Evening star., 1942-06-11


Creases in pay DAVID Lawrence
and also has acquiesced in the
closed shop and union shop and
maintenance of membership scheme
for collecting dues and initiation
fees. the national legislature should
relieve the worker who is jobless
by paying his initiation fees.
Many a worker is being prevented
from getting job in war produc-
ton because he does not have the
means to pay the unions their in
itiation fees and, since the admin
tstration believes in compulsory
unionization, there is no way that
the poverty-stricken worker can get
employment in certain trades with
out financial help. This may be
one of number of reasons why the
WPA has been continued so long
despite the shortage of man power
for war work
An interesting letter comes from
the wife of laboring man in Mas
sachusetts. She writes:
MY husband. a healthy, strong
American. was laid off the job he
has held for year, that of mainte-
nance carpenter at an ammunition
plant. He was laid off with a good
many others, simply because there
was nothing to do. He did not be-
long to a big union for the plain
reason that there was no union at
that plant.
For a full week he has travelled
from one end of Massachusetts to
the other. looking for work, but,
where a union worker will get a
Job ahead Of him, he is turned away
because he does not wear the union
button.
There is to be large Army camp
built near here in Taunton. Mass
and for three days he has haunted
the place trying to get a job This
morning he was told to see the
local union steward as they wanted
men.
Search Uses Up Gasoline.
The steward was found, after
quite search that ate into the
gas ration card And then he got
the sad news. In a nutshell, the
union dues have been raised to S75
Nearly $40 of this must be paid right
down, the rest in 30 days. Now,
$40 seems like lot to pay for the
privilege of working They say
work or fight What can we do?
1t is not fair that labor unions
and union leaders should live off
the poor man who simply wants
work
It would be interesting if some
congressional committee had the
temeritv to go into the question Of
Initiation fees and union dues.
Nearly every attempt thus far has
been squelched by the union lobbies.
Small wonder congressman are be-
ginning to learn that the Nation is
losing confidence in the National
Legislature as protecting body for
the masses of the people.
For this is an era of exploitation
of the many by the few, not only
through political instrumentalities
but through the use of public power.
The President of the United States
publicly proclaimed that Congress
would never pass law ordering a
man to join a union in order to get
job or keep job. But since he
made that statement the War Labor
Board has issued opinion after
opinion calling for compulsory
unlonlZation through such schemes
as so-called maintenance of men,
bership.' And Congress has not
offered the slightest objection to
the executive agency's course. This
must mean that Congress agrees
with the policy.
Government Backing Claimed.
In some cities and among some
workers the view prevails that the
Government itself wants workers to
Join unions. The organizers frankly
say so in their literature and they
have plenty Of official speeches and
statements to quote from to show
that the Government is in sympathy
with unionization movements. But |
when it comes to payment of initia-
ton fees and high assessments for
dues, the Congress and the admins
tration have done nothing by way
Of formal restriction. Every now and
then the subject is brought up and !