The Daily Alaska empire., 1946-09-09
COMMERCE
 STRANGLED
 BY STRIKE
Supplies for Industry Are SIumping Off : WSB
 Hearing Tomorrow

Wage Stabilization Board decided today to proceed with hearings scheduled for tomorrow in the AFL maritime dispute, even though the seamen are on strike and may not appear
 Secretary of Labor Schwellenbach, meantime, conferred all day at the White House on the strike prob- lem An associate who told report CTS of the conferences was unable to say whether President Truman sat in or whether the Schwellen- bach talks were only with Recon version Director John R. Steelman and others.
 Up to mid-afternoon. no word had been heard by the Labor De- partment on the expected arrival of Philip Hannah. Assistant Secretary, whom Schwellenbach sent to San Francisco to meet with Harry Lun- deberg, head of the AFL sailors un- ion.
 Hannah was unsuccessful in per- suading Lundeberg to cdne to Washinstpp. with him.
 Wage argument
 A Wage Board spokesman satd the hearings would be on the pcs sibility of the panel reconsidering it's August g ruling which limited to Sl7.50 a month the amount of pay increases the AFL unions on the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts could receive. This was the amount previously approved for CIO-National Maritime Union mem- bers.
 The AFL had negotiated inreas- es of $22.50 on the west coast and S27.50 on the Atlantic coast
 Curran Gives Support
 Joseph Curran, leader of 90,000 National Maritime Union tCIO) seamen, reaffirmed his support of the nationwide strike by AFL sea- men for restoration of Wage Sta- bilization Board pay cut" and de- clared he would demand a match ing raise for his men.
 The announcement came as the greatest shipping strike in history entered it's fifth day with the idle ness of a half million men and ev- cry seaport i'll the country strangl- ing international commerce and af- fecting many domestic industries.
 Strike leaders said only an out right reversal would bring back to-work" order.
 Industries dependent on sea- borne cargoes began to feel the im- pact of the shipping strike today while New York suffered the ef- fleets of a week long trucking strike.
 Tn the maritime strike, Harry Lundeberg, in San Francisco, Sec retary of the striking Sailors Un- ion of the Pacific tAFL), announce cd that his conference with Assist ant Secretary of Labor Philip Han- nah failed to effect a settlement.
 More Labor Trouble
 Otfer labor developments:
 1.-The International Brother hood of Teamsters tAFLJ at rank and file meeting refused to vote on compromise proposal to end the week-old trucking strike among New York City and New Jersey truck drivers.
 Pittsburgh, Pa residents pre- pared for a total blackout after President George L. Mueller of the Independent Union of Duquesne Light Company announced that power workers would walk off their jobs at one minute past midnight tonight unless union demands are met.
 3-Philip Murray, President of the CIO. told delegates to re- gional meeting of CIO United steelworkers that the CIO planned to demand portal portal pay for workers in all industries.
 Tragic Blundering"
 In announcing that the maritime strike would continue. Lundeberg said that the walkout was due sole- ly to the tragic blundering' of the Wage Stabilization Board.
 He said that the SIP had no