The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1941-05-22
Green Confounds
Continued from Page One)

hardly be argued that non-union men,
bers should be admitted into the
union ranks without payment Of any
fee when all those before them have
contributed their share to the eco
nomic strength of their organization.
81 am laying these facts before you,
not a justification for the imposition
of excessive initiation fees in the time
of national emergency. / feel that
the emergency situation calls for
special action by our unions.
"Practically all of our unions have
taken cognizance of the situation and
have acted accordingly. Within the
limitations of our authority, we in the
American Federation of Labor have
established reasonable and uniform
standard initiation fees in every in
stance known to us and have done
away with abuses.
"Most of our national and local or
CARNATIONS have taken the necessary
action to meet the present conditions
voluntarily and on their own initia-
tive. They have done so in the in
terest of the common good as patrio-
tic American citizens who know that
every one of us in America is engaged
in job of most crucial Importance
that of preserving liberty and democ-
racy in America and in the world"
On the question Of national de
fense strikes, Mr.. Green said:
J,,l, ,,,;l
1911, there were altogether only 9!
strikes involving in any way nationa
defense production. OF these, 81
strikes in 55 establishments were con
sidered to be important by the Office
of Production Management and 3$
were classified by OPM as distinctly
secondary. The strikes carried on th'
OPM secondary list were so classified
because no delay or interruption il
defense activity resulted from them
in the presence Of alternative sources
; of supply or Of sufficient inventories
} which were readily available. Thus i
is perfectly proper for us to follow
the OPM's classification and limit ou
consideration to 81 disputes listed b.
l them as Of any consequence to de
fense production.
"These 81 disputes involved alto
= gether 2l2,GOS workers and resulted
in 2,279,50l man-days of idleness
About one-half Of them were dispute
in which management refused to af
ford unions recognition Of their col
| l,r i,,i j., f,1
the established collective bargaining
procedures. The remainder of tn,
strikes involved grievances, questions
, of speed-up and work-load and wage
issues Only two strikes involved
iurisdictonal questions and only three
were strikes in which an organiza
tional dispute between A. F. of l.
and c. |. o. unions was at issue.
, "In the light of what | have sal,
with regard to the A. F. Of l.. defens
policies, | want to call your specia
attention to the American Federation
Of Labor's record in these strikes af
fecting defense production.
"Of the 81 defense strikes, At in
Volved G. |. O. unions, Q involved A
+. of l.. unions and 5 involved bot
b G.. |. O. and A. +. of l.. locals. O
the number of workers involved il
these strikes 92.5 per cent were G..
o., GA per cent were A. +. of l.. mem
bcrs, while l.O7 per cent rcpresente,
workers in strikes in which both th
A. +. Of l.. and the G. |. O. were in
VolVcd. In terms of the man-days o
ldlcncSS, 9l.5 per cent resulted from
c. |. O. strikes, 5.3 per cent from A
+. of l.. strikes, and 3.2 per cent from
, disputes in which both A. +. of L. an,
, G. |. o. unions participated.
"The record speaks for itself.
represents facts furnished by the OF
flee of Production Management an,
It's authenticity cannot be challenged
1t shows that the American Fedora
ton Of Labor unions were involved il
strikes which caused only 5 per cen
of dlcneSs in production, while 80 pc,
cent of such idIcness was brough
about by disputes of the dual G. |. O
organization.
"And yet it should be realized tha
\. +. of J.. unions represent workers
in key positions in all of the maioI