Evening star., 1947-12-21

ne second TounQ OF postwar wage
Hartley Act forbade the signing Of
any more union shop contracts
unless a majority of the workers
vote "yes" in an NLRB-sponsored
election. And the NLRB can't hold
such an election unless all the union
officers have filed non-Communist
afidavits.
Two AFL men who led the oppo-
sition to Lewis gained more power
and prestige in the organization.
They are George Meany, AFL Sec
retary- treasurer, and Dan Tobin.
president of the Teamsters' Union.
They denounced the Taft-Hartley
Act but argued that unions should
comply with the affidavit provision
in their own interest.
The CIO told it's IL national
unions to make their own decisions
on affidavits. A little more than
half of them have decided to file.
One of the important labor devel-
opments of 1947 was that the Com
munists in the labor movement ap-
peared to be losing ground.
Political Action Mapped
In the CIo the "right-wingers"
(anti- -Communists) became more
confident and outspoken. At the
CIO convention in october Presi-
dent Philip Murray himself led tho
cheers for Secretary of State Mar
shall and the United States pro
gram of helping Europe. Both Mar
shall and his policies have been
bitterly attacked by the Commu-
nists.
In the CLOS United Auto Workers
the Communists took heavy defeat
in President Walter Reuther's elec-
ton victories in November The
Reuther forces won real control Of
the union for the first time.
Here are three more 1947 labor
developments that must be men,
toned:
1. New political organizations have
been set up by~labor leaders with
the purpose of seeking the 1948 de-
feat of every member of Congress
who voted for the Taft Hartley Act.
2. The AFL and CIO met to talk
about unity but with no result. The
CIO insists on an immediate pro-
gram OF joint action. The AFL in
sists on an outright merger first.
3. The National Planning Associa-
ton started an important study Of
the causes of industrial peace
As for strikes in 1947:
Company Wins Point
I, There was a brief June maritime
strike, q brief June coal strike in
protest against the Taft-Hartley
law and a long shipyard strike from
June to November. .
The telephone industry strike was
a struggle between the Bell Tele-
phone System and the National
Federation of Telephone Unions, q
loose organization of many unions.
The unions wanted higher wages,
Nation wide bargaining and UNI
form raise throughout the country.
The telephone companies were
willing to grant some wage increases.
but insisted on company-by-con1-
pany settlements. And they won
their point. The strike began April
7 and lasted we'll into May.
After the strike, the NFTW con-
solidated itself into a new union, the
Communications Workers of Amer
lea. But dissatisfaction over the
results of the strike caused some Of
the groups to affiliate with the CIO.
A fierce organizing war broke out
between the CWA and CIO. They
are still at it.
The Strike Table
Here's an unofficial estimate Of
1s47 strike idleness: IS, ,465 900 man.
days.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics
estimated loss of 81 ,465. 900 man
days through October. This writer
made his own rough estimate Of 81
0O0, 900 man-days for the last two
months and added 1t to the 10
month figure.
The following table gives the man.
days of strike idleness for each
month in 1947, comparing it with the
corresponding month of 1916:
1947. 1946.
January ------ 1,375,O00 100000
February --- 1,24O,000 22,9O0,000
March ------ 100000 100000
April .~--- 7,750,OO0 14,300,o00
May ---- 5,7oo00O 100000
June - 3,750000 4,580,0o0
July -- 100000 3,970,000
nm mn mn