Evening star., 1941-06-27
Transit Union Strike
Wont Be Legitimate,
La Guardia Declares
New York Civil Service
Law Doesn't Permit
Wolkout, He Says
BY the Associated Press.


NEW YORK, June 27.-Mayor F.
H. La Guardia declared today that
if the city's $4,000 transit workers
carry out their unions threat to
walk off their jobs Tuesday morn
ing, the city could not regard their
action as legitimate strike.
With approximately 100000 fares
being collected every day by the
subway, surface and elevated transit
lines, the threatened walkout would
affect more persons directly than
any other labor stoppage ever pro-
jected in this country.
The Mayor, who has expressed
confidence there would be no strike,
said high officials of the C. I. o.
recognized the city's inability to con-
slider certain provisions of union
contracts which expire June 30.
The contracts were negotiated
with private companies which for
merly operated some of the transit
lines. Since then, however, all tram
sit systems have been unified under
municipal ownership.
5000 Vote for Strike.
Between 5000 and 5000 members
of the Transit Workers Union, at
tending the first of a series of
Strike-vote meetings last night. de-
Cided to walk out Tuesday unless
the city agrees to negotiate new
contract.
Among the old contract provisions
the Mayor said the city could not
consider were those compelling
workers to pay union dues or be
dismissed and clauses which he
said disregarded State civil service
laws.
mo matter what happens we
cannot treat the leaving of work
as a strike in the ordinary sense
of the word" the Mayor told news
men. The civil service law does
not permit it, and government as
such cannot fail to exercise its
functions, in this instance being
the operation of transit facilities
for the people of the City of New
York
AS the cheering, stamping work.
men voted to strike last night the
city of New York, indicated it was
ready.
Workers to Be Protected.
John H. Delaney, chairman of the
Board of Transportation, declared
orders have been issued to those in
charge of trains, stations, power
houses, shops, yards and garages to
get ready to put into action plans
which have been under preparation
for the past two weeks"
Mr.. Delaney said full protection
would be given men who chose to
work despite the strike call.
From Philip Murray, president of
the c. I. O., came telegram to last
nights meeting, promising every
legitimate support in this very i'm
portant matter"
Although the city kept secret its
plans which have been under prep
aration." there was no doubt it would
attempt to run the trains Although
there was no announcement of it,
there was noticeable increase in
the number of patrolmen of the
SYSTEMS own police force on duty in
the stations last night.
The dispute between the city and
the T. w. u, led by Michael Quill,
has ramifications not usually found
in industrial quarrels.
The T. w. u, seeking renewal of
contract with the Interborough
Rapid Transit and Brooklyn-M
haitian divisions of the system, ne
gotiated before the city acquired
them and which expires Monday
night, discards the Civil Service
contention, maintains its rights to
represent the men, and demands a
$1-a-day-wage increase.
1t claims. also. the right to rep
resent the Independent division of
the system, which the city built and
whose employees always have been
under Civil Service
Thirty-two thousand employees are
affected
The union said that I. r. T. and
B. M. T. workers received more
weekly wages than I. N. D. workers,
and that in nine Of the Is work
claSsifcations the I. r. T. and
B. M. T. hourly wage rates exceeded
those paid for working the same
ClaSSifiCatiOnS on the I, N. D.
A union table showed that l. r. T.
porters were paid the lowest weekly
wage of $2521 for 54 hours, with the
high paid to l. R. T. motormen-