Evening star., 1946-03-07
Telephone 1ieup
IsAverted Just
Before DeadIine
Agreement Provides
17.6-Cent Increase
As Negotiating Bosis

A national telephone strike
scheduled for 6 am. today was
averted half an hour before the
zero hour in a dramatic race
against time, but not before
pickets appeared on Washington
streets and caused a brief dis
location in service.
Nearly 20 hours of steady drum
ming by the Labor Departments
Cancellation Service finally brought
results when the American Tele-
phone g. Telegraph Co. signed an
agreement with the Federation of
Long Lines Telephone Workers
establishing an industry pattern"
The agreement, calling for an
average wage increase of 17.6 cents
an hour, was sanctioned by Is other
unions affiliated with the National
Federation of Telephone Workers as
a suitable basis for resumption of
bargaining with A. T. & T. COM
panies throughout the Nation.
Western Electric Strike Also Ended.
Making a double play" of the
gruelling work, Chief Conciliator
Edgar L. Warren announced the
agreement also settled the strike of
1890 Western Electric employees at
Kearny, N. j., on since January 3.
At Kearny, Frank Fitzsimmons,
president of the Western Electric
Employees Association, said picket
lines would be maintained until
members ratify the agreement. One
of the terms of the agreement was
that the terms were subject to
ratification of union membership.
The agreement set S. minimum
and 81 maximum for increases to
traffic operating employees outside
New York City. This would apply
in the case of the Washington Tele-
phone Traffic Unions 5000 operators
who originally asked increases Of 50
q day.
Under the pattern" just set down,
Washington operators will receive
from $29 to $44 a week instead of
$24 to $37, with top salaries going to
workers having eight years expe-
rience. A schedule of wage increases
will be worked cut to give beginners
IS increase and experienced
operators more, with eight-year en-
ployes receiving the maximum So
80 Exchanges Picketed.
At about the time Mr.. Warren
stepped from the room where COM
pany and union officials had con-
ferred almost continuously since 10|
am. yesterday, to tell newsmen the
strike was off, operators of the
Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone
Co. left their stations.
From $50 until am, the strike
was on here in full force, with
operators picketing the telephone
Office, Western Electric Co, and
nearly 80 exchanges in the District
and nearby Virginia and Maryland.
AS in Philadelphia, Baltimore,
other Maryland cities and points in
Ohio, Michigan, Texas and Okla
homa, union officials were unable to
contact pickets in time to halt the
brief disruption. The telephone
company Immediately set its super
visory force into action to handle
emergency calls.
j. B. Morrison, vice president and
general manager of the Chesapeake
g. Potomac Telephone Co., issued
this statement at noon:
with the settlement agreed upon
this morning, service today is nor
NAL. Further action will be neces-
sary to work out all the details
and the company expects to meet
the union promptly for this pur-
pose"
Long Distance Service Interrupted.
BY $50 majority of the opera
tors had returned to work, the
company said. Service during the
hour-and- -one-half strike period
was virtually normal, locally, but
calls to Operator" and long dis
tance" brought a recorded an
nouncement that a strike was on
I'VE cannot handle your call"
As early as II pm. yesterday it
seemed likely the negotiations were
reaching an agreement in the Long
Lines case, considered representative
in the disputes. Shortly thereafter
Joseph A. Beirne, president of
NFTW, started polling the 16 strike
pledged unions to determine whether
(See TELEPHONE, Page A-6)
rLL.u T