Evening star., 1948-03-16
Meat Supply
Faces 50% Cut
Due 10 Walkout
100000 Workers Quit
Big Packing Plants as
Truman Plea Fails
BY the Associated Pfess


CHICAGO, Mar. Picket
lines formed at the Nation s
meat-packing plants today as
100000 CIO employees were called
out on strike despite a last
minute effort by President Tru-
man to settle the wage dispute
The work stoppage, affecting ap-
proximately 140 of the country s
major and Independent mea t
plants, Is expected to cut in half
the nations meat supply.
The strike became effective at
1901 am. and Immediately pickets
were posted in several of the cities
across the country, including Chi
cago, where 10000 workers are in
volved.
All of the major packers and
scores of independent companies
were affected by the strike, ordered
last night by the 27-man Execu-
tive Committee of the CIO United
Packing House Workers of America.
10000 Expected to Stay On.
However, about 10000 other en-
ployes in the meat plants were ex-
pected to remain at work. They
are members of the independent
unions and of the AFL ANAL
gamated Meat Cutters Union,
which have settled their wage Diff
ferences with the packers.
The committee, after receiving
Mr.. Truman's telegram urging the
work stoppage be delayed while a
special board of inquiry investigated
the dispute, telegraphed the Presi-
dent "the strike must proceed"
"A delay Of strike action at this
time would obviously serve no fruit
full purpose in promoting solu-
ton of this wage ISSUE" the COM
mittee told President Truman.
Asked to Work Until April 1.
Mr.. Truman had asked the work
ers to continue at their jobs until
the Fact-Finding Board reports to
him on April /.
The presidential action was taken
under a section of the Taft-Hartley
law, which Mr.. Truman invoked re-
Gently to avert threatened strike OF
AFL workers at the atomic energy
plant at Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Under the Taft-Hartley Act 1t is
not mandatory that the union call
of its threatened strike. The mere
appointment OF presidential board
does not impose any obligation
either on the union or the employer.
After receiving the boards report
the President may request the at
torney general to seek an injunc-
ton to halt the strike. Issuance of
an injunction would require the
strikers to return to their jobs for
at least so days.
Would Be Submitted to NLRB.
The law requires that the board
restudy the dispute in 60 days and
again report to the President. The
final offer of settlement then would
be submitted by the National Labor
Relations Board to the workers for
vote on acceptance or rejection.
II accepted, the NLRB would GER
tify the results to the attorney gen.
eral who would then be required
to ask for dissolution of the injunc-
ton. If rejected, the President
could refer the dispute to Congress.
AS the strike deadline arrived,
pickets started their march before
the plants-about 78 independent
and 81 operated by the major COM
panies, Swift, Armour, Wilson, Cud-
ahy and Morrell There was no
untoward incident in any of the
cities from New York to Los Angeles.
Wage Increase Demanded.
The strike stemmed from dispute
over the CIO unions demand for
wage increase of 20 cents an hour.
However, the packers offered pay
increase of cents an hour, which
recently was granted the AFL
workers.
The CIO union on Sunday had
proposed acceptance of the major
packers offer of 9 cents, retroactive
to January IL, and asked arbitra-
ton of the differences.
The proposal to arbitrate was re-
jected by Swift, Cudahy and Ar
mour. Wilson 81 Co., which also had
offered a 9-cent-an-hour increase,
withdrew its offer and was not in
cluded in the arbitration proposal.
John Morrel & Co., ranked as the
fifth major packer, was not involved
in the negotiations which usually
set the pattern for the entire pack
ing industry.
Ralph Helstein, CIO union pres
ident, said in statement the pack
ers showed no disposition to seri-
ously bargain on the wage question. "
He said the 20 cents an hour in
crease sought would raise packing
house labor rates from 10 to 28 per
cent, depending on degree of skill.
Plants in Wide Area Affected.
He said the unions wage demand
was derived from the Bureau of
Labor Statistics "city workers fam
lily budget" Mr. Helstein said this
budget, for family of three, and
steady work throughout
the year for 40 hours a week, would
require an hourly wage rate of
s1.39.
The strike Is the second in 26
(See MEAT, Page A-5D