Evening star., 1946-10-03
Hopes for Early End
OF Ship Strike Fade;
Continue
By james Y. Newton

Government hopes for an
early end of the three-day Ma
tion-wide shipping strike ap-
peared to be vanishing today
after a leader of one ofethe two
unions of ships officers changed
his mind about acceptance of a
plan officials said would have
cleared up the dispute.
The attitude of Labor Depart
ment conciliators changed over
night from optimism to gloom.
They said today that it looked like
long and costly strike barring an
unexpected development that would
clear the air.
New attempts were under way at
the Labor Department to untangle
the snarled dispute. Edgar L. War
rem, conciliation chief, said the CIO
Marine Engineers Beneficial Asso-
citation, one of the two unions in
volved in the strike, had discussed
the wage issue with ship operators
this morning. He said a meeting
had been arranged for pm. be-
tween the operators and the AFL
Masters, Mates and Pilots, also to
talk about wages.
Regarding the chief stumbling
block in the latest shipping strike,
Mr.. Warren said: "Some progress
has been made today on union
security problems"
The settlement plan which con-
ciliators had regarded so optimis-
tically went astray when it was re-
jected by Capt. G. S. May, vice
president of the AFL Masters and
its West Coast leader.
Ship0wners Adamant.
Negotiations still were begged
down by refusal of West Coast ship
interests to give ground on union
demands for q preferential hiring
clause and union security or main
tenance of membership, and the re-
fusal Of Capt. May to accept the
Governments compromise solution.
Here is the plan rejected by
Capt. May:
East Coast and Gulf shipowners
agreed to uniform clauses giving un-
ion members job priority and mem
hership maintenance, that is an Of
ficer would lose his job if he re-
signed from a union.
The Maritime Commission agreed
to order recalcitrant West Coast op-
orators to put in effect on Govern
ment-owned ships clauses similar to
those in the eastern agreement.
There are an estimated TOO to 300
merchant ships in West Coast serv-
ice. The Government owns about
half.
The strike would have been lifted
against all East Coast and Gulf
vessels and against Government
ships in the Pacific. The arrange
nent would have left out in the
cold the $50 to 400 privately owned
ships in the Pacific and the strike
probably would have been continued
against them. Federal officials were
counting on such pressure to force
the West Coast owners to come
around.
Firm on ALI Demands.
Capt. May fatty rejected anything
less than full acceptance of the
unions demands for preferential
hiring and security. The Govern
ment plan was accepted by Eastern
owners, and the CIO Marine Engi-
neers, who have about as many
members in the Pacific as does the
AFL officers union. /
Meanwhile Marion Plant, counsel
for the, Pacific American Ship
owners Association, told reporters
that his organization, representing
all West Coast companies, would
never agree to what he called the
closed shop" agreement for ships
officers.
Mr.. Plant demanded that the
Government-the Maritime Com
interference with
affairs of private operators. He
said If that was done the dispute
"can be cleared up in our way
not the union way" Mr.. Plant said
it might mean a. long fight, but
that the operators would win. He
added that the West Coast opera
tors had won two earlier strikes
over the issue.
Mr.. Plant said shipowners' OBJ
lection to the "cloSed shop were
twofold:
l. 1t would deprive the shipping
companies of the right of selection
of their officers on whom enormous
responsibility necessarily rests.
2. The companies no longef could
feel that their officers truly repre-
sented them in the administration
Of ship affairs.
Mr.. Plant pointed out that the
Marine Engineers belong to the
Committee for Maritime Unity, the
largest union in which Is the CIO
National Maritime Union, composed
Of unlicensed ships personnel. Under
such an arrangement, he said, the
officers would be subject to domina-
ton of the men they were supposed
tn direct