford fac
tories. Mr.. Bennett said, however,
that he saw no reason" for a con-
ference because there was mo dis
pute to discuss and no legitimate
reason for Ford workers to strike"
The C. I. O.-United Automobile
Workers are trying to negotiate a
contract with Ford, along with wage
increases and changes in working
conditions in the three plants where
5000 employees work.
At Lansing, Mich, both Federal
and State conciliators tried to head
off a threatened strike of A. F. l..
electrical workers, which would cut
off gas and electric service in 300
Michigan communities.
Some success attended the me-
diators' efforts. The union agreed
early today not to strike before 2
pm, thus permitting further con-
ferenceS looking toward settlement.
Consumers Power Co. officials said
II the strike went into effect, most
of the States industrial facilities
outside of Detroit would be affected.
The union seeks a preferential shop
contract and wage increases.
Fourteen tugs were tied up in the
harbor of Norfolk, Va, by a strike.
C. I. o. die casters at the plant of
Pressure Castings, Inc, at Cleveland
walked out. Production of defense
contracts at the Neville Island, Pa,
propeller plant of the CurtiSs-W Wright
Corp, was halted briefly by c. I.
O.-called strike. Employees agreed
to return to work pending confer
ences over a union demand.
, In Orange, Tex, 247 employees of
the Consolidated Steel Corp. walked
out yesterday in a dispute over wage
increases. The firm is supplying
material for new ship yards at which
II destroyers are to be built.
The White Oak mills in Green's
boro, N. c., largest manufacturer Of
denim in the world, with 2,077 en-
ployes, closed down when the 7
o'clock shift of the finishing room
did not go to work.
No agreement was reached in an
ilour-long parley. Workers said they
were protesting addition of the out
put of 500 more looms to the finish
ing rooms operation and asking
more help to handle this increased
work and wage increase from 321a
cents to 40 cents an hour.