Evening star., 1946-01-17

economics professor and for
mer member of the War La
hor Board, would be chair
man.
BY the Associated Press
Secretary of Labor Schwellen-
bach will meet this afternoon
with union and meat-packing
leaders in an attempt to settle
the two-day-old strike which is
threatening to exhaust the Ma
tion's fresh meat supply within
2 to 10 days.
The meeting is scheduled for 4
o'clock
AS the conferees planned to get
together, packinghouse workers
maintained picket lines around
empty pens in most of the country's
stockyards. and current supplies
were dwindling rapidly.
Approximately 263 900 members of
the CIO-Packinghouse Workers and
AFL Meat Cutters and Butcher
Workmen's Union walked out at
Swift. Armour, Wilson and Cudahy
plants yesterday.
Wage Demand Lowered.
Going into today's conference
with Swift, Armour, Wilson, Cudahy
and the John Morrell Co., the ALF
union was prepared to settle for a
wage increase of Is cents an hour
and had urged the CIO union to
submit similar proposal.
The CIO union, however, has held
out for a 1712 cents an hour wage
hike Immediately, with later nego-
tiations on an additional 71a cents,
and did not comment on the AFL
unions action in lowering its de-
mand. Original demands were for
rs cents an hour pay increases.
Earl w. Emerson, president of
the AFL union, said the offer by
packers of 10 cents an hour was
very inadequate" He said the
union was ready to accept an offer
OF Is cents and promised normal
operations by next Monday in all
plants where its members are on
strike.
The AFL estimated about 10000
OF its members had walked out,
while the CIO claimed all its 193.-
600 members were on strike.
Receipts Drop Sharply.
The strike hit hardest at Swift
Armour, Cudahy and Wilson, and
livestock receipts yesterday, as the
walkout started, dropped sharply
At IL leading Midwest markets, hog
arrivals totaled 17,700, compared to
118,849 week ago.
There were scrambles at the
markets to buy the few animals sent
by farmers and most stock sold at
about ceiling prices to the small
packers not affected by the strike
Meat production Slumped as much
as rs per cent in the big Chicago
yards. OF nine small Chicago firms
which reached settlement with the
unions, only three reported opera
tions near capacity.
The supply Of corn on farms will
be used up soon if the Walkout il
not ended, said Mark Pickell, secre.
tary-treasurer of the Corn Bel,
Livestock Feeders Association. He
said this would result in reduced
grain available for conversion tt
butter. milk, eggs, cereals anc
starches.
AS the strike continued, there were
no indications that the Government
planned to seize the strike-bouno
plants. However, Edgar L. Warren
chief OF the Labor Department Con.
citation Service, said appointment
OF a fact-finding board to stud,
the dispute was under considera.
| ton.
Warns of Black Market.
In Chicago, George Dressler, secre.
tary OF the National Retail Meat
Dealers Association, said the walk.
out threatened to create "the worst
black market the Nation has eve,
known" He came to Washington te
offer aid in reaching a settlement
Of the strike.
OPA, fearing tremendous pres.
sure" on meat price ceilings as 9
result OF the strike, promised swift
action yesterday against any black
markets.
An OPA- official who asked te
remain anonymous said the agency's
ofhces throughout the country hac
been alerted in advance of the
strike, and that the OPA meat price
enforcement staff already has beer
enlarged to cope with any emer-
gency.
We estimate" the official said