The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1943-09-11
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER

BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
NEWBURGH.-That rotten racket, local 1925
of the operating engineers union, recently
pulled strike here that I think you might
like tc know about. The Army is building
big air field in Newburgh and several aux
iliary fields nearby for the use Of the West
Point cadets. 1t is costing about $26, 900, 900
of your money, much of which is being squan-
dered on idlers who get SIG day for nominal
work as oilers on the excavating machines
which can be oiled when they need it, every
few days, by your little boy or your old aunt.
The operators of the machines get guarantee
of $50 week even if it rains all week and
they don't work an hour and $22 day when
they do work.
There is one contractor on the job named
John Arborio, of NeWburgh who runs an open
shop and the mob made up their minds that
they would make him send his men into the
union. He wasn't working the big central
job at Newburgh, which is known as Stewart
field, but on Montgomery field, auxiliary
or satellite field, II miles away. Nevertheless
the mob struck Stewart and all the rest of
the jobs and four full good fair-Weather work
ing days were totally lost and the rest of
the week was washout. The racket sent
emissaries to Washington to complain to the
chief of engineers of the War department
but he bounced them right back and Col.
"a D. jules, lue ulSlIICt ellSlleeI, WHOSE
headquarters are in New York, issued state
ment blaming the union for blockading the
job when the Army was trying to take ad-
vantage of the summer weather to remove
hazards which might cause the death of fedg-
ling cadets from the military academy. The
racket did not win its closed shop and the
men finally struggled back.
In justice to the men it may be said that
some of them were disguised and would have
49,. a..
racket. They said so to reliable individuals
with whom have discussed the strike. There
was no strike vote and I think it may be
assumed that if there had been vote the
strike would have been rejected overWhelm-
ngly.
The local boss Of the union is Henry Nc
Ardle, the financial secretary, who is about
% years old, well educated and under indict-
ment in this county a state charge of op-
Grating a shakedoWn against workers on this
and other federal jobs through the permit
racket. But this is only branch of local 1926.
This locals real headquarters are in Newark,
N. j.. and its president is the notorious Joe
Fay, the racketeer who not only runs the
union and shakes down the poor stiffs but
also sells ready-mixed concrete and rents o.,
excavating machinery to contractors Fay is
under two indictments at present In New
burgh he is charged, along with McArdle,
haitian, Mr.. Hogan, the state district attorney,
not the federal, has him indicted on charge
of extorting enormous hunks of your tax mon
ey from contractors on government projects.
He is also vice president of the parent or
international union.
Fay apparently is feeling the heat at last
because he hurried up to Newburgh to set
himself right with the Army. He said the
strike most unwise and regrettable but
the officials of the NeWburgh branch of local
825 blandly insisted that there no strike
at all as though all the engineers would walk
off such job together without orders. The
men in other lines, such as the Transfers
and lai orers, of course, couldn't work while
the eyravators and buldozers were idle so,
all told, about 300 men were subtracted from
the war effort for practically one full working
week with the summer wasting away and
the West Point cadets waiting to use the
fields and at time when Paul McNutt is
hollering about a labor shortage and while
McArdle rates deferment in the draft
| But don't let it excite you because, after
all, this sort of thing constitutes what Felix
Frankfurter calls familiar union practice and
there was no violation Of William Green's
! famous no-strike pledge because there was
no strike vote but only multiple case of
absenteesm in remarkable unison and more
over the grand worthy president OF the Inter-
national Union of Operating Engineers, Will
liam Maloney, is dear and highly esteemed
friend of Mr. Green, who eulogized him at
ceremonial souse party in Chicago. More
over, brother Fay was of those distn-
gushed leaders of American labor who were
invited, by Mr. Green along with Frances
Perkins, representing the government to meet
very distinguished English LABOR skate at
the Waldorf in New York couple of years
ago; so you see you just can't do anything
about it. State prosecutors indict him but
the federal government never bo1hers him.