Evening star., 1947-08-16
3 Unions Wage Hard
Campaigns 10 Bring
Phone Girls Into Fold
by The Assoeioted Press

bf me AsSocfofed Pfe3S
The 'hello girl' Is the center Of
a three-way whirlwind courtship.
Labor unions-the CIO, AFL and
the independent Communications
Workers of America-are wooing her
furiously.
The CWA is the successor to the
National Federation of Telephone
Workers, which staged the Nation-
wide strike in April After the
strike, the NFTW dropped its loose
federation type of organization and
formed a single industrial union.
1t is headed by Joseph A. Beirne, the
strike leader.
Mr.. Beirne lost some Of his support
after the walkout, and the CIO, con.
fident it could move into the tele-
phone industry, set up Telephone
Workers Organizing Committee.
Membership Scramble.
The AFL's Brotherhood of Elec.
tricaf Workers also is out to get
everything that is not nailed down.
Clerks, plant employees, mainten-
ance men, equipment workers and
installers-all are being courted In
one Of the widest scrambles for
members since steel, autos and rub
Der workers were organized by the
CIO in the l930s.
The CWA. in the field first, has
The inside track. 1t claims 16l ,669
dues-paying members and says 1t
represents 100000 workers. That
would be about half OF the eligibls
employees in the vast Bell system.
Mr.. Beirne and the CWA are out
to get the number up to at least
$50, 900 dues-payers by their conven-
ton time next June. They are con-
fident 1t can be done despite inroads
made by both the CLOS TWOC and
the AFL's electrical workers.
Goal Is Set.
The CLOS Tel Silvey and Allan s.
Haywood are equally confident they'll
win the industry eventually. In the
meantime they have fixed their goal
fat a modest $4,000 or 10000 before
the Boston CIO convention, sched-
uled to begin october l3.
President Daniel w. Tracy of the
AFL Electrical Workers, one time
Assistant Secretary of Labor. smiles
sagelv when questioned about his ac-
tivities. Already, however, the Vest
ern Electric Hawthorne plant at
Cicero, III, and an Illinois plant
union in Chicago, with nearly 10000
members between them, have voted
to join Mr.. Tracy's union.
The Maryland plant workers
union officers and Executive Board
have voted to recommend IBEW
aff1liation to their 5000 members.
and the board of the Maryland
Telephone Traffic Union has rec
commended that its 5000 members
join TWOC. Both unions have
elections on the question coming
up.
! Contested in d. c.
Up to now the CIO TWOC has
no actual affiliate in the industry.
But John J. Moran's American
Union of Telephone Workers, In
cluding 10000 long distance service
operators and employees Of the
American Telephone g. Telegraph
Co. lparent Arm of the Bell sys-
tem}dshas woted to 3 to affiNate.
- Some fighting is going son over
this move, however, especially In
Detroit. Cleveland, Washington and
lmnaefap lmadefiapa pEqqalis. pEqqal .,bsa i: a. ,,sti ~
sAnotl1er Illinois union, the Fed
Grafton of Telephone Clerks, with
1000 members, has announced It's
intention of tying with TWOC, but
decided to hold off until the C1O
has $4,000 members in the field.
' The Western Electric Employees
Association, with 10000 workers at
i Kearney, N. j., has deferred action
until after It's fall elections, a CWA
E official said.
Other CIO Units.
The Association of Communica-
lions Equipment workers, whose
10000 members are scattered In
western Electric plants and big In
stallation centers across the coun-
try. are about to take a referendum.
President Ernest Weaver and his
l executive board have recommended
!. CIO affiliation.
Two other unions in the C1O
y already have units in the telephone
industry. One, the American Com
!, munications Association, has 10000
: operators in Northern California
: and several hundred long distance
! technicians up and down the West
, Coast. The United Electrical Work.
ers' Union has 300 members In a
western Electric manufacturing
|, plant IN st. Paul, MINI.