Evening star., 1941-02-05
1900 Workers Return
To Jobs; Truce Efforts
Continue in 2Strikes
Employees Of Pullman Cor
Plant Settle Dispute;
{. |. O. Protests to Ford
Fy the Associated Press.

Fy the Associa ted Press.
A strike involving pproximately
1900 Michigan City, Ind. workers
was settled yesterday while Federal
negotiators continued efforts to ad-
Just differences which are keeping
two large defense plants idle in Chi
cago and Milwaukee.
The Michigan City strikers-em-
ployes of the Pullman Standard Car
Manufacturing Co.-voted to return
to work under a temporary agree
ment
Corciliators were hopeful of
breaking the Chicago deadlock in
volving some $500 tractor workers of
the International Harvester Co.
After a conference with representa-
tives of strikers and employer they
said additional meetings would be
necessary.
In Milwaukee. 1000 employees of
the Chalmers Co. we're still out
The plant closed down two weeks
ago while working on $40 900 900 OF
defense orders. DR.. John r. Steel
man. Cancellation Service director,
discussed the strike with defense
officials, but said no definite plans
for action were formulated here.
Labor's "Docility" Cited.
The C. I. o. cited figures which 1t
said illustrated labor's amazing
docility in a period of business up
turn, huge profits and high living
costs It's news service said there
were fewer workers involved in
strikes last year than in any year
since 1882; and there were fewer
man-days lost through strikes than
in any year since 1890"
Other labor developments:
Legislation to prohibit strikes on
defense projects was termed "ab-
horrent" and unconstitutional by
the A. F. L. in its monthly publica-
ton.
The C. I. o. United Automobile
Workers in Detroit wrote the Ford
Motor Co. that the firm had no
right to negotiate with any other
labor organization. The letter
claimed that majority Of Ford
workers had chosen the C. I. O..
union to represent them. The A.
F. L. claims to have organized
majority in the Ford River Rouge
and Lincoln plants.
EorJ yUop,f with
The Ford company, its personnel
director, Harry H. Bennett, replied,
is through" engaging the United
Automobile Workers in contro-
versy just to keep the issue of
unionism alive for them"
I'VE are going to mind our own
business and run our own plant.
This thing of issuing statements just
gives the union more controversy
and they like trouble.
1--WE had collective bargaining
long before those fellows
ever thought Of it. We are going
to mind our own business and run
our own plant. We are not going
to do anything different than we
have in the past. We never broke
any laws and we are not breaking
any"
Meanwhile, intensification of
drives by the rival unions to organ
ize Ford workers appeared in the
offng c. I. O. President Philip
Murray is scheduled to address a
U. A. VIC. I. o. Ford rally here
February is and A. F. L. officials
indicated they would ask President
William Green to come here for
similar rally.
Dayton Settlement Hit.
The c. I. O.'s Construction Work.
ers' Organizing Committee asked
the War Department whether it
was to be settled policy to revoke"
union contracts whenever a rival
labor union, through the action of
a petty local labor leader, calls
strike on national defense project"
The request was in letter pro-
testing the method of settling an
A. F. of L. strike at the Air Corps
Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio. The
strike was settled. the c. l. o. letter
said, only after Army officials sus-
pended operations of subcontractor
employing c. I. o. labor exclusively.