Evening star., 1948-05-31
Crucial Stages Near
In Rail, Soft Coal and
Oak Ridge Disputes
BY the A.,ocioted Press


Three of the Nations toughest
labor disputes head into crucial
stages this week. They could tie
the country's economy and de-
fense plans in knots if walkoutS
actually occur.
The disputes involve John L.
Lewis 100000 soft coal miners,
about 900 AFL atomic energy work.
ers at Oak Ridge, Tenn, and 190,-
600 members OF three railroad
brotherhoods, now working only be-
cause the court ordered them to.
In addition these three. the
threat of a shipping strike, which
could stall the European aid pro-
gram, is in the off1ng. CIO con-
tracts on all coasts expire June IS.
A strike Of CIO-National Maritime
Union members on the Great Lakes
already is under way.
Lewis Case Opens Wednesday.
The Lewis case will go before
Justice T. Alan Goldsborough of
District Court on Wednesday. Gen.
eral Counsel Robert N Denham of
the National Labor Relations Board
is seeking another injunction
against Mr. Lewis and the United
Mine Workers. ~
This time it is to force Mr.. Lewis
to bargain with the Southern Coal
Producers Association. represent
ing one-third of the Nations Bit
luminous coal output.
Contract negotiations between Mr..
Lewis and the bituminous operators
broke up May 10 because the UNIV
boss refused to seat President
Joseph E. Moody of the Southern
association as bargaining represen-
tative of the Southern operators.
Mr.. Moody promptly appealed to
the NLRB, and Mr.. Denham
charged Mr.. Lewis with an unfair
labor practice.
The coal contract expires June 30.
The Oak Ridge dispute has caused
headaches for everybody connected
with it. These includes Cyrus Ching,
head of the Federal Cancellation
Service; the Atomic Energy Com
mission and the White House. Pres
ident Truman headed off a strike
in March by invoking the emergency
machinery of the Taft-Hartley Act
for the first time.
An injunction was obtained against
the AFL union and the Carbide and
Carbon Chemical Co. Now another
step under Taft-Hartley procedure
is to be taken at the Oak Ridge
plant tomorrow and Wednesday.
The NLRB will conduct an election
among the AFL workers at Oak
Ridge to determine whether they
would like to accept the employer S
last offer. Regardless of whether it is
accepted or rejected, Attorney Gen
eral Clark must ask the court to
dissolve the injunction, after the
vote. That would free the workers
to strike, If they wanted to. around
June 7.
Rail Meeting Tomorrow.
The White House will try again
tomorrow to settle the railroad dis
pute.
Even though the three brother
hoods-the locomotive engineers
firemen and enginemen, and switch
men-are working, their battle with
the carriers over wages and oper-
ating rules remains unsettled. A
strike could break out at once, II
Justice Goldsborough lifted his tenn
porary restraining order. Justice
Goldsborough will decide on June
II whether to extend his order for
the third time.
Presidential Assistant John r
Steelman has asked the union and
company negotiators to come back
to the White House tomorrow to see
if he can't break the long deadlock
The maritime dispute centers
mainly on the hiring hall. The Taft
Hartley Act outlaws the closed
shop, in which only union men,
bers may be hired The hiring hall
is system by which only union
members are engaged.
What the Government fears is
that members of the CIO union
just won't report for work after
June Is, unless compromise Is
reached on the hiring hall prin-
ciple. The result could be a quick
tieup on the Atlantic. Pacific and
Gulf Coasts.
Water Cote Concert Tonioh,