Evening star., 1941-04-07
Next 100 Days Held
Crucial to Defense:
Steel Strike Averted
Conferees Agree to
Continue Wage
Negotiations
Ply the Associated Press.

Ply the Assocla ted Press.
The United States Steel Corp.
and the c. I. o. Steel Workers
Organizing Committee agreed
today to continue their wage ne
gotiationS, thus averting the
threat of an immediate work
stoppage in the steel company's
mills.
The s. w. o. c. issued a state
ment saying workers would re-
main at their posts under the
present contract until April IS and
that any changes in wages or work
ing conditions agreed on in the
meantime would be retroactive to
April l. The S. w. o. C. previously
had called a strike for midnight
tomorrow
With the Allis-Chalmers strike
settled, Federal labor agencies
turned their attention today to the
problem of calming labor strife in
the Ford Motor Co.
Agreement Signed.
The Allis Chalmers walkout
which has blocked work on S45,-
100000 of defense orders since Jan
uary %, was virtually settled by the
Defense Mediation Board yesterday
when management and G. l. o.
union officials signed an agreement
here which needed only union mem
bership ratification to become eff
fective
Members of the G. L o. plant local
at Milwaukee ratified the agree
ment today, clearing the way for
reopening of the plant tomorrow.
The settlement plan was taken
before a union mass meeting by
union officers shortly after they
were flown back to Milwaukee in
two Navy transport planes.
Ed Hall. International U. A. w.
representative, had announced that
if the settlement was ratified the
workers would go back to their jobs
tomorrow. Company President Max
w. Babb also announced the plant
would reopen tomorrow.
Coal Contract Draft Held Up.
In New York, drafting of a new
labor cantract which would send
most of the Nations 100000 idle
miners back into the defense-im
portant soft coal mines was tenn
porarily delayed while labor man
agement negotiators struggled with
a few technical points in a pro-
posed Appalachian wage agreement.
Meanwhile, Southern bituminous
operators in the Estate Appalachian
area reiterated their displeaSure at
a proposal to eliminate wage dif-
ferential heretofore existing between
the north and south areas.
Spokesman for southern operators
declared there was no possibility
that they would relinQuish the diff
ferential. under which they pay 40
cents day less than northern own
ers. they said that if necessary the
mines in Southern West Virginia,
Virginia, Tennessee anr Eastern Ken
lucky would remain closed pending
separate negotiations with the United
Mine Workers of America &C. I. o..
The contract which expired March
81 provided a S6 basic wage in the
North and $3.50 in the South. If the
South accepted the contract, the
effect would be to make the basic
wage 81 day throughout the area
Steelman Turns to Steel Situation.
DR.. John r. Steelman, chief of
the Federal Cancellation Service,
turned from the soft coal negotia-
tions to call union and manage
ment representatives to a conference
on the United States Steel situa-
tion.
Ernest T. Weir, chairman of the
National Stel Corp. Pittsburgh, an
nounced a wage increase of 10 cents
an hour to about 2l,00 hourly rate
employees.
Hopeful also were Federal and
State conciliators working to end
production tie-up at Ford's vast
River Rouge plant, whose operations
are vital to s155 100000 of defense
orders.
James E. Dewey, Federal concili-
(See STRIKES, Page AID