Montana labor news., 1945-09-27
ARMED FORCES ARE
DELUCED WITH
ANTI-LAB0R BUNK

HONOLULU, T. H-FP)-Time
magazines-God save the day!-is the
single most influential and most be
lieved source OF news among soldiers,
sailors and marines OF the u. ). sta
toned in the Pacific. When you iirst
discover that on a tour OF the hot and
sweaty little islands, you wonder II you
hadn't better roll over and give up
But it isn't as bad as you'd think. A
lot of the men start off by giving you
the anti-labor pitch they get from Time.
But so far as the U. S. labor editors
visiting the Pacific fighting fronts
could discover, most who do that are
simply trying to find out what the truth
is. They have to start somewhere and,
not knowing the union argument they
start with what they read in Time.
The touring editors nearly missed
chance TO see the boys OF one marine
division on Guam. The colonel who
was chief Of operations told them he'd
rather interview them than vice versa.
So, he said, here's what / read in Time;
it's obviously one-sided. What's your
side
He trotted out all the standard anti
union charges, one by one, like West
brook PegIer going through his alpha
betical list OF labor's alleged crimes.
The editors really warmed up to the
occasion and when the colonel was
through he had enough answers to fill
a years bound copies OF Time.
Staff Sgt. Herman Hogan, member Of
Local n, American Newspaper Guild
(CIO), combat correspondent with the
9th Marine Division and former staff
member Of the Chicago sun was dif-
ierent kind OF case He told us we
would meet a lot OF men with questions
like those OF the colonel we had told
him about But whether the colonel was
trying to embarrass us or TO get intor-
nation, the enlisted men are after in
formation, Hogan said. They will pitch
Time charges to unio nmen like Hogan
and listen and argue for hours after
wards.
We found the men were as eager for
information as he said they were. 1t
was tough to keep the labor editors to-
gether. Wherever they went, soldiers
and sailors would waylay them and ask
them questions. What does guy really
make in the u. S. now: Is there going
to be big depression:
Mostly we told them about the fight
for proper seniority for veterans, wheth-
er they had worked before joining up or
not And about President Truman S
proposal for unemployment insurance.
And the unions fight for the full en-
ployment bill. And so on. 1t was David
Livingston, vice president OF New
York's Local 65, Wholesale & Ware
house Workers Union (CIO), who told
some Of us he thought we were all wet
What are the unions doing?" he
asked when he met us in Honolulu S
new Labor Canteen as we were on our
way back home. We started to tell
him. We could almost recite it in our
sleep now. But Livingston had differ
ent ideas
Legislation Swell" he said. "Po-
litical action Swell But what are you
doing about organizing?"
We'll, there were resolutions on or
ganizing at both y somebody started.
Resolutions r. Livingston yelled
You don't need resolutions. And your
legislative and political campaigns
won't do you any good-not if you
don't organize. I'm afraid the unions
are fooling around too much with vet
erans' legislation and with joint meet
ings with the American Legion and
Veterans of Foreign Wars.
How are they going to separate vet
Grams from workers. The same way
they separated workers before we or
ganized7 But if we want the veterans
to make united front with us, we have
to give the man organization to speak
through. We have to organize and
organize and organize
That's where the strength will come
from to put through our legislative and
political aims. Labor mustn't go on the
defensive now. It's got to go on the
offensive"
| got the idea. Brothers, Dave Liy-
ingston says we gotta organize