Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-06-08
Owners, Unions
Renew Effortto
AvertShip Strike
Curron Presses Plans
For WoIkout as ALL
Wins Fight for PorIey
By the Associated Press

union leaders and ship operators
today renewed their efforts to
avert the threatened maritime
strike next week.
The start of the final week also
found Joseph Curran's National
Maritime Union (CIO) pressing
preparations for the June Is walk
out, with its national council plan
ming another strategy meeting here
today.
The outlook engendered no hearty
optimism, and the Navy perfected
Its arrangements for operating vital
merchant shipping if the tieup
materializes.
Work Week Is Crux of Dispute.
Several unions-CIO, AFL and
independent-have become involved
in the complex maritime labor con-
troversy but the crux of the dispute
remains the National Maritime
Unions demand that Eastern ship
operators reduce the traditional
56-hour week for seamen on voyages.
That question was argued again
at lengthy negotiations last night
and the Labor Department an
nounced that opposing sides had
discussed possible ways of meeting
the problem by compensatory time
off, Reporters were denied further
details.
The union is demanding a A.
hour week at sea. Presumably
compensatory time off, would
mean that Seamen would work more
than A hours on voyages and would
get equivalent time of with pay
when they got back to port. =
NMU Case May Set Pattern.
Though the case of the National
Maritime Union applies only to At
lantic and Gulf seamen, it is i'm
portant to the West Coast, too, be-
cause any agreement is expected to
be used as a starting point for dick
ering between Pacific ship operators
and other unions connected with
the Committee for Maritime Unity
That committee is a CIO-domi-
mated group of seven unions led by
Mr.. Curran and Harry Bridges, head
Of the CLIO longshoremen.
West Coast operators submitted a
proposal last night, counciliators
reported, for applying, with some
notifications, whatever East Coast
agreement eventually is reached, to
the West Coast situation.
Details of this proposal were not
made public.
AFL maritime unions also have
asserted themselves.
AFL Group Wins Battle.
AF'L seamen on the West Coast,
headed by Harry Lundeberg, appar-
emily won their fight to force an
immediate start of their own nego-
tiations with the Pacific American
Shipowners' Association. They voted
to take no more ships to sea for that
group until negotiations were ar
ranged.
The union abruptly ended a brief
work stoppage yesterday on receipt
of a bid to contract talks from the
shipowners. Mr.. Lundeberg had
earlier charged the owners with
stalling and had said that was the
cause of the work stoppage.
The Matson luxury liner Mat
sonia, with sos passengers and / 800
tons Of cargo, sailed for Honolulu
late yesterday after AFL sailors re-
ceived return-to-work orders from
the union 10 minutes before de-
parture time.
Session Scheduled Today.
A session was scheduled today in
San Francisco, though not with the
two main spokesman for the Ship
owners. Those men, President John
B. Bryan and Attorney Gregory
Harrison, still were in Washington
for the negotiations with the Com
mlttee for Maritime Unity.
Mr.. Bryan said: Mr.. Lundeberp
thinks his problem is paramount,
and the CLIO leaders think their
problem Is paramount"
Mr.. Bryan was asked which prob
lem he put first.
L think they are of equal impor-
tance,' he replied. IF we don't
square the two of them together,
we're in the soup"
Strike Plans Under Way.
The AFL unions return to work
eased the Western stress in the
maritime crises, but Pacific Coast
strike preparations by other unions
were still in progress.
While the Committee for Mari
time Unity talked wages and hours
in Washington, its representatives
in San Francisco reported food for
dockside soup kitchens had been
purchased and hotel reservations
had been made for 5000 prospective
strikers. German Bulcke, local
chairman, said the unions would
hold coastwise meetings Thursday,
Other officers of the shipowners'
association were to deal with the