Montana labor news., 1945-01-11
AFL Lead. WANT
CLOS INVITATION
TO JOINT ACTION

~ JVA1N1 AAO AAVAN
NEW YORK -FP)-Testfying that
unity works in the field, leaders of many
AFL unions in the East and Midwest are
demanding that AFL President William
Green accept the CTO proposal for Joint
action on vital legislative issues.
This demand was voiced in the Janu-
ary issue of Trade Union Record,
newspaper of a number of AFL unions
here, by top officials of the New York,
New England and Ohio Machinists'
Councils, the Rochester Central Trades
and Labor Council the New York Hotel
Trades Council and other AFL groups.
"As much as 1 believe with President
Green in the need for organic unity We
here in Rochester found that it was
possible to cooperate on legislative mat
ters even without merger, President An
thony Capone of the Central Trades and
Labor Council said. In the process Of
cooperation we not only benefited the
entire labor movement, but we found
ourselves coming closer together, losing
some Of the ill-feeling that had existed" ,"
Cooperation Of the two parent bodies on
legislative issues would work in the same
way, he suggested.
Il think Mr. Murray's idea of having
the AFL and the CIO work together on
questions OF mutual interest, nationally
and locally, is a very good one" Secre-
/ tary- Treasurer Harold Fitzgibbon of the
New York State Council of Machnists
said
Recent events in the war as well as
the experiences we had working together
in the election campaign show, that we
must get together on a program of Joint
legislative action to protect labor's in
terests. Otherwise, the entire labor
movement will suffer Such unity has
been successfully achieved in many
places and it can be extended"
Asserting that the membership of the
AFL should bring increasing pressure on
the executive council to reverse Presi-
dent Green's decision to spurn the con-
structive bid of the CIO for Joint legis-
lative action President Jay Rubin Of
the New York Hotel Trades Council pre-
dicted:
such united effort would be the
/ surest means of stemming the rising tide
ct anti-labor legislation of guaranteeing
revision of the Little Steel formula, Of
assuring Jobs for all after victory and
broadened social security for the Amer
ican people"
up here in Hartford we have been
working together with the CIO for the
past three years with excellent results, %
Secretary Treasurer Joseph Cronin Of
the New England Council Of Machinists
said. In fact, when there was a va
cancy for city alderman a joint commit
tee Of AFL and CIO representatives went
up and asked that a CIO man be ap-
pointed He got the job. We have one
state senator and one state representa-
tive coming from the ranks of labor.
one is AFL and the other is CIO They
both work equally for the good Of all
labor"
Taking issue with the notion that
division and bitter discord continue in
/ the field" Cronin asserted: Whatever
discord exists is mostly on top If our
national leaders would get together with
the leaders of the CIO on joint pro-
gram of fighting for jobs and a higher
standard of living, it would eliminate
whatever division still exists in the field.
That is the road to real unity"
Others cited local cooperation with
the CIO and urging joint action ma
tionally included Secretary Treasurer
Louis Weinstock of District Council No.
9. brotherhood of Painters; Secretary
Treasurer Matthew Demore of Ohio
State Council of Machmists, Interna-
tional Representative Bernard V. Nc
Groarty of International Stereotypers
and Electrotypers Union, who is secre-
tary of the Ohio Joint Legislative Com
mittee, and Secretary Treasurer Charles
H. Hirschbuhl of District l, Interna-
tional Association of Machinists, Phila-
delphia.