Evening star., 1945-10-10
Coal Operators
DeadIocked on
Amended Plan
Conference With
Miners Recesses
| Without Decision
POLICE WATCH PICKETS at
Amoco plant after scufie. Story
on page B-1.
BY JAMES Y. NEWTON.

OH page 6-l.
BY JAMES Y. NEWTON.
Soft coal operators were dead
locked this afternoon on the
question of accepting an amend
ed proposal of John L. Lewis that
would end the coal strike.
Secretary of Labor Schwellen-
bach suggested adding an inter-
probation in the form of letter to
the agreement which Mr.. Lewis
proposed yesterday as a solution to
differences with the operators over
the foreman's union issue.
The mine leader agreed to the
suggestion of the Secretary, but de-
clined to have it incorporated as
part of the strike settling agree
ment as insisted on by the opera
tors.
Conference Recesses.
Mr.. Lewis stood pat on his de-
cision and the operators spent most
of the morning session of the coal
conference debating among them
selves as to whether to accept the
Schwellenbach compromise
The conference was recessed at
pm. and Mr.. Schwellenbach an
nounced that efforts to settle the
six-State coal work stoppage would
be resumed later in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, 749 mines in six States
were reported closed with 10000
workers off the job. Additional
mines were expected to shut down
today. Steel production, so badly
needed to make new civilian items
such as automobiles and refrigera-
tors, was curtailed sharply by lack
of coal.
The Nationwide total of persons
away from work because Of labor
troubles was reduced by $4,000 with
the settlement of a three-State
strike of textile workers. The re-
duction left the number of the Job
in various industries at. 4I8,00o.
The strike of CIO textile print and
dye workers in 284 shops in New
Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania
ended with nion-management
agreement to 10 cents an hour
wage increase for men and 5 cents
for women. The wage question can
not be reopened until November /.
1946.
Full production was expected to
be reached by tonight or tomorrow.
The stoppage began in Paterson,
N. j., September a and spread to
other areas. The union scaled
downward its wage increase de-
mand from Is cents to 10 cents.
AS $4,000 to $4,000 longshoren1en
continued their 10-day-old strike,
which has tied up more than $50
ships in New York Harbor, Army
spokesmen said soldiers presumably
would be used to load the Queen
Elizabeth, scheduled to sail Friday.
Strikers Reject Appeal.
Members of Local 824 of the AFL
International Longshoremens Asso-
citation rejected an appeal for work.
ers to help load the Queen Elizabeth
for the return trip to England.
About 125 soldiers unloaded mail
and baggage from the giant liner
yesterday after union members quit
work in a dispute over the size of
sling loads" being lowered to the
dock.
More than 60 locals of the union
are involved in the strike for new
contract embodying provisions for
a standardized weight load for cargo
nets, overtime pay for lunch hours
worked, two instead of three daily
hiring periods and a relief man for
each group of 20 longshoremen. The
present contract expired Septem-
Der 20.
II Ships to Sail Empty.
Capt. Hewlett r. Bishop, Atlantic
Coast War Shipping Administration
| director, said the strike was delaying
the return of Thousands of troops"
He said II Liberty ships had been
ordered to sail empty, leaving be-
hind $4,000 tons of cargo.
Capt. Bishop estimated more than
10000 tons of relief cargo and Army
supplies had been piled up in a
backlog, unable to move to foreign
ports. He said 5000 tons of perish
able meat for the Army was in
cluded.
On the Pacific Coast, 10 ships
were idle at piers because of re-
fusal of the CIO Marine Cooks and
Stewards Union to sign up under
reduced personnel rules made by the
! VISA.
| Additional steel workers were
forced to stop work as blast fur
naces and open hearths were closed
because of lack of coal. United
States Steel Corp. had closed total
of II furnaces in the Pittsburgh
youngstown area. Carnegie-Il Hi
nois Steel Corp. furloughed an addi-
tional 1900 workers, bringing the
total of idle steel workers to more
than 1000.
Operators Add Fourth Point.
Mr.. Lewis came forth with the
main proposal to end the coal strike
yesterday, agreeing to direct all idle
mine workers to return provided the
operators would not penalize them
and would resume negotiations for
recognition of his union of mine
foremen.
Operators added a fourth point
to the Lewis three-point proposal
in which they stated that nothing
in the settlement agreement could
be construed as waving by man
agement of its position that super
visors and foremen are a part OF
(See LABOR, Page A-6.)