Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1947-09-26
JAW Board
Reprimonds
President I Reufher
Continued from Page

CONTINUED tEOm age 4
across the unsound and uncon.
stitutional FE merger proposal" T"
Bluntly and without any punch
pulling, Reuther b ia m e d the
board majority, which includes
former President r. j. Thomas
and Secretary.Treasurer George
Adde's, for failure to take action
against Communist infiltration.
= "As democratic trade union
ists," he said, I'VE must continue
to defend every members right
to believe in his personal politi.
cal philosophy, but we must op.
pose with uncompromising de-
termination the efforts of the
Communist Party or any other
outside group or individual to
Interfere in affairs of our union"
Can't Use Union
!, The UAW, Reuther continued,
Hmust not tolerate any effort of
the Communist Party or any
ether outside group to use the
labor movement to advance their
interests at the expense of our
membership"
Citing the anti.Communist and
anti-fascist clause in the consti.
tuition, Reuther declared, "The
majority of the executive board
at a meeting in Detroit on April
%, 1947, blocked enforcement of
this section of the international
constitution"
While guarding against the
fascist technique of smearing
every decent liberal and progres.
sive with the brush of Commu.
pism, Reuther warned that "on
the other hand, we must fight
against the Communist Party
and their efforts to employ the
same smear technique in reverse
by branding as a fascist and Red
Batter everyone who has the
courage to oppose or to criticize
the Communist Party line. The
American Communist Party Is
not a political party in the le-
gitimate sense. Communist Party
members in America and in our
union are governed by the for.
eign policy needs of the Soviet
Union, and not by the needs of
our union, our membership, or
our country"
Urges Trustee Board
After proposing that the con-
vention elect three-man board
of trustees to check union fl
nances, Reuther turned to the
Thompson case. 1.-THE records of
the international secretary-trea-
surer show that more than half
a million dollars was spent in
the drive, yet the plants remain
unorganized," said Reuther. "The
greater portion of this money
was expended before l became
president, for since the last con-
vention the Thompson Products
staff has been limited to three
international representatives"
AS an example of the waste of
union money, Reuther cited the
case of one International staff
member who was on the staff
for a period of 107 weeks. The
records showed, Reuther said,
that while this man was being
paid to organize the Thompson
Products workers in Cleveland,
he spent a. major portion of his
time away from the plant he was
being paid to organize"
The weekly expense sheets of
this international representative
further show that during the lot
weeks he was assigned to the
Thompson Products drive, he
made 1913 trips away from Cleve.
land to points throughout the
u. S. and Canada. Such scanda-
lous waste of union funds is in.
excusable, and the coming con-
vention should take drastic steps
to tighten up our finances and
guarantee against a repetition"
Challenges Left Wing
Reuther's report was seen as
a clear-cut challenge to his left.
wing foes who, his supporters
contend, have sniped at him and
sabotaged his administration
since he won q dramatic victory
over incumbent president r. j.
Thomas, at Atlantic City last
year.
Reuther is set to run for re.
election, but what remains to be
decided is whether his opponents
will decide on the nomination of
either Thomas or Adde's. It was
a virtual certainty that no mat
ter whom the anti.Reutherites
nominated, he would be support
ed by the Communists and their
followers.