Evening star., 1943-07-20
AFL Officers Meet
Lewis 10 Draft Terms
For UMW's Return
Chief Obstacle Is Seen
In Matter OF: Conflict
Over Union Jurisdiction
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
John L. Lewis and five of his
top United Mine Workers ex-
ecutives joined with three vice
presidents of the American Fed
Grafton of Labor today to work
out the UMW's bid for return to
the craft union fold.
The conference, held behind closed
doors, caused a 24-hour intermis-
sion in the meetings of the 2Oo-man
UNIV Policy Committee which is
studying the bituminous coal sit
uation and the parley of anthra-
cite operators and miners trying
to negotiate a working contract.
At brief session yesterday Mr..
Lewis was appointed by the Policy
Committee to lead the UNIV dele
cation to the AFL-UMW meeting.
Named to accompany him were the
following UNIV officials John
OLeary. vice president: Thomas
Kennedy, treasurer, and
William Mitch, Percy Tetlow and
Martin Brennan, district presidents.
Jurisdictional Problem Seen.
Previously designated to sit on
the other side of the table were AFL
Vice Presidents Daniel Tobin, Mat
thew Woll and George Harrison,
whose recommendations will be sub
mitted to the AFL meeting in Chi
cago next month.
Chief obstacle to an agreement
under which Mr.. Lewis organiza-
ton would become a part of the
AFL was the matter of conflicting
Jurisdictions. UNIV operations now
extended into fields already occupied
by AFL organizations, such as the
Progressive Miners of America.
Spokesman for both groups said,
however, that the problems would be
solved and the UNIV and its up
wards of half a million members
soon again would be unit of the
AFL.
Mr.. Lewis, president OF the mine
union, broke with the federation
more than six years ago and created
the Congress of Industrial Organiza-
tions. After three years, he took his
miners out of the CIO and put them
on an independent basis.
Aside from discussing the UNIV
AFL merger, the miners Policy
Committee conferred on matters af-
fecting wage agreements and opera
ton of the Nations bituminous
mines now under Government con-
troll. Further discussion of these
matters will be resumed tomorrow,
with emphasis expected to be placed
on the unions future course with re-
! spect to portal-to-portal pay-prime
controversy behind three walkouts
this year.
For some time union heads have
been studying the possibility of court
action to enforce collection of pay
for the time spent by miners after
they enter mine property but before
they actually start digging coal. The
War Labor Board suggested that the
matter be thrown into the courts If
the operators and the miners were
unable to agree on rate that would
not violate the Governments hold
the-line policy against imitation.
Members of the Policy Committee
indicated the question of what the
union would do in the event op-
Grafton of the mines was returned
to the private owners would be side
tracked for the time being. At a
meeting here last month the Policy
Committee ordered the miners back
to work until at least October 81,
provided the Government retains
control.
No Anthracite Agreement.
The anthracite wage conference.
resuming its sessions here yesterday
after months of negotiations in New
York, reported no agreements after
a two-hour meeting and adjourned
to meet again tomorrow. Mr.. Lewis,
Mr.. Kennedy and Mr.. Brennan sat
in for the miners, with Ralph E..
Taggart. Philadelphia; James H.
Pierce and William w. Ingliss, both
Of Scranton, representing the op-
orators.
The negotiations, involving approx
imately 10000 anthracite miners,
have centered on the unions request
for raise Of $1.30 in daily pay in
addition to WLB-approved conces-
sions amounting to from 20 to Is
cents daily. The operators have
countered with an offer to boost the
scale 81 cents daily, including the
concessions already approved by the
WLB In the butuminous case.