Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-05-30
Strike Threat Lifted
Al Packard Plant;
Two WaIkouts End
Scent Roise Accepted;
Chemical and She'll
Disputes Settled
By the Associated Press.

DISPuteS SettleQ
By the Associated Press.
Although most factories were
closed for the Memorial Day holi-
day, defense production chiefs re-
ceived cheering news from several
quarters today of steps to end in
dustrial strife.
A strike threat was lifted from
the Packard Motor Car plant at De-
troit, walkouts were ended at an
Illinois chemical works and Penn
sylvania shell factory, and the
Nashville (Tenn) A. F. l.. building
trades unions named a co-ordinator
to prevent work St0ppageS on de-
tense projects.
The Packard management offered,
and the G, !. 0. United Automobile
Workers accepted, a new contract
providing Scent hourly increases
for some II 900 production employees.
In addition. each employee with at
least a years seniority will be paid
a $40 bonus next January in lieu of
vacations. The basic pay scale at
the plant was not disclosed. Pack
ard has $62,O00,000 in armament
orders.
Wage increases ended a six-week
strike by 900 A. F. L. employees of
the Monsanto Chemical Co. at East
st. Louis, III. Workers will get an
immediate increase of cents an
hour, and 21a cents additional next
October. Present rates range from
IS cents to SIPS an hour.
Shell Plant Dispute Settled.
One hundred employees of the
Pressed Steel Car Co., McKees
Rocks, Pa, agreed to go back to
making Comm. shells when the
company restored an eight-hour
day. Working time had been cut
to five hours daily because of lack
Of storage space for the shells.
The strike of 1000 A. F. L. and
G. I. o. machinists at II San Fran
cisco Bay shipyards continued to
hold up work on $500, 100000 worth
OF ships. The strikers ask sl.l5
an hour straight wages and double
pay for overtime. They have been
getting 81, with double time, and
have rejected coastwide agree
ment calling for SLIP and time-and-
one-half overtime.
James P. Smith, business agent
of the C. I. o. union at Oakland,
said members met last night and
voted to maintain picket lines at
shipyards there until they obtained
q signed contract.
No meeting of the A. F. L. union
was planned before next Wednesday
night. E. F. Dollon, business agent,
said that at that time he would
present a proposal of Chairman
Truman of the Senate defense in
vestigating committee that machin-
lists return to work and then nego-
tiate their demands, but that he
would not recommend return to
work.
Other workers employed in the
shipyards were reported returning
to their jobs in increasing num-
bers, even though this meant cross
ing the maehinists' picket lines.
Chairman Truman announced yes
terday he would write every striker
asking if he was prepared to re-
turn to work. The A. F. l.. Execu-
tive Council has urged an immedi-
ate end to the walkout.
The Defense Mediation Board
yesterday requested striking Pacific
Coast lumber workers to go back |
to work, calling attention to Presi- |
dent Roosevelt's declaration Tues
day night for an end to strike
stoppages in defense industries.
About 10000 G. I. o. underwriters
in the Pacific Northwest are de-
manding a 712-cent hourly increase
over the existing wage scale of 6712
cents an hour, weeks paid vaca-
ton, a union shop, union hiring
provisions and no piecework. Union
leaders telegraphed the Mediation
Board that Responsibility for the
strike situation rests squarely with
the employers"
Coal Plan Due Next Week.
In another important dispute, the
over wages in the soft
coal mining industry, the Mediation
Board is to present It's settlement
proposal next week to the c. I. o.
United Mine Workers and Southern
Appalachian soft coal operators.
After an April work stoppase North
ern owners agreed to meet the
unions demands for a 81 raise to
81 a day. Southern operators en-
tered a temporary agreement to
make a similar 81 boost, to basic
scale of $3.50, but declared they
could not agree to wiping out the
Accent sectional differential. The
union insists on a uniform wage
throughout the industry.
Leon Henderson, price admins
traitor, served notice that he would
make representations" to the Of
fee of Production Management and
Secretary of Labor whenever 1t ap-
peared that IAN unjustified wage
increase would affect prices" Spe-
officially, he said he would take this
stand with regard to q suggested 80
per cent increase in railroad wages
If 1t was found that the carriers
could pay the increase only by
means Of increased transportation
costs.