Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-03-10
'O+her Fellow
Should Pay
For the War
CIO Leaders Pass Buck
TO Workers, Bosses
BY PAUL MALLON

Go Steel Workers Organizing
Committee from Pittsburgh APP
peared at a plant of the Ameri-
can Locomotive Works which
has large defense orders -
mostly army.
He told the management It's
contract with Go was satisfac-
tory. He had no objections. He
was not demanding the closed
shop or check-off.
But he said. many union men,
bers in the plant were behind
several months in their dues.
and and some employees had
failed 10 join the union. He an
nounced he would put pickets at
the entrance, collect those back
dues before the men could get
in TO work, and cause non-con-
formiSts to join the union.
The name of the Go officer
was Curtis Gnitials unspecified
in reports here). The basis for
his piCketing threat, he said
was Donald Nelson's stirring
appeal for greater production,
urging creation of labor-manage-
ment committees for each plant.
MR.. NELSON had said nothing
4'1 about enforcing check-offs
and closed sh ops where none
existe but apparently Mr..
Curtis took it to mean the time
was ripe for him in all respects.
He said he hoped it would not
be necessary for him to shut the
plant.
This sent the management
scurrying to the long distance
telephone, seeking advice from
lis master contractor-the gov
eminent in Washington.
Officials here did not hesitate.
They told the management to
inform Mr.. Curtis they would
send troops in to see that the
workers got a chance to turn
out the precious war materials
so vitality needed.
Even the Presidents labor adj
visor. Sidney Hillman got in
touch with Curtis and told him
to abandon his notion.
The last heard here was that
Mr.. Curtis had retired with the
warning he would be back and
start picketing in 10 days if the
matter were not cleared up to
his satisfaction,
NOV comes also Irving Abram-
~ son. CIO councillor for New
Jersey, with a report to Nelson.
which he calls Shocking" to the
effect that plants in the north
ern part of his state are working
only AZ per cent of capacity.
The report may force some
needed corrections If the facts
Justify Mr.. Abramson's asser-
ton. but in submitting it to
the press first. he attributed
the deficiency to managements
profit motive" He said they
did not want to pay time-and-
a-half for overtime.
Nothing could make the situa-
ton clearer. Mr.. Abramson be-
lieves it is all right for him to
have a profit motive for labor
even an excess profit motive.
He wants q 50 per cent wage
increase for all overtime work.
But for an employer to have any
similar motive in protest is a
disgusting and unpatriotic thing
to Mr.. Abramson.
The time and half that Mr..
Abramson wants. would come
out of the treasury and the tax
payers of the country, IL passed
along in the price Of tanks.
planes, etc, or out OF the
pockets of consumers in the
price of non-defense products.
Yet he did not recommend
that labor abandon its 50 per
cent overtime extra fee on
orders to turn out guns for the
nations defense in time Of ma
tional peril.
This is the day Of labor. II
has been freed. as its leaders
say. from the shackles Of en-
slavement.
Not content with this. how
ever, some few Of its leaders al
ways want to put the shackles
on some one elSe-Mr. Curtis on
the workers who do not pay
their dues, and Mr.. Abramson
on the manufacturers who do
not relish A 80 per cent wage
increase for overtime work in
wartime.
Mr.. Ahramson may have re-
ported 10 Mr.. Nelson more than
he intended
HITLER is desperately work.
III ing on Vichy again for the
French fleet. He wants il for a
sea attack on Alexandria 10
clear the way for Rommel, and
invasion straight on into the
Near Eastern oil fields. :.
The Chinese arc again getting
supplies from Russia. including
much captured German ammu-
milton. II fits Chinese guns.
(Chinese army was originally
trained by Germans
The foolproof test of Chinese
for Jap fifth columnists requires
inspection inside the biz toe. il