The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-11-08

Dl0yes and voted that the t0nS OR all strikers be terminated forth with"
 Accepting unanimously c report from its Committee oz tine Whole, the board
 i. Declared that any pay
 increase rests with the Board
 of Finance to which a cost-
 of-living boost has been recoEn-
 r6snded.
 g. Ruled out any time and .
 half for work beyond % hourss
 2. Denied union claims of
 irsanitary conditions ct the City
 Yards and said that three
 toilets there have been renewed
 and modernized within the
 past two years"
 {. Asserted as untrue e
 union claim that masks were
 not available for employees Og
 the asphant plGnt.
 5. Refused union Teocwnbs
 ton and establishment os erievs
 ance procedure beyond that now
 existing.
 G., Condemned the union 1w
 calling the strike without axaw
 notice"
 Given Chance Co ms1mKn
 A City Hall spokesman softansd the terminated forthwith" phrase anent the strikers Ly saying that men now taking part in the walk~ out will be rehired without pretu- dice if they return promptly Co their jobs. He indicated that strik- CTS returning by Monday would be accepted back.
 The A.F.L. unit began the strike against the city Oct. 90. Street de- partment strikers numbering an es- timated 66 were joined by lab0rers of the Bureau of Engineering. The latter group returned to work in 6 few days. Street Department sttik- CTS also began Altering back to their jobs, the union claiming that veter- an employees had been told to return to work or lost their pension rights. The City Hall said htat more men had resumed work today.
 Despite the boards claim that the strike was called without notice, the union contended that the city had stalled" on taking action on its requests. Timothy M. Collins, sec retary-treasurer of Local SIT, In- ternational Brotherhood of Team sters. declared that "our efforts of many months to have the grievances redressed proved fruitless." In hsi same statement to the Work Board Oct. IS, he said that the union had withheld strike action since Sept. IS. when a strike was authorised hw the members.
 Board AasAlls Strikers
 To meet the first major strike ever called against the city governs ment. the Board of Works today set on the record a four and a halg page, single-spaced typewxitten re- port assailing the workers decision to strike and denying the union charges in toto.
 Referring to the question of pay increases, the board said: s-Ths Ciky of Waterbury has approximately 1900 employees. Fifteen hundred and forty of these employees have seen fit peacefully to await the decision of the Board of Finance and Board of Aldermen. Obviously, no sepa- rate and discriminatory decision can be made concerning any one small group of employees. Many Of the men who originally walked cut hays now recognized their mistake and have returned to their jobs. All the others have had an opportunity tq do so. Order must be restored and services maintained. ... .Suf- ficient time has elapsed Co indicate where justices Hes. It. therefore now recommends that all positions from which men have walked 0szl and have not returned he declared vacant and that the employment Fof such men be terminated furth- with"
 MT. Collins could not he reached for comment. However. observerE of the labor scene believed that the strong tone of the boards re- port constituted q challenge whict he, as president of the Connectlcul Federation of Labor. would have te meet. At the convention of thA State Federation Of Labor in Hare. ford in September. Waterbury wai listed as one of the catieS whgx| AR.L. organizing 0f municipal eul'