Evening star., 1945-01-11

What happened in the mon
:. A Star reporter wondered as
and conflicting circumstances tina
surrounded the strike. He sough
answers to these questions, appar
emily forgotten publicly here as else
where in the rush of other news:
What happened to the eight Neer,
employees whose impending upgrad
ing was the avoWed excuse for tn,
strike? We're they actually up
graded and are they still at work
Were others of their race promoted
How was the grievance that haree
into so much trouble last summer
settled?
Seven in Operative Jobs.
The company did upgrade tht
eight men, carrying out directive
by the Presidents Committee or
Fair Employment Practice, Region
III. Seven of the eight are working
regularly or operative jobs.
The eighth, Frederick Todd, quit
about the. time some 5000 absentee
employees fNturned to work. He sale
he was a minister for Jehovah's
Witnesses and found that work. -le
on the street cars interfered with hi.
misisterial duties.
The other seven, who are operat-
| ing surface cars or collecting fares
have been joined in these bette:
positions by number of other col
ored employees. There are, alto
gether, 18 holding down platform
jobs, as they are known. Before
the strike, no colored employe had
ever worked as motorman or con-
ductor.
In addition, 26 others of their
race have mechanical jobs hitherto
restricted to white workers. These
also are among the better paying
more desirable places
Two Made Foremen.
Two ether colored employees have
become supervisors in the way de-
partment. They are foremen, each
in charge of group of workers
maintaining tracks and equipment
The 46 employees who have been
promoted since last summers Incl
dent" are, indeed, a small number
of the 10,847 employees of the Phila-
delphia Transportation Co.
But the company employees a To-
tai of approximately 900 colored
persons, most of them in the main
lnh RI
repair men. This is an estimate
There may be more today. FEPC
was told recently that the company
no longer breaks down its employ.
ment on racial basis, but hires all
needed workers referred to it by the
United States Employment Service
in compliance with manpower regu-
lations. The report on promotions
however, is accurate and up to date
Of the total, white and colored
employed by the utility, some 6,OOt
work in the transportation division
around 2.eO0 more in the mainte.
nance division and the rest are
office workers. These are only ap.
proximaue figures, for the picture
changes, tc an extent, from weel
to week.
Company Blamed.
1t had been contended, before the
strike, that the P T. G. was refus
ing to relieve an extremely tight
labor situation by placing coloree
men on platform jobs. In fact, {
certain number of these worker;
had been referred to the company
by USES, and it was the ALLEGED
failure of the company to utilize
them as conductors and motormer
that led the War Manpower Com
mission to step in after an earlier
FEPC directive had been ignored
| The company agreed, before the
5000 white employees stopped work
to comply with all Federal directives
on the subject and remove any
racial discrimination which had ex.
| listed.
The reporter wondered naturally
whether the company had carried
out this promise. If so, swhy were
not more colored motormen anc
conductors at work?
The company says it has upgradeo
needed colored employees who ap-
piled and were found eligible ano
qualified men sent by USES as they
were required 1t has, it reported
recently to FEPC, manned crews oi
cars and buses, as these places were
/ ~ Ya 1 1u h yrTIfl ~ 1rt n NriyN<
"creed, race or color"
Few Idle Negroes.
If more colored persons were MOI
promoted or employed, officials said
it was because they were not made
available to the company. This as.
sertion is backed up, at least to {
large extent, by both FEPC ane
VINO. They concede that Phila.
delphia's labor critical area con.
tains very few unemployed Negroes
Nor, admittedly, has the breaking
down of the racial barrier which
formerly barred colored employe:
from platform jobs, solved the Phil.
adelphia Transportation Co.'S Labor
problem. Although the company
has issued no statements on tn,
subject recently, it is known to bt
having a hard time finding enough
employes to meet approximate
needs. Streetcars and buses art
jammed much of the time, as they
are in other war-industry centers
and no doubt more of them woule
be run if there were more men tt
operate them.
Some women are employed in tn,
transportation division, most O
them as conductors. These ar,
white women. So far as could b,
learned, no colored women have ap
piled for these jobs.
Few Applications.
Contrary to what might have beel
supposed, there was no rush of appli
cations for platform jobs from tn
hundreds of colored workers alread
employed or from others referred b