Evening star., 1946-01-03
WesternE|ectric
Strike0n, Phone
Iieup Threatens
Operators Asked to
Vote Nationwide
Sympathy WoIkout
STAMFORD PEACE TALKS open
with verbal battle. Page A-3

with verbal battle. Page AS
By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, Jan. 3.-A strike
affecting 17,400 Western Electric
Co. employees in 81 plants in
New York City and Northern
New Jersey began at IL am. to-
day when thousands of men and
women quit work in a wage dis
pute that may also bring a shut
down in national telephone
service.
Henry Mayer, counsel for the
Western Electric Employees Associ-
alton, one of six unions operating
in plants of the American Telephone
g. Telegraph Co. subsidiary, said the
strike was 100 per cent effective at
Kearny IN. J) plant" where be-
tween 1000 and $4,000 are en-
ployed. Employees in six New York
City plants walked out at II am.
The strike did not affect employees
in Western Electric plants on the
West Coast, Hawthorne, ILL.,; Bal
timore and Haverhill, Mass, where
workers are members of the other
five unions, Mr.. Mayer said.
Western Electric manufacturers
telephone switchboards for use by
the Bell Telephone System, another
A. T. g. T. subsidiary. 4
Sympathy Strike Asked.
The work stoppage had no imme-
diate effect on telephone service
throughout the Nation, but Joseph
A. Beirne, president of the National
Federation of Telephone Workers
independent), said members of 48
unions in the federation had been
asked to authorize a national SYM
pathy strike. The federation claims
about 2s0 900 paying members. Mr..
Beirne said a strike by them would
affect some 450,000 Bell System
employees.
CThe Executive Board OF the
District Federation of Telephone
Employees voted today to poll its
members on the question Of a
walkout in sympathy with West
ern Electric employees if and
when the national federation
seeks supporting action in the
walkout.
In' another phase of pos
sible walkout here Mrs. Mary
Cannon, president of the Wash
ington Telephone Traffic Union,
said 5000 union members would
be willing to strike" If neces-
sary to obtain $40 weekly pay
increase.
(The Chesapeake & Potomac
Telephone Co. turned down the
request for a $40 raise. Instead
it offered a IS raise for operators
and a So increase for other traffic
department employees. The union
rejected the company offer, but
members have not acted on the
question of a strike0
Agrees to Fact Finding.
Frank J. Hammel, labor relations
manager of Western Electric's
Kearny works, said today the COM
pany had agreed in effect to un-
ion request that the wage dispute
be turned over to a Federal fact
finding board.
The union made its proposal last I.
night at an unsuccessful conference
to settle 80 per cent wage increase
demand.
Before today's walkout began Mr..
Hammel said in statement issued
for the company:
"The union seems to be determ-
ined to strike despite repeated Of
fers from the company in the in
terests of peaceful settlement.
1.-THE company considers that a
limit to the liberality of its wage
offers has been reached under the
existing circumstances. 1t stands
ready, nevertheless, to continue ne
gotiations."
Mr.. Mayer said Western Electric
officials had turned down the un-
ions demand for 80 per cent wage
raise, and refused to increase the
companys offer of a Is per cent in
crease on the ground that larger
raise would disrupt the wage pic
ture of the Nation"
Frank j. Fitzsimmons, president
of the Western Electric Union, said
his union had altered its earlier
plans to picket company plants in
Chicago, Baltimore and Haverhill,
Mass, but added that picketing in
these cities might begin at later