Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1944-09-22

union ShouIu expand.
A national movement was started
to organize all dining car workers
into one group throughout the ma
ton. The Joint Council, which acts
as a Local Joint Board for dining
car workers, was organized with
headquarters in Chicago. The char
ter for Local sic was granted in
June, 1888, as an affiliate of the
Hotel and Restaurant Employees In
ternational Alliance and Bartenders
International League of America
(AFL).
Since 1888 Local 516 has organ
lied the employees of the Northern
Pacific, Great Northern, Omaha and
500 Line railroads, with a total
membership of 457.
The workers on the Great West
ern Railroad are being organized
now and the total potential men,
bership locally is about 600 and ma
tionally about 10000.
According to Mr.. Littlejohn din
ing car unions have contracts with
every major railroad and its sub
salaries in the United States ex-
cept the Rock Island, Southern and
Boston and Maine and these are
being challenged by elections in the
near future by the Joint Council
through the National Mediation
Board. The chairman of the Joint
Council is Scion c. Bell and the
secretary treasurer is Richard W.
Smith. George E. Brown of New
York City is a member of the Inter
Executive Board as Inter
national Vice President. A Negro
is also a member of the National
Railway Adjustment Board of the
Third Division, with headquarters
in Chicago. This powerful board
has the final word in all disputes
between management and employees.
Local unions have materially
working conditions, rates
of pay and hours of all dining car
and today dining car
workers are receiving vacations
with pay" Mr.. Littlejohn declared
as he pointed out how the union
has helped all dining car en-
ployees. According to Mr.. Little
John a movement is now on to in
crease the vacation allowances and
to pay time and a half for all hours
worked after 40.
Better Understanding Needed
In pleading for a better under
standing General Chairman Little
john said that Local SIC is con-
fronted with lack of understand
ing of labor policies on the part of
a great many dining car workers,
the younger employees.
'This makes it difficult to organ
ize 100qc," the speaker asserted.
In speaking about the matter of
retaining jobs in the postwar
period, Mr.. Littlejohn made the
following observation: Local SIC
is confronted with the problems of
the proper conduct being observed
by the employees and this is
most prevalent amongst the young
er employees"
Rev. Moore Gives Memorial
Sermon
The annual sermon was delivered
by Rev. B. N. Moore, the pastor of
the st. James Church. He praised
the members of the union for their
fine work and paid a glowing trib-
ute to labor when he declared:
These heroes of labor relations
have split their life's blood in just
as real a fashion as if they had
been on the battlefields of Guam,
Philippines, Hawaii, Pearl Harbor,
Casablanca, Italy, England, France,
India, China or elsewhere. &. For
they fought and endured privation,
and sometime misunderstanding
and ill-will, if you please, of their
own fellows because they dared to
seek fair practices and fair treat
ment and decent human relations
from their employers"
Labor has her job to do in
periods foul, and periods fair, and
l think to label Labor in the femi-
nine gender-to call Labor, her
carries with it the gentility and
fnesse of the most advanced hu-
man relations. 1t has been well
said that God must have loved the
laboring man, the worker, very
much because he made so many of
them" Rev. Moore declared.
In paying a tribute to workers
in their support of the Church, the
preacher said: eve must not for
get that it is actually the dimes,
half-dollars, and dollars
of the workers that causes the
Church to receive its financial sup
port" "Unionism is the spirit of
workers seeking the more abundant
life" Rev. Moore asserted and then
he raised the question, "How
strong is the union?" 1t is as
strong as its weakest link as is
true in the chain theory, he said,
and it is as strong as the members
estimation of themselves. The
union is as strong as the care that