Evening star., 1941-04-23
$4,000 California
Building Workers
Threaten 10 Strike
Union Says Patience
VIII Be Exhausted
BY Tonight
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
A general strike of $4,000 A. F.. L
construction workers in Southern
California was threatened today.
The A. F. L. Federated TradeI
and Labor Council for the San Diegt
area informed contractors that the
unions patience would be ex.
hausted" by tonight unless wage
Increases were granted. Severa
million dollars worth of Army
Navy, Marine Corps and defense
housing contracts might be affected
by such a strike.
Contractors and Army and Navy
representatives were to confer today
on the unions statement of inten.
ton. 1t was indicated officials o1
the Defense Housing Corp. alsc
would attend, as the $4,000 ,OO(
Kearny Mesa housing project woulc
be affected.
Contract Is Cited.
Details of the wage demands were
not made public, but increases
sought, labor sources reported in
cluded: Sheet metal workers, from
SLIP an hour to S1,25; roofers, from
ST to SO a day; electricians, from SIC
to 'sl1 a day: hardwood flooring
men, from SO to $40 a day.
Several contractors expressed sur
prise. asserting a contract had been
signed last October 18 in which
wages then provided were to con-
tinue for one year.
A strike at the John A. Roebling' S
Sons Co. steel and wire cable plant
at Roebling. N. j., brought on a
15-minute clash yesterday between
c. I. o. pickets and non-strikers
Police squirted water from fire hoses
on the fighters, who were swinging
with fists and baseball bats.
Workers at another Roebling plant
at Trenton, N j., likewise are on
strike for union recognition and
elimination of what the union terms
a production speed-up system. The
National Labor Relations Board yes
terday ordered collective bargaining
elections in both plants.
The company employees about 5000
workers. Federal mediators dis
closed that both sides had rejected
plan for return to work pending
further negotiations.
Board Gets A. c. F. Strike.
In another development, the La.
Dor Department certified to the Ma
tional Defense Mediation Board a
strike at the American Car &
Foundry Co.'S Buffalo IN. " plant
which has orders from Britain for
shells. The department said the
strike involved a representation dis
pute between c. I. o. and A. F. L
unions.
The Mediation Board announced
last night that an agreement had
been reached for settlement of a
strike at the CoWles Tool Co. at
Cleveland.
Details of the settlement were not
announced.
The agreement is subject to rati-
f1cation by the United Automobile
Workers &C. o. and officials said
that the union members would meet
In Cleveland Thursday night to con-
slider it.
The strike began February 81 and
involved 80 men. Issues included
wages, hours and closed shop.
The board set April 26 for a hear
ing on a dispute affecting the Kel-
logg Switchboard & Supply Co. Of
Chicago.
The company has defense con-
tracts for microphones and tele-
phone equipment for use by the
Army Signal Corps.
Cooling Off Order Discussed.
In Detroit, two officials of the
G. I. o. United Auto Workers issued
a statement saying they could not
see that an order of the Michigan
Labor Board invoking a 30-day
cooling off" period applied to the
unions threat to strike at Gen.
eral Motors plants They con-
tended that no defense workers
would be involved, and hence they
did not believe the 30-day law
applied.
The union last week filed inten-
ton TO strike after saying that
negotiations for a new contract
were unsatisfactory. The union
officials who issued the statement
were r. J. Thomas. president of
the U A. w. and Walter P. Reuther,
director of the U. A. w. General
Motors department.
A decision was reached to post
pone action in the House OF Repre-
sentatives on similar cooling off"
legislation sponsored by Representa-
tive Vinson, Democrat, of Georgia.
The House previously had arranged
to take up the Vinson bill Thurs
day, but Democratic Leader McCor-
mack said it would not be called
up before next week.
The bill, which has the approval
of the Naval Affairs Committee, re-
quires defense workers to wait 30
days before walking off a job after
voting to strike, and also provides
for freezing" of existing closed or
open shop arrangements.
Earlier, Philip Murray, president
OF the C. I. o.. had asked the House
Rules Committee to return the
bill to the Naval Affairs Commit