Evening star., 1946-02-06
Phone Workers
|1oMeet Without
Cutting Service
Session Tomorrow
Will Give Operators
Details on Pay ToIks

Potomac Telephone Co. union oper-
ators plan a series of meetings to-
morrow to bring them up to date
on negotiations for wage increase.
Meanwhile, officials of the Ma
tional Federation of Telephone
Workers indicated that an amicable
settlement of the Nation wide tele-
phone strike, set for February 1921,
may be reached. Under the War
Labor Disputes Act, strike notices
have been filled by various groups
affiliated with the National Fedora
ton of Telephone Workers, dated
from January 16 to 81. A 30-day
"cooling-off" period is required.
Complaints over working condi-
tions of Washington operators,
which caused an 8-day union work
stoppage last month, were the sub
ject of conferences which began
yesterday. A joint union-manage-
ment committee composed of three
members from each side, is continu-
ing the conferences, officials said.
Affiliation Farley Under Way.
At the same time conferences are
going on here between a four-mem-
ber committee of the NFTW and
other labor leaders to determine il
the federation will join the AFL or
CIO. Meetings are being held in
the Annapolis Hotel. Monday the
group met with the AFI,, Tuesday
with the CIO and today it Is meet
ing with the United Mine Workers
OF America, session that had been
arranged prior to the return of the
UNIV to the AFL fold recently.
The Washington operators will
meet at Turner's Arena tomorrow
holding four sessions: $3.50 to 1890
am, 1890 to 2:30 pm, 4:30 to $50
pm. and to 10 pm. Under the
plan the employees will meet so as
not to interfere with their regular
tours of duty at the switchboards,
labor leaders said.
The sessions are designed to re-
view negotiations in which the union
has asked $2-a-day increase, while
the company is offering IS a week
for operators and So week for the
clerical force, labor leaders said.
Confirmation Vote Planned.
The operators also will take con-
flrination vote on the strike notice,
filed January 16.
Nationally. A. B. Harrington,
public relations representative for
the NFTW, said the American Tele-
phone & Telegraph Co., in various
parts of the country, has made offers
Of raises ranging from a low of
about SIS a week to a high of about
sl3, dependent upon types of work,
salary received and other factors
The union demands a minimum of
50 day wage increase for all en-
ployes, he said.
"If the company's offers are up
sufficiently, 1t will make a Nation
wide waIkout avoidable," said Mr..
Harrington.
Seek 40-Hour Work Week.
There Is no dispute over working
hours, except the union has de-
manded return to a 40-hour work
week and establishment of a 65-
cent-an-hour minimum in the in
dustry, Mr.. Herrington stated.
Meeting with the labor leaders at
the Annapolis Hotel are those four
members of the NFTW: Richard w.
Long, Chicago. president of the
Federation of Telephone Clerks of
Illinois; William A. Smallwood of
Atlanta, Ga, chairman of the group
and president of the Southern Fed
Grafton of Telephone Workers; Ray
Waldkoetter, Indianapolis, Ind,
president of the Indiana Telephone
Workers. Union, and Miss Ruth
Wiencek, Washington, NFTW edu-
cational director.
This fact-finding committee, au-
thorized to determine what the posi-
ton Of the NFTW would be within
the AFL or the CIO, should affilia-
ton be decided later, will report to
a conference in Memphis the week
Of February II, Mr.. Herrington said.