Evening star., 1946-10-28
Union Calls Shippers
To Return 10 Ships
In New York Harbor
BY The Assoeioied Press


BY the Asseeioisd Press
An official of the AFL Masters
Mates and Pilots Association
announced today the unions
pickets were being Withdrawn at
noon from New York piers and
that masters of ships were being
cleared to board vessels immedi-
ately.
The action came as a result of a
vote yesterday in which deck officers
at a majority Of East and Gulf Coast
ports balloted on an agreement
reached between ship operators and
the deck officers in the 27-day mari
time strike which has tied up ship
ping on those coasts.
Capt. A. E. Oliver, co-chairman of
the Negotiating Committee OF the
masters, announced withdrawal of
the pickets and added that the mas
ters would be followed aboard their
ships by men who have signed for
voyages, and then by the general
membership Of the union.
Picture Still Cloudy.
The maritime picture was still
clouded, however, by reports of Gulf
Coast opposition to the agreements
signed between the operators and
the masters and the other striking
union, the CIO Marine Engineers
Beneficial Association.
The Houston (Tex) local of the
masters deferred ratification of the
agreement and the situation was
further complicated last night by
an announcement by the strike
chairman Of the Houston local of
the engineers saying it disapproved
the agreement reached by the union
! with operators.
The strike chairman. William G.
Kellogg, said he would seek Fed
eral Court restraining order today
to prevent national officers of the
union from putting the agreement
into effect. He asserted he had re-
ceived assurances of support from
locals in Philadelphia, Seattle, Sa- /
vannah, Ga; Norfolk, Va, and
Jacksonville, Fla.
Favorable Vote Indicated.
Capt. Oliver said the trend of the
baloting on the settlement agree
ment indicated a favorable outcome !
and warranted the end of picket |
lines.
Our main interest is to get the
ships going" he asserted.
He said picketing would continue
on ships of West Coast operators
who have not yet reached an agree
ment with the union.
More than 400 vessels are tied
up in New York by the strike. A
total of 1,181 ships are strike-b bound
in East and Gulf Coast ports. Some
of these are expected to sail to-
morrow.
Union spokesmen said they got a
Is per cent pay boost. They asked
IS per cent.
Capt. Willim c. Ash, cochairman
of the masters Negotiating Com
mittee, said yesterday in New York
he expected ships would start to
move by tomorrow unless the Mari
time Commission throws some-mdre
complicated wrenches into the ma
chinery"
. He referred to the engineers ac-
ton Saturday in declaring it would
not announce ratification unless the
\ commission extended benefits of the
: engineers agreement to all Govern
ment t-owned ships. Such step
would cover shipping on the Pacific
Coast where about half the ships
are Governmental
Sam Hogan, engineers president,
said Saturday that the commission
would meet the demand.
Picket Lines Respected.
Both unions have respected the
others picket lines and Mr.. Hogan
said engineer members would con-
tinue to picket West Coast vessels
struck by the masters.
Meanwhile, directors of the Pa
ciflc American Shipowners' Associa-
ton scheduled a meeting in San
Francisco today to discuss agree
ments reached by the two unions in
New York as they prepared for West
Coast negotiations expected later
this week.
Opposition to Engineer and Mas
ters' demands Tor preferential en-
ploynent of union members was
expressed by Pacific shipowners
when a Nationwide settlement was
sought in Washington In separate
negotiations that followed East and
Gulf Coast operators granted prefer
ence but won the stipulation that
ship captains did not have to be
union members.
Although terms in the engineers
agreement have not yet been an
nounced officially. an engineer
spokesman said they boosted en-
gineers' pay IS per cent. The union
had sought IS per cent increase.
The masters agreement provided
basic monthly wage on Liberty
ships ranging from $581 for masters
to g265 for fourth mates who had
previously received $505 and $3.50,
respectively. The union had asked
80 per cent increases in wages
The engineers said United Fruit |
aid American Export Lines did not
have union contracts but it claimed
majority of engineer officers with
both lines and said 1t would con-
tinue picketing them to force con-
tract.
ConoIIv Makes Snoknne