Evening star., 1946-04-15
Red Cross Due
ToEnd Clio and
AFL Agreement
CIO Makes Initial
Move to Withdraw
From Fund Ruisino

The Central Committee of the
American Red Cross, meeting at ma
tional headquarters, was expected
today to terminate the wartime
Embarrassing agreements existing
since 1912 with relief committees
Of the American Federation of Labor
and the Congress of Industrial Or
CARNATIONS.
Even before the Red Cross pol
1cymaking committee convened this
morning the CLOS National Com
munity Services Committee had
taken the initiative by announcing
1t would not renew the agreement.
The contract was drawn up as
war emergency measure. 1t was
a four-way agreement, with the
Red Cross and Community Chests
and Councils, Inc. Qater a part of
the National War Fund, on one
side, and the labor organizations on
the other. The Red Cross and Ma
tional War Fund reimbursed the
AFL and CIO committees for
handling their Embarrassing cam
paigns within the unions.
CIO Outlines Reasons.
A letter from Irving Abramson,
chairman of the Community Serv-
ices Committee, to Basil O'Connor.
national Red Cross chairman. out
lined the CIO committees reasons
for withdrawing.
While the agreement makes ade-
quate provision for Embarrassing re-
SponslbllitleS of our committee, it
nevertheless makes no provision
whatever regarding the fundamental
purposes which both the Red Cross
and our committee set up as their
obJectives,' Mr.. Abramson wrote.
Il refer to the requests that cul
committee has been making during
the whole war period that we be
given an opportunity to participate
In Red Cross activities and services
on community level. This, as you
know, has not been done.
The agreement as it now stands
is purely a Embarrassing arrange
ment providing for the reimburse
ment of small percentage of our
total contribution toward the op-
Grating and administrative ex-
pense of our committee.
1T was under this arrangement,
as you know, that We helped raise
more than $50,0OO,OO0 in three cam
paigns alone through thousands of
volunteers in the CIO ranks"
Ready to Promote Program.
Mr.. Abramson said the Red Cross
indicated no interest in our ef-
forts to promote volunteer partici-
patton in home nursing, first aid
and other essential Red Cross work
on a community basis. Our efforts
to create a more wholesome under
standing between Red Gross chap
tiers and local labor groups were
discouraged at every turn"
The CIO committee went along
with the agreement during the war
years because it feared the effect
termination of the agreement might
have on Red Cross campaigns, Mr..
Abramson continued.
I'VE therefore must advise YOU
that during peacetime there can be
no excuse for any agreement that is
only Of unilateral benefit to the
Red Cross for fund-raising without
any provision for full participation
in the work of your organization"
Mr.. Abramson wrote Mr.. O'Connor.
Our committee stands ready to
enter into an understanding with
the Red Cross to promote the pro-
gram set forth above.
Agreement Under Criticism.
"The American Red Cross has iso-
lated itself too long from the people
and the community. 1t is our hope
that under your leadership the Red
Cross will become a truly American
Red Cross democratized for full par
ticiL ition for every one in the COM
munity. In this way only can it
become a truly peoples organiza-
ton"
At close of the war, the agree
ment was subjected to sharp criti-
cism to some who said the unions
were getting kick back" from the
Red Cross and from others who
said Red Cross was violating tradi-
ton by delegating Embarrassing au-
thority to any group.
These criticisms were answered
by Mr.. O'Connor and others of the
Red Cross who insisted not a penny
had ever gone to the unions. Mr..
OConnor, in statement last De-
cember said the union committees
had been reimbursed $238,3O8 as
actual expenses for raising between
s30,O00,000 and $35,000,0O0 for Red
Cross during the first three years