Evening star., 1946-07-13
Jurisdictiona| Dispute
OF Ship Unions Probed
By Labor Department
BY the Associoted Pres,

oAN crAINCAoNO, July 10
With the AFL Sailors Union of
the Pacific challenging C1O long
shoremen to a showdown fight,
a special representative of the
Labor Department today opened
an investigation of the jurisdic-
tional dispute which is tying up
ships on both coasts.
Nathan P. Feinsinger, trouble
shooter for Secretary of Labor
Schwellenbach. arrived here yester-
day and held preliminary discussions
with labor leaders on procedure for
the investigation.
Harry Lundeberg, secretary of the
AFL union, last night told the San
Francisco Central Labor Council
that:
IF the International Longshore-
mems and Warehousemens Union
(CIO refuses to work one ship
manned by AFL sailors in San Fran
cisco. we'll close the port OF San
Francisco tight.
Then we'll see who can fight it
out the longest"
Fight Is Spreading.
The dispute broke out at Coos Bay,
Greg, when Harry Bridges instructed
his CIO longshoremen not to unload
an American Pacific Shipping Co.
vessel. and the fight has since spread
to the East Coast.
Meanwhile, other shipping dis
putes came to a head with an
nouncement Of planned work stop
pages in the Puget Sound area and
at San Pedro, Calf
G. E. Elwell, Seattle secretary of
the International Longshoremen's
and Warehousemen's Union, said
Puget Sound shipping would be tied
up at 8 am. Monday in a protest
against what the union charges is
"stalling' by employers in paying
retroactive wage increases. Duration
of the stoppage will be "up to the
membership" he said.
Mr.. Elwell said he had notified
water front employers OF the planned
stoppage by 5000 dock workers.
Similar stoppage was scheduled at
Portland A union mass meeting
was called at Seattle for Monday
morning.
Employers Deny Charge.
M. G. Ripgenberg, president of the
Water Front Employers Association
denied emphatically the union S
charges that there is "stalling," and
said the delay was caused by magni-
tude OF the office work involved.
Another West Coast shipping
strike was scheduled for August l,
by 209 dock foremen at San Pedro,
who are members of the Longshore-
mems union. Longshoremen's Presi-
dent L. B. Thomas said the fore
men were not satisfied with a recent
wage boost because the raise does
not equal in percentage that granted
|longshoremen.
Mr.. Thomas said that when long
shoremen were raised last month to
$l.371a per hour, the foremen were
receiving only $1.35. The Water Front
Employers Association then raised
the foremen to $l.57, but the latter
contend they were not raised an
equal ratio.
On the East Coast, II merchant
ships-four of them waiting to sail
with UNRRA relief supplies-were
stalled in New York Harbor by the
C1O-AFL jurisdictional dispute.
Seventy-f1ve other vessels tempo-
rarily were immobilized as AFI
seamen, said by union spokesmen to
be 5000 strong, left their jobs to
picket CIO-manned vessels in re-
taliation against a CIO boycott
OF AFL-manned ships on the West
Coast.
AFL longshoremen immediately
halted loading operations.
AFL crews in Boston and Balti-
more had orders from Paul Hall,
chairman OF the AFL Labor Mari
time Council Of Greater New York,
to stage similar demonstrations.
Police details along Manhattan
piers were doubled but no clashes
had been reported.