Evening star., 1947-04-29
Phone Talks Resume
After Stormy Session;
ConciIiators Accused

Telephone company and union
leaders went back into sessions at
the Labor Department today after
a stormy session" yesterday which
broke up when union men accused
the conciliators of being tools of
management" and Asked the Labor
Department to- withdraw from nego-
tiations.
Joseph A. Bierne, president Of the
National Federation of Telephone
Workers, later spoke over Station
VOL, asserting that the company
is "out to break the back OF the
union in the strike.
Labor conciliators disclosed after
yesterdays sessions that the major
obstacle still is the refusal Of both
sides to bulge from their major OBJ
|jectives-the telephone company on
arbitration Of all issues, and the
union on a dollar-and-cents wage
offer,
Ernest Weaver, president of the
Association of Communications
Equipment Workers, delivered the
blast at the Labor Department yes
terday because, he told reporters,
conciliators were trying to get the
union to sign statement which, in
effect, would repudiate the National
Policy Committee conducting the
Nationwide walkout.
Has Power to Make Offer.
He asserted that the department
should withdraw from the confer
ence handling negotiations with the
Western Electric Co. Mr.. Weayer's
union has 10000 members employed
by this big subsidiary OF the Bell
Telephone System.
After the meeting George S.
Dring, vice president of American
Telephone and Telegraph Co., ad-
mitted that he had the power to
make wage offer to workers of
the long lines union If "he saw fit,"
The union has been contending that
Mr.. Dring came to the conference
without this power.
Il have not yet arrived at the
conclusion that it is the reasonable
thing to do" Mr.. Dring said. They
want a money offer, we are stand
ing by our offer OF arbitration"
The conciliation meeting today
brought together John j. Moran,
head OF the long Lines union, and
his assistants with company oficials
and Conciliators Peter j. Manno and
William N. Margolis.
Meanwhile, the c. & p. Offices
here announced this morning that
an additional 412 employees had re-
turned to work in the last two days
rather than face fourth payless
week. Union leaders, however, kept
their picket lines at the usual
strength. -..,
In Minnesota, Gov. Luther w.
Youngdahl announced his deter
mination to make further attempts
to settle the strike in his area.
even though workers of the five
States under the Northwestern Bell
Co. yesterday rejected an offer Of
a $3.50 weekly increase.
Gov. Youngdahl is to have an
other meeting Thursday with COM
|pany and union negotiators. He
asked both parties to come pre-
pared for arbitration if a settle
ment is not reached by then.
In Richmond, Gov. Tuck refused
a request Of the Virginia Fedora
ton Of Telephone Workers for per-
mission to check responses to the
State Corporation Commission poll
on, willingness Of Chesapeake 81 Po-
tomac Telephone Co. of Virginia
employees to work for the State in
event of a strike.
Virginia workers have filed notice
Of intent to strike on May II.
In Denver, mass picketing by the
striking telephone workers was pro-
hibited today under an order issued
by the Colorado Industrial Commits
sion following a mass demonstration
in front of the headquarters of the
Mountain States Telephone Il
Telegraph Co.
The FBI stepped into the tele-
phone strike sabotage investigation
in Los Angeles yesterday after a
Navy teletype line was cut.