The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-03-25

| KNtGE BW0H oSk0P 70 WSAASeA union treasury will get dues ot the 5000 or more employees and this stun about protecting rights ot workers in free selection of repre- sentatives of their own choosing IS | just so much gossamer.
 The simple fact is that the A. F. of l.. got there first, has waxed lousy rich on dues collected, with the nat ural result that the c. I. O. marine and shipbuilders' union would like to see piece of that change in its own coffers.
 From this stark and ugly truth, however, 1t should not be imagined that right and virtue in this case are entirely on the side of the Fed eration. For the record of what !, the A. F. of L. boilermakers' locals in the Kaiser yards have done with their booty makes one of the snarly chapters in the tangled story of labor union finance.
 GROWTH OF BOILERNFAKERS Principally, this is the story of Tommy Ray, Brooklyn boy who learned his trade in the east and then was a tramp boilermaker working here, there and everywhere, | moving from place to place, bragg ging a little about how he would soldier on the job to get himself fired when troubled by the itch of the rowing foot.
 He came eventually to the north- west. where he rose in the labor movement, became secretary and No. man in the bollermakerS' local and a good one at that. As an or- ganizer of 800 or so men. he won confidence of employees and employ CTS alike, who called on Tommy Ray whenever they wanted more men or a new contract.
 Suddenly. here came the war ef- fort and shipbuilding began to boom. Henry Kaiser started his revolution | ary construction methods. He lock- ed at a ship and saw that 1t was largely work with steel plates. What more natural than 1t be built by boilermakers, since there weren't enough skilled and experienced ship builders about. Kaiser sent for Tommy Ray, and Tommy agreed to supply the labor. One of his stunts was Q mass meeting in a Portland ball park, at which he recruited some 10000 potential bollermakers and shipbuilders.
 Before Tommy Ray or anyone else realized it, his union had 55,O00 members, and the union a closed shop contract with the Kaiser yards. To work in a Kaiser yard, Q boiler maker has to join the union within 30 days from the time he is hired. If a man gets three months behind in his dues, the union can ask the company to fire the man, and the company has to do 1t.
 $l,650, 900 IN DUES
 Dues of boilermaker in Tommy's union run from $2.50 to $3.25 a month, depending on the skill and the particular job. Take the small- CT figure. For 5000 members, that means a dues collection of $l37 800 a month, or $i $50. 900 @ year. Nice pickings in anybody's pocket.
 The money isn't all gravy. Every union member gets insurance. with doubled indemnity if he is killed or permanently disabled on the job, and there are other benefits. Funds are audited regularly, and so far there has been no proof that Tommy himself or any of the union offi- cials has made & killing, or that there is anything crooked, although the books are not open to the pulp lie.
 But it is still more money than the union has ever handled or dreamed of and it burns hole in the bank. Tommy needs an office building. where his 100 office em- ployes can keep track of insurance. employment, dues. So he puts up a marble palace costing $250,O0O. com- plete with auditorium. bowling alley and bar.
 On opening night. Tommy invited his employer friends for a big cele- bratiOn. but he neglected to invite the union members. many of whom found they couldn't even get in their headquarters. Under pressure, the bar was closed--t0 be converted into a ladies rest room--bllt there Is still plenty of resentment from members. ! Comes time for election, and a rival slate Of candidates appears to oppose Tommy Rays crowd. Tommy himself is reelected secretary, but he is the only one of the old gang to stay in office.
 To indicate how dlsgusted or dls- interested the rank and file meln- bership considers these golngs on, it should be mentioned that only 1000 of 65,O00 dues payers took trouble to vote. Tommy decided to contest the election as illegal. and took the case to court. That's where 1t is now.