Evening star., 1941-10-06
WaIkout at Gary, Ind.
Halls Operations in
81 Steel Furnaces
Crunemen Tie Up =
Giont Operations in
Largest U. S. Mills
By the Associet ted Press

The Gary Qnd) works OF the
Carnegie-Illi Steel Corp, where
$4,000 men have been producing
100000 tons of steel week, operated
with a skeleton crew of 1900 today
as a labor dispute continued between
the management and the c. I. o.
Steel Workers Organizing Commit
! tee.
Those on duty we're mostly main
| tenance men to keep fires burning
in the u blast furnaces.
The Carnegie-Illinois plant ceased
operations at midnight Saturday in
seven of its IL blast furnaces and Al
of the 50 open hearths after 80
cranemen employed in key positions
failed to report for work.
Union and company representa-
tives disagreed as to whether a cur
tailment of the force OF cranemen
was the cause of the labor difficulty.
A union source said the company
had requested that one of the 13
cranemen be dropped from each
etgf1t=t1pur shift, but a company
source insisted this QUESTION HAD
never been raised by the c. I. %.
Grievance Committee.
| esss =. Conference Fails. tgei
Joseph -Gohs the tfdInnA. .UfRH-
arice Committee chairman, and
George P. Wardley. company indus
trial relations chief, held a confer
ence Sunday that apparently was
without result and neither would be
quoted.
Meanwhile, 1900 employees of the
American Bridge Co.. also at Gary,
who walked out last Friday returned
to work this morning pending ne
gotiations Wednesday looking to set
tlement OF labor dispute at the
plant.
Production at the huge Wickwlre
Bros. steel mill at Cortland. N. Y,
was curtailed today by a strike OF
the Steel Workers Organizing Com
mittee, the first in the half-century
history of the company.
The Walkout, which the union
claimed was virtually 100 per cent
! effective. was called last hight by
Walter J. Payne, subregional c. I. o.
director. The union is demanding
wage increases, union shop, the
"check-of system, which would
have the company deduct 81 per
month for dues and weeks vaca-
ton with pay.
Defense SubcontractOr.
The company produces weaving
wire, wire cloth, nails and other wire
products. 1t holds minor Govern
ment subcontracts, but no sizeable
defense orders.
Rejecting recommendations of
union officials, A. F. L. machinists
at the Consolidated Aircraft Corp.
San Diego, Calf, have turned down
wage dispute settlement reached
here last week by the Defense Me-
diation Board.
The aircraft machinists voted yes
| terday to send its Negotiating Com
mittee back to Washington with
instructions the settlement proposal
would not be accepted unless 13-
cents-an-hou boost for workers not
affected by the beginners scale was
made retroactive to July 5.
The compromise reached by union
and company officials with the
board provided for boost in the
beginners scale from 55-65 cents to
6O-75 cents an hour, with blanket
increase of 13 cents an hour for
workers n9t affected by the scale.
The boost for beginners would be
retroactive to July S, under the
settlement proposal, but the blanket
| increase would be effective as of
October 4.
officials of the international As
sociation of Machinists had urged
acceptance of the settlement propo-
sal. George Castleman, interna-
tional vice president, recommended
its approval, and w. j. Chudleigh,
president of the aircraft local, told
the membership he already had
asked the mediation board to make
the blanket increase retroactive.
The machinists authorized their
executive committee to call strike
in support of wage demands.
Some $4,000 striking anthracite
miners returning to work today in
Pennsylvania claimed at least par
tial victory in their 26-day walkout
in protest against increased union
dues and assessments.
Major operators were said by In
surgent Leader Garrett Miller to
have assured they would deduct
only 81 from pay of each worker for
international union annual assess
ments pending a decision on a 81
increase by the Anthracite Board of
Cancellation.
The Seattle Council of Welders
rescinded it's action calling for a
strike today in protest against re-
| f1lSa1 of the American Federation of