The union times., 1945-07-28

Washington (LPA) - Strikes took a downward turn during the past week, as thousands of workers returned to their jobs, in most cases winning complete or partial victory on the issues which brought them out on the picket line.
 As result, newspapers had good reasons to cry the blues. The great ''strike wave", which they had been infating for weeks, went into ebb tide, leaving little to justify scare headlines.
 During the week, 15,000 workers marched back into shipyards on the Gulf and west coast, after short-lived stoppages. Nearly 10000 miners in Illinois-members of both the Pro- gressive Mine Workers-AFL and United Mine Workers union-re- turned to their jobs after winning a mo meat-no work" strike. Their pro- test walkout wrung from the OPA a promise of extra red points for the miners.
 Printing trades unions called off six-week strike that had crippled operations in R. R. Donnelley & Sons. notorious anti-union Chicago printery, where part of the output of Time, Life and other national magazines is produced. The fight of the unions for a sSclosed shop'' shifted to the bargaining table, but if new deadlock develops another strike may occur, it was predicted.
 Thirty" was written also on one of the bitterest of the recent strikes, the 21a week walkout of 1700 deliv- cry men, members of an independent union, which had paralyzed distribu- ton of New York City's big dailies and caused the metropolis a news famine.
 Union leaders claimed a victory in the terms upon which they returned. They were given assurance by the War Labor Boards Printing and Publishing Commission on two vital points: CD that all of their demands, including a proposed "welfare fund" would be considered on their merits, and CD that the commission would consider ordering arbitration on the welfare fund.- issue if a settlement could not be reached.
 The union had demanded a 3 per cent payroll contribution by the newspapers to the fund, which would be jointly administered by management and labor, and which would be used to pay sick benefits, old age pensions and similar bene- fits.
 Management had refused to me- gotiate on that and other issues, and rejected a proposal for arbitration. Under the settlement, however, the newspapers agreed to direct nego- tiatiOns on some of the issues, in. cluding the welfare fund, and the WLB's Printing Commission began hearing on remaining points. Ulti- mate arbitration of disputed points is anticipated, either by agreement of both sides, or by an order of the commission.
 While these and other strikes were settled during the week, others kept breaking out-most of them due to stiffening and arbitrary attitudes by management against prompt settle ment of workers grievances.
 One of the toughest of the current walkouts is that of the International l Typographical Union, which at this writing had closed down seven daily newspapers in four cities - Birm- ingham, Ala; Fort Wayne, Ind. i; Jersey City, N. J., and Bayonne, N. J. with papers in others cities next in line.
 At stake is the ITU's demand that the publishers continue, as they have in the past, to include in their contracts with the union a commit ment to observe the unions laws, as revised at each annual conven- ton.
 This year, many leading publish CTS have combined to resist the de- mand, claiming that at the last convention, certain provisions were added to the laws-relating to arbi- tration, overtime pay, vacations and other items-which should be pass ed upon by collective bargaining. The publishers charged the union was trying to put over changed working conditions by ''unilateral action."
 However, Woodruff Randolph, pres ident of the Typos. hit the publish