Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1946-08-02
What's
New?
By
Edwdrd Duck
Representative
2.B
UAW>CIO
REMEMBER?

object to the CIO?
To this date we have never
been welcomed with open
arms nor promoted by man
aeement officials or foremen.
So there must be a reason
why the CIO isn't happily ac-
cepted. There is. The CIO
costs the corporations money.
Lots of money. Besides, most
m an cement representatives
feel that since the building Is
theirs and the equipment like
wise, they should have the
right to dictate the terms of
employment to their workers
without question.
In fact, although the COM
panies aren't crazy about
unions of any kind, they'll
gladly settle for one they can
control and use to keep a real
honest-to-goodness union out
of the plant.
It isn't difficult to recall
how here in Toledo the work.
ers were played for suckers
by top management and its at
torneys. It wasn't too long
ago, was it, that Champion
Spark Plug had a so-called
independent" union tn a t
couldn't win a grievance TO
save its neck? And remember
the infamous Auto-Lite Coun-
Gil, with its twenty-five cents
monthly dues? We saved
seventy-five cents a month
and threw away more than
seventy-five cents an hour in
doing 1t!
When we organized Com
mercial Metals Treating the
bosses led the workers down
to the MESA headquarters
during working hours so they
could all "ioin the union"
And what about Etna Ma
chine, where the company
sent for the MESA in hope
that they could beat out the
CIO? Yes, and didn't Mather
Spring try to fire twenty
three men because they left
the A. F. of L. to join the
CIO, and didn't Surface Com
bustion fire the former A. r.
OF l.. chairman because he
talked CIO in the plant?
Remember the City Machine
and Tool case, where eighteen
men were fired four days
after we passed our first hand
bill? They had made the
criminal mistake of having at
tended a CIO meeting. OF
course, these and others were
restored their jobs plus back
pay. We want to make that
clear, just so no one gets any
silly ideas. But it wasn't ac-
complished through the gen.
erosity of any management.
The companies paid through
the nose because they found
that the CIO meant business.
And Spicer. We mustn't for
get Spicer, where men were
fired for union activity as
early as 1893. While we're on
the subject il might be we'll
to mention that Spicer has
still not accustomed itself to
dealing with the union. Tits
Hillsdale, Michigan, plant was
the scene of quite a fraud.
The company openly pro-
NOTED the A. +. of L. and
made a success of it, too. After
the workers had the wool
pulled over their eyes they
saw what had happened, but
It was too late to do anything
about 1t then. AS a result,
wage rates are far
below Spicer's Toledo rates
and they will probably remain
below them for some time.
Until they swing into CIO and
get rid of the A. F. of LIS
union there, in fact.
Which brings us down to
the main point. Spicer has
started another plant, this one
In Fort Wayne, where the
management hopes to repeat
The Hillsdale stunt. Foremen
who ordinarily would not
want any union to deal with
ire working like beavers for
he A. +. of l.. Some of them
ire even A. f. of L. commit
eemen. Nice setup, isn't it!
In order to beat the CIO TO
he punch they told the work.
RS to hurry and get into the
lnion, meaning Old Lady
Green's outfit, because Stude-
baker wouldn't accept the
'xles they made unless they
we're union-made axles. The
surprise they have coming is
when the Studebaker workers
'efuse to work with anything
'ut CIO material. Studebaker,
Is everyone knows, is very,
very much CIO, and the mem
'ers have little use for scab
products manufactured behind
IN A. F. of L. union cloak.
While 10 men are paid
$50 per hour for assembling
.40 axles in the Toledo Plant,
he Fort Wayne division,
Known as the Salisbury Divi-
ion of the Dana Corporation.
pays less men SIPS for as