The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-12-09

portaIlt segment of 8 vital q the drastic bill passed last V the closed Shop, which he con- tends Is essential to ensure job security for workers.
 Yet, today, Lewis is firing vet- eran union employees of m ors ganization he controls because they didn't see eye to eye with him oil his torrid isolationiSin.
 So far 22 have been axed and more are slated to 90. They are organizers, regional directors, and the general counsel, for Q number of years, Of District SO Of the United Mine Workers. District 50 Is the chemical, coke, munitions and cosmetics division of the UNIV. While Q branch Of UNIV, actually District so iS 6 separate iinion-eompletely under the ofles man domination of Lewis.
 Last summer he suddenly Tee moved the veteran top officers of the union and replaced them with ora 0assaway, one of his close henchmen, and Kathryn Lewis, his daughter. dassaway, 6 cne- time miner, gets ei0,000 Q year and Kathryn, who has never worked in 6 mine or factory, T,- 800.
 The inside story of the whoie- sale firirgs now under way is Q honey:
 After clinching control of Dis trlct 50 through the appointment Of his daughter and GaSSawayI Lewis launched Q big-scalc uniOnixatiOn drive in the rapidly expanding coke, chemical and
 munitions industries. For this purpose more than 100 of the ablest c o organizers were hired.
 shortly thereafter these or. ganizeFS and the clerical staff of District 50 were notified by Kathryn that they were being organized into . separate UMW union, Local 122O7. All, of course, joined. WheFeupOn they were in- formed by Kathryn that she had been elected president of the union and that the check.Off was in effect.
 All the axed snti-isOlationist organizers are members of this Local, which has never held a convention or issued report on its finances.
 NOTE - A number of the dls- missed organizers are close friends of CIO President Phil Murray, who supports Rooseyelt's foreign policy. One of them was fired shortly after making a speech bee fore an Ohio union urging sup- port of the CLOS convention en- dorsement of Roosevelt,s policy. Several hours after his speech the organizer received a long distance call from Gassaway who shouted, Don't you know that you are working for John Lewis and not Phil Murrayl"
 DISTRICT 50 FUNDS
 With coke, chemicals and muni- tions production soaring under the defense program, District 50 mem- bership also is zooming. So too are its dues - into the treasury controlled by Lewis.
 What these funds amout to is his secret. There has been no re- port of either income or outgo. District 50 insiders charge that big chunks of the unions money have been channelled into the United Construction Workers.
 The UCW was set up several years ago by Lewis to fight the powerful AFL building trades union. As head of UCW, Lewis installed his youngner brother, A. D. (@Denny') Lewis, who gets 91O,OO0 year. UCW has never got anywhere in the building irl- dustry, but is now engaged in Q hot organizing campaign among cafeteria, transportation and apartment workers. CIO anti. Lewisites claim that District SO money is financing this UCw ac- tivity.
 They also declare that there is more behind the big UCW and district 50 organization drives than merely to build up these unions.
 The charge is made that Lewis is secretly preparing the ground feg sn ewlntual belt from tAe