Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-09-23
General Motors
Strike Vote Is
Asked by JAW
Union Moves to Back
Wage Demand; Oil
Dispute Continues
WLB IS GUARANTEED full indie
pendence by Schwellenbach AS.

WILD 10 1OANAN EEL 1ull 1nQe-
pendence by Schwellenbach. AS
The CLIO United Automobile
Workers yesterday petitioned the
Government for a strike vote in
Sc General Motors Corp. plants
throughout the Nation.
This was the first concrete move
to back up the unions demand for
a 80 per cent wage increase from
the automobile industry. The wage
demand topped list of issues which
the petition cited as in dispute. Wal
ter P. Reuther, JAW vice president,
said 1926 900 workers would be affect
ed If strike is called.
In Detroit, a General Motors
spokesman said the company would
not make statement at this time
on the strike vote petition.
Over the Nation, meanwhile, more
than 235 900 workers were idle,
10000 of them in Detroit, mainly in
the automobile industry.
Oil Strike Continues.
There was little improvement in
the strife-torn Oil industry where
strike of 81 900 members of the
CLIO International Oil Workers re-
turned gasoline rationing to Toledo
and threatened a transportation
breakdown in Detroit and other
areas of the Midwest and Southwest.
In the Pacific Northwest, a strike
of $4,000 lumber workers has been
set for tomorrow by the AFL Lum-
Der and Sawmill Workers Union un-
less their demand for a minimum
wage of $110 an hour is met.
A new threat developed in the
South, where the CLIO Textile Work
ers called on Secretary of Labor
Schwellenbach to intervene in the
cases of four strike bound textile
mills. George Baldanzi, union vice
president, warned that work stop
page impended in eight other mills
and that $4,000 workers would be
affected.
The JAW asked for the strike
vote in General Motors in identical
kilograms to Secretary Schwellen-
bach. the National Labor Relations
Board and the War Labor Board.
Board Offices Closed.
Secretary SchWellenbach, work.
ing overtime with his staff on the
stormy labor situation, received his
telegram, but the NLRB, which
would conduct the ballot under the
Smith-Connally Act. and WLB were
shut tight because of the Saturday
day-off.
A top labor official, who asked that
his name be withheld, was optimistic
regarding compromise of JAW S
wage demand which he believed
would be reached before the strike
vote. He said he was informed the
big auto manufacturers were pre-
pared to give their employees a 10
per cent pay boost to offset the loss
of pay resulting from shortening of
the work week to 40 hours.
The official pointed out that the
auto workers had indicated a will
ingness to accept compromise pay
ment to tide the industry over the
immediate crisis. The union, how
ever, would insist on eventual pay
ment of the full 80 per cent.
Several labor officials cautioned
that the petition for a vote does not
mean that a strike will be called
They said the union was complying
with formality of the Smith-Con-
nally Act which it also hoped to
use as club in getting it's demands.
The act provides for 3O-day
cooling off" period before a vote
is taken. Officials of the three
agencies notified will confer tomor-
row on the validity of the petition