Arizona sun., 1946-12-06

de which of three unions, or
no union at all, will have the bar
gaining rights for the workers.
The Aluminium Workers have a
great majority of the Reynolds
plants throughout the country un-
der contract, have been extremely
successful in getting increased
wages and good working condi-
tions for its members and believe
that due to their position, can do
a better job of bargaining than
either of the other two groups in
the race.
w. D. Taylor, regional director
of the American Federation of La
Dor, is directing the activities at
the plant. His assistants are Carl
Barbee, former president of the
Louisville, KY, local, who had an
outstanding record of organizing in
his home city, and w. Hecht, who
is doing an energetic job of con-
tacting workers and preaching the
A. F. of L. gospel.
Last week, Chas. Hasenmeyer,
vice-president of the Aluminium
and Tinfoil Workers, arrived in
Phoenix to assist with the election
campaign. Brother Hasenmeyer, is
an employee of the Reynolds plant
| in Glendale, N. Y, and has been
extremely active in union affairs
for some years.
Vice-PreSident HaSenmeyer says
he cannot conceive of either of
the two organizations winning
the election, because the Alumni
mum Workers have the expert
ence, the connections and the
contacts already i'm effect and
working that would seem to
guarantee to the workers at the
plant of more comprehensive
plan of bargaining.
The CIO Steel Workers, one of
the contestants, is in no way con-
nected with the aluminium indus
try. It merely took over" the for
mer CIO aluminium workers union
which disbanded when the Alumi-
mum Company of America aban-
doned the place at the close of the
war. That union was used simply
| as a stop-gap and whatever pres
! tige it had in the former plant has
been lost. It seems hardly possible
that the Steel Workers would be
a success in an industry of which
thnxy EnnuY nAfhinO
A major strike of the Steel
Workers i'm the east would un-
dOubtedly mean the aluminium
workers i'm Arizona would be
subject to q strike assessment, or
worse yet, are likely to be or
dered out in sympathy with steel
| workers, i'm which they would
not participate nor have any
say in the matter. It seems far
cry from the United Steel
Workers in the eastern states to
comparatively small number
of aluminium workers in the far
west.
The other contestant is the Ma
chinists union, whose internation-
al walked out of the American
Federation of Labor a year or more
ago. The Machinists, as an AFL
affiliate, built up considerable
membership in the state during the
! war, having bargaining rights at
the former Goodyear plant, Air Re-
search plant in Phoenix, and the
Consolidated plant at Tucson.
All of these plants, however
have closed down and the Ma
chinists membership has de-
creased considerable. Again, this
organization has had no expert
ence whatever in dealing with
the aluminium industry, in which
the m hiniSt classification
would play only small part.
The welfare of the workers at
the Reynolds plant depends en-
tirely on a special, well-defined
plan of organization, and the
United aluminium and Tinfoil
i Workers union is best fitted for
this type of bargaining. It's con-
nections with other plants of the
company would seem to qualify it
in every way to work with the
company as to wage claSSifications,
working conditions and whatever
transfer of personnel may be
necessary from plant to plant of
the corporation.