Montana labor news., 1945-08-02
THE WASHINGTON
SCENE
BY TRAVIS X. HEDRICK
Union Busters sHn Trying to
Split Veterans and workers

Union Busters Still Trying to
Split Veterans and Workers
WASHINGTON. - FP) - Proof that
union busters just never quit came in
a double dose July "a from National
War Labor Board decision and a circular
distributed by the Automotive Council
for War Production.
Up in Haskell, N J., the Phillips Petro-
lcum CO. has a contract with its Philgas
Employees Association. It covers GO
workers in plants at Haskell, Mt. Ksco.
N. ]. and Derby, Conn.
The oil company and its union signed
a contract granting super-d duper SEMI
ority to war veterans in a rather too
obvious effort to split workers from the
eX-serVicemen.
BY unanimous action the WLB de
clined to. order the super-duper seniority
provision into effect. It would have al
lowed the company to give a veteran a
job above the post he left to enter the
armed seryices-far more than he would
be entitled to have under the Selective
Service act or under customary union
contract provisions Under it a veteran
could bump worker a grade or more
ahead providing they had equal seniority
in the company.
The clause allowed the company alone,
to determine what superior post the re-
turning veteran could hold
Phillips Petroleum also asked, and was
denied, permission to discontinue Gus
tomary employe discounts on its prod
ucts. The WLB held that such dis
counts are part Of employe income and
to stop them would be wage cut.
Meanwhile the Automobile Council for
War Production, which is the patriotic
name for the duration Of the Automo-
tie Manufacturers Association. has
issued an extensively printed s-page
brochure, with inch-high headlines say
ing: a Out of Veterans Barred from
Jobs in Auiomotive Industry"
This headline in black type is placed
against background of selected news
paper heads: war Veterans Picket
Plant in Seniority Row Layoffs," "AFL's
Initiation Fees Irk Veterans" and Pick
citing Puts Veterans to Work"
Inside are carefully picked '"news
stories" from the United States News,
published by David Lawrence, Newsweek.
published by the Astor family, the anti
union Detroit News, and an anti-labor
piece by Scripps- Howard columnist, Fred
W. Perkins.
Other selections in the auto manufac-
turers' propaganda piece include long
articles from the Wall Street Journeal
and the New York Journal of Commerce
.. all doing job trying to invite vet
Grams against workers against labor
unions from which most of these veter-
ans came
That Letter on Polish Recognition
The let's-suspect-R Russia crowd pulled
real sandy the past week.
Out Of a clear sky and a press-agent's
bag came a letter that was signed by
AFL President William Green, Herbert
Hoover and ex-Gov. ALI Landon of Kan
sas sharply criticizng recognition of the
new Polish government of national unity
at Warsaw by the U. S. and Britain.
We asked AFL headquarters about it
and found that Green had authorized
his signature to the letter but that it
did not originate in his office or in the
AFL headquarters.
The New York story on the letter said
Russia was totalitarian state and
called for firmness in dealing with her
It revived the case of the Is Poles who
admitted they had operated secret radios
behind the Soviet lines, spied on the Red
army etc, and demanded their release
But the press release failed to list the
signers other than Green, Hoover and
Landon.
on July 21, however, the cat was un-
,COntnued on Page Four