Montana labor news., 1946-01-31

counanv refused. Left with no alternative. the
union resorted to its only remaining weapon
the strike.
At this point Secretary Schwellenbach asked
both parties to resume conferences IN Washing
ton. The union promptly agreed. Again the
corporation refused.
it adds up to an ugly pattern. Back to the
companies unyieldine stand lies one OF the great
est legislative swindles ever practiced on the
American people=the carry-back oarry-forward
tax law. If in 1916 the profits OF the General
Motors corporation fall below the companys
normal pre-war earnings, the y. ). treasury
Will refund enough Of General Motors wartime
tax payments to lift the profits up TO the pre-war
average.
Here is a wonderful inducement to union-bust-
mo. CN can goad the union into a long and
coctly strike. Meanwhile the company would
be eligible for refunds of more than $2OO. OO0,-
600. This type Of guarantee ism confined to
GM; it's true of all those corporations that par
ticipated in the record profit-making Of the war
period.
The plan to sit back and force unions into
DdCk- OICdkIlS SLIM 10 ~ O''h'>0 " $1,000
Motors either. 1t has received support from other
sources. The Mum Automobile News Letter. an
industry sheet. speaking of arrangements lack of
interest in getting plants started and in bargain
ing with workers, suggested to its subscribers.
Perhaps the only solution is a policy OF sitting
tight and waiting until the economic pinch forces
workers to realize they must stay on the job or
,,,x,a A. tho moment theve ia n n diopOeitiOn
on the part Of management to become frantic over
labor unrest.
The unsavory efforts Of the automobile in
dustry to compel OPA to boost car prices have
also delayed the reconversion Of the industry.
For weeks they blocked OPA Chief Bowles at
tempts to set ceiling prices for 1916 cars, thereby
holding up production. Bowles described the
automobile dealers efforts to raise car prices
as the greatest single pressure operation in
the history Of price administration.
Although OPA's studies revealed that 1912
price ceilings were more than ample to allow the
industry high profits, the auto companies are
continuing to put the squeeze on the government.
| The Kelsey-Hayes Wheel company is a. notorious
case in point.
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Kelsey Hayes plant, the Ford Motor COMPANY
and other manufacturers cried that the striker
were blocking the production Of parts vital,
needed in reconversion. The Ford Motor com
pany announced that the Kelsey Hayes strik'
was forcing Ford to close down operations. Blu
no company in the industry has made a publ
complaint against the current strike by the Kel
sey-Hayes company. against the OPA. Accord
ing to the conservative journal Business Wee
November "a. l945). Kelsey Hayes is refus
ing to ship out wheels and other truck parts unit
OPA removes existing price controls on then
Now that the company is striking. these vital
needed parts are no longer so vital-or so
would seem, for some auto company offcia
have actually hailed this holdup strike by Kelsey
Hayes.
In the oil industry it's the same story. Afte
the company rejected the workers demands t
raise wage rates sufficiently to enable the worl
ers to preserve their take home pay. Secretary
Labor Schwelenbach entered the controvers
with an arbitration proposal. The union agree
to accept the governments offer, but the oPel
ators refused, defying the government.
u. S. Steel, General Motors and Kelsey Hayt
are merely examples. The same profits-first, pub
lic-last attitude has been also conspicuous j
lumber. in textiles, and elsewhere. In the worl
shirt and radio parts industries manufacture
held back production for months. until OPA ";
forced to grant them price increases.
Anticipating the end or weakening Of OP.
controls and the end Of the excess profits la
manufacturers and shippers throughout tt
country have been deliberately delaying recol
version. Others are counting on carry-back ta
refunds to help them smash the labor moveme1
in 1916. Business advisory services have cyni
ally advised their clients to hold up shipments
l945 to avoid the very taxes designed to preve
Just this sort Of profiteering.
Veterans, too, are involved. Many of the
have been trying to purchase machinery and 9th
supplies, in order to get into business. But man
facturers with bullying warehouses have turn'
them down, waiting for 1916.