Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-01-02
General Strike
Called Jan. 10
By Meat Union
zoo, 900 Workers in
| 147 Packing Houses
Set to Walk Out
BY the Associated Press.

CHICAGO, Jan. "A Nation
wide strike of approximately
100000 members of the CLIO
United clearinghouse Workers Of
America has been called for jan
uary is, Lewis ]. Clark, union
president, announced today.
He said that not only the large
packers-SWift, Armour, Wilson and
Cudahy-but also most smaller in
dependent packing plants" would be
affected and the strike would in
yolve lat plants across the Nation.
The strike is being called, Mr..
Clark told news conference, in sup
port of the unions demand for Is
cents an hour wage increase. Mr..
Clark said, however, the union would
be willing to accept an increase of
!171a cents an hour Immediately with
an agreement to negotiate the re-
naming 7l2 cents. He said the over
all average hourly wage in the in
dustry now is 81 cents an hour.
Negotiations Continue.
| Mr.. Clark and other union inter-
national officers, Frank Ellis, vice
president; Edward Roche, secretary
treasurer, and Lyle Cooper, research
director, told reporters the 200 900
CLIO workers represented IS per cent
of all meat slaughtering workers in
the country.
Although the union still is nego-
tiating with the packers, Mr.. Clark
said the only thing that will pre-
vent this strike is substantial wage
increase
He said it would be the first genu-
inely Nationwide packing industry
strike,
The union chieftains commended
the demanded wage boost could be
granted by the packers without nee
eSSitating an increase in meat prices.
Mr., Cooper said the costs to the
packers of the wage hike would be
offset by elimination of the excess
profits tax, increase in productivity
and elimination of overtime.
! Oppose Fact-Finding Boards.
! When a reporter asked What
about possible Government fact
/ finding board?" Mr.. Clark replied.
! I'VE are opposed to presidential
fact-finding boards as they are now
fset up, unless that procedure is ap-
proved by Congress. Furthermore,
all the facts in this dispute have
been before Government agencies
for two or three years. I don't say
we wouldn't sit down with fact
finding board but I don't see What /.
could add and we are not going to
postpone the strike simply because
such board is appointed"
He said that among the plants to
be struck would be 80 Armour plants,
% Swift, Wilson, IL Cudahy and
2 of John Morrell &, Sons, as well
as many smaller independent COM
pany plants.
Principal cities involved would be
Chicago, St Paul, Omaha, Kansas
City. Sioux City, Ia. Denver. East
St Louis, Ill, New York, Los An
geles and Fort Worth, Tex, Mr..
Clark said
The union leaders said the Horne.
Co., with plants at Austin, Mimi;
Mitchell, S. Oak. and Dallas, Tex,
employing about 4,500 in all, was the
only concern which had agreed to
the liz cents boost and negotiations
on the balance of To- cents de-
manded
Will Supply Hospitals.
They said that during the strike
hospitals and similar institutions
will be taken care Of" for necessary
meat supplies but that generally no
slaughtering or meat or by-products
such as soap, fertilizer, bone meal
and hides, would be handled by the
CLIO strikers.
Live animals on hand at the time
the strike begins will be cared for
in stockyards by unionists. who also
will maintain refrigeration in pack
ing plants to prevent spoilage of
dressed, stored meat, Mr.. Clark said.
A National Strike Strategy Com
mittee will direct the walkout, but
union locals will perfect details in
their communities, he added; the
latter to arrange to inform farmers
not to bring live animals to slaugh-
tering plants.
Mr.. Clark asserted the packing
house worker is lone of the lowest
!, paid workers in American industry
and has not received a general wage
) increase since before Pearl Harbor
; He said cost of living has gone up
more than 10 per cent since 1941,
but the Is cents an hour increase
demanded constituted only 80 per
cent increase. Union spokesman