The Wilmington morning star., 1946-06-16
SEAMEN PLAN
STRIKE FUND
Continued From Page One)


the recent past by auto, steel, coal
and rail strikes.
Yet the threat of a new ava
lanche of strikes - and a renewal
in September of the Just-averted
maritime crisis - clouded the la
Dor horizon.
Warnings Issued
Union leaders have warned of a
new race for higher wages if
price controls are Abandoned or
if OPA's powers are clipped to
the extent that living costs take
a sudden upward jump.
Harry Bridges and Joseph Cur
ran, co-chairmen of the CIO-domi-
mated committee for maritime un-
ity, made known GNU plans for
joint efforts next fall to boost wages
for Bridges West Coast dock work
ers.
They said they were disappointed
in the 22-cents-an-hour pay boost
Bridges CLIO longshoremen's union
won in frantic labor department
negotiations which cancelled plans
for a complete, all-coast maritime
Walkout late last night.
There wasn't a single strike Of
any description still going on a
nationwide scale. But several less
er scope still defied settlement.
Among them were
Long-standing strikes at nine
midwestern plants OF the Allis-
Chalmers and J.. /. Case farm
equipment manufacturing con-
Germs, the 45-day walkout of 1,5OO
workers at the Columbia Chemical
division Of the Pittsburgh Plate
Glass company at Barberton, Ohio,
and the strike of $500 CLIO auto
workers at three New Jersey and
Pennsylvania plants of the Mach
Truck company.
All told, the latest labor depart
ment count showed 81 strikes still
in progress and 143, 900 people idle
low figures in comparison with
those of some of the past turbulent
weeks Of 1946.
In addition, AFL maritime I'm
ions on both coasts are negotiating
now for new contracts. But they
have raised no threat Of an immi-
nent strike. Assistant secretary Of
labor John W. Gibson said, T as.
sumo they will work out an agree.
ment."
The CLIO maritime strike wa
called off only SO seconds before il
was to have begun. The close.
ness of the decision to the deadline
brought on partial walkouts dis.
ruptfng normal activities in mos
ports. But the docks were getting
back to normal tonight.
GAINS
Curran's Go National Maritime
union emerged from the negotia.
tons with an earnings increase fol
his seamen which ship operator.
estimated at 80 percent. Bridge.
got a boost for his Dock worker,
a government board has estimated
at a little less than 20 percent.
That was the reason for theil
jointly-expressed dissatisfaction
at what Bridges received. The
newly-formed GNU, banding sever
maritime unions into a powerful
bargaining combine, pledged full
support to get Bridges longsho
men more money later on.
The longshoremen's contract run,
only until rext September 30. a,
does the working agreement of the
CLIO Marine Engineers. Currar
pledged all the GNU to help sim.
prove wages and working condi.
tons" for those two GNU mem
bers at that time.
Because we realize that labor
can rely only on it's own economic
and political strength. the GNU
1eels that its work has just be-
gum Bridges and Curran declared
in a solidarity statement.
1T will work to strengthen the
unity of maritime workers which
brought it into being. It will
strengthen and perfect its organiza-
ton to protect and advance the
interests of all maritime workers.