Evening star., 1947-03-25
Federal Labor Official
|Wiu Confer in Attempt
To Avert Phone Strike

Assistant Labor Secretary John
w. Gibson was scheduled to leave
for New York this AFTERNOON to con-
fer with American Telephone q
Telegraph Co. ofncials in an effort
Ito avert . Nationwide telephone
strike April 7.
Az he prepared for his departure,
Joseph A. Beirne. president Of the
National Federation Of Telephone
Workers, said A. T. q T. executives
had not replied to . telegram last
night proposing negotiations by not
later than April ! Of the unions To-
point demands, including $i2 weekly
wage increases for workers.
The message, addressed to Walter
A. Clifford, president. and Cleo
Craig, vice president, both Of A. T..
b T., was sent soon after the fed
eration's 49-member Policy Commit
tee had unanimously approved the
strike call, Mr.. Beirne said.
Labor Department spokesmen said
Mr.. Gibson's conferences with tele.
phone company officials are planned
while he is In New York to address
a National Safety Council meeting.
= Reply Not Expected.
Meanwhile, Mr.. Beirne said. he
would consider the negotiations
offer had been rejected unless 1t
was accepted before the Policy Com.
mittee resumed sessions In the Raj
eigh Hotel here this afternoon.
Union of1cials said frankly they
did not expect q reply and, In New
York, the Associated Press quoted q
spokesman Of A.. T, at. as saying
Mr.. Clifford and Mr.. Craig were mot
available for comment" on the nego-
tiations proposal.
Spokes,nen In the Labor Depart
nent Cancellation Service said con-
cilators have been named In many
Of the negotiations between NFTW
afiliates and various Bell System
companies throughout the country
None. however. has been appointed
to attempt to bring the NFTW and
A. r. 81 r. together as national Or
ganizations.
But We are watching and study
ing the situation and will act at
the proper time the Cancellation
Service spokesman said.
| Mr.. Bevin said the strike, II put
into effect, will apply to SO OF the 4s
afiliates OF the national fedora
ton. The remaining 10. he ex-
planned. are working under con-
tracts which expire after April 7,
The strike, he said. would par
alyze completely telephone opera
tions throughout the Nation except
in New England, Southern Cali
fornia and Islands Of workers here
and there" which are not afllliated
with the national federation, itself
an independent union.
| But even these areas. the union
president declared, would be de-
prived OF "long line" or long dis
tance, service. This in turn would
knock out radio. teletype and other
communications depending on tele-
phone lines.
Rehearsal Held at Plant.
While the National Policy COM
mittee prepared to reconvene here.
"dress rehearsal" for the threat
ened Nationwide strike was staged
today by $500 maintenance and pro-
duction employees at the Point
Breeze, Md, plant Of the Western
Electric Co.
Their Spokesmen announced they
were staging a 24-hour protest
strike" over the apparent failure Of
new contract negotiations. The
stoppage. however, did not interfere
with telephone service.
The Point Breeze workers are
members of the Telephone Equip
ment Workers Union, one of five
unions in Maryland reported to be
preparing to support the April Z
strike. Among these, distribution Of
strike ballots continued today to
the Maryland Federation of Tele-
phone Workers. They are to be re-
turned by Saturday for counting by
next Monday.
In Virginia. interest focused on a
conference set for March 81 between
negotiators for the Chesapeake &
Potomac Telephone Co. of Virginia
and the Virginia Federation Of Tel
ephone Workers.
The conference was ordered under
the States new Public Utility Labor
Relations Act which forbids a strike
until after a cooling of period dur
ing which the State is given op-
portunity to adjust labor differences.
Previous negotiations ended in a
deadlock last Friday.
There was no indication that Vir-
ginia telephone workers would at
tempt to join any strike April Z or
would otherwise disregard provi-