Evening star., 1941-11-12
Army and Navy Work
Held Up as Strikes
Close Two Plants
Ohio Naval Ordnance
And New Jersey Tank
Port Factories Idle
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
A strike by 25 A. F. L. machine
erectors at the naval ordnance plant
in Canton, Ohio, halted operations
today, making idle 465 production
workers and 500 to 600 construction
men in addition to the strikers.
The erectors and production work
ers are employed by the Westing-
house Electric & Manufacturing Co.
operators of the plant. The con-
struction corps works for the Rust
Engineering e. Construction Co. OF
Pittsburgh, general contractors.
Company officials and leaders in
Local 8l2 of the A. F.. L. Inter-
Association of Machinists, to which
the erecting machinists belong. at
tributed the strike to refusal of the
company to honor a union request
for dismissal or transfer of six or
seven c. I. O. men accused of solicit
ing memberships.
Representation of the production
workers is claimed by Local 804 of
the same A. F. l.. union. An N. L.
r. B. hearing was scheduled here
today on Local 804's petition for
CertificatiOn. The Labor Board last
summer denied the union claim on
the ground it was premature, since
the S20000000 ordnance plant event.
ually will employ 1000 production
workers. 1t is now operating at
about Is per cent of capacity. turn
ing out gun mount and turret parts
and similar gear.
New Jersey Plant Strikes.
At New Brunswick, N. j., Carl
Doktorich, president of the c. I. o.
United Auto Workers of America
Local 824, asserted today a strike
had shut down completely" the
Mack Manufacturing Corp. plant,
where 1000 were employed on S1O,-
100000 worth of Army tank trans
missions.
Mr.. Doktorich said nearly all of
the 1,400 day-shift workers had
made the strike 100 per cent
effective" by respecting a small
picket line. He said office and main
tenance personnel and men en-
ployed on perishable work were al
lowed to enter the plant. Pickets
were orderly, police said.
A meeting of 300 c. I. o. men,
bers voted the strike last night.
Doktorich said, several hours after
100 members of the Mack Independ-
ent Employees Association and the
c. I. o. union conducted a spon-
taneous walkout.
The c. I. o. said it would seek a
15-cent hourly wage increase over
the present undisclosed scale.
Distillery Plant Struck.
About $50 A. F. L. men employed
IN the processing plant of the Hiram
Walker & Sons distillery at Peoria.
Ill, struck last midnight for a closed
shop and overtime pay for Saturday
and Sunday work. The company
said the strike might cause the loss
of thousands of dollars worth of
grain now in the fermenting vats.
At Buffalo, N. Y, general Accent
hourly wage boost and other auto
matte raises averted a threatened
c. I. o. Walkout at the Hewitt Rub
Der Co. whose 300 workers produce
self-sealing gasoline tanks for air
planes.
Charles E. Lanning. c. I o. United
Rubber Workers representative, and
Thomas Robins, jr.. company presi-
dent. said in a joint statement yes
terday that a wage supplement to an
existing contract had been signed
Yesterday, there was threat that
welders' Walkout in Los Angeles
County shipyards might be renewed,
but that threat was removed last
night when Karl V. Morris, president
of the Independent United Welders.
Cutters and Helpers Union, told
members of his organization that
A. F. L. and c. I. o. union officials
had agreed not to discriminate
against the independent welders
The independents are seeking
union recognition. and have a case
pending before the National Defense
Mediation Board,