Evening star., 1947-10-13
Work. Resumed
|AtStruckPIant
In Shore Town
81 Employees Return
To Button Factory as
Deputies Look On
BY George Kennedy
Star Stoff Correspondent

resumed today without incident at
the Excelsior Pearl Works, Inc, but
ton plant here, which has been
struck since Tuesday.
About 81 workers, mostly men
filed into the barnlike plant in this
Eastern Shore town we'll ahead OF
the am. starting time. The full
work force is said to be 81.
Three deputized police officers
with pistols on their hips were
among a group of 20 male citizens
OF the community standing in front
of the plant. One State policeman
stopped in front of the plant but
did not get out of his car.
The deputizing of IS citizens
Thursday night by M. L. Sutton
feed merchant, who Is Mayor of the
community, had caused the Balti-
more representative of the 1nterna.
tional Ladies' Garment Workers
Union, AFL. to petition State au.
thorities for protection and media.
ton.
The union put out no picket line
this morning. Charles F.. Tillman
jr., international representative
from Norfolk, was on hand with
three union members but they die
not carry signs nor walk In from
Of the plant. There had been NJ
interference with the picket line
last week, Mr.. Tillmaf1 said.
Admits Right to Picket.
The strike at the little plant here
developed from strike at the main
plant of the company at Federals-
burg, 81 miles away.
In the plant here the workers
mostly men, cut discs from The
mother Of pearl shells imported
from the Southwest Pacific.
Mayor Sutton, who arrived shortl,
after the Z am. opening, acknowl.
edged the unions right to picket.
But" he said, I'VE are not going
to stand for crowd of IS outsiders
from fredericksburg blocking ou,
street, as happened last week. AND
we are not going to stand for any
one inciting the workers to riot
by telling them to 60 in the plant
as this man James Christopher die
Thursday. And further, we are not
going to stand for any one passing
out canned beer on the street, as
this man Irving Jaffe did Tuesday,
Striker Faces Hearing.
Both Mr.. Christopher, Federals-
burg striker, and Mr.. Jaffe, ILGWU
organizer, are held in $500 bail on
charges of disorderly conduct and
will have hearing in Federalsburs
this week.
Mayor Sutton denied that there
had been any effort by town lead
ers to start a back-to-work move
ment over the week end. He saio
that the community had subscribed
$4,000 to help finance a new $3O,.
600 plant, which has not yet beer
opened, to increase employment
The plant the company is in now
he said, was given to the Excelsior
company about IL years ago by
the Chamber Of Commerce.
The company, said to be one oi
the largest pearl button manufac.
turers in the country, is owned by
Bernard Rifkin Of New York.
Election Held Up.
Reached on the telephone ir
Baltimore, Miss Angela Bambase
international representative of the
union for Maryland and Virginia
said that an election at the plant
had been held up by the original
National Labor Relations BOARD
ruling on Communist disclaimers
Miss Bambase said that the 1LGWU
an AFB union, was unable to OBJ
tain an NLRB election because OF
the ruling Of Robert Dunham, gen.
eral counsel Of the labor board, that
top officers of the AFL and CIC
would have to sign afidavits that
they were not Communists. The
ruling was later reversed by the
board.
She said that the union made q
ope-hour strike demonstration ir
the company's plants two weeks
ago. She said that Mr.. Rirkin ther
agreed to meet with the union. In.
stead, she said, he came to Fed.
eralsburg 10 days ago and gave the
workers an antiunion talk and q
10 per cent raise.
After that" she said, I'VE hae
to call the strike. We didn't ash
for this. The workers came to III
and asked to be organized becaus.
of low wages"
Union representatives said thu
men at the fredericksburg plant
average $26 for As hours work on 8
piece work basis.