The union times., 1948-01-31

President, Conn. State Building
 Housing is something the building trades unions are able to talk about. There is a good deal of housing con- struction going on in Connecticut, but it is not helping those who need it most-the people who can afford to pay $40 and $50 month.
 Most of the residential eonstruc- tion in l948 will be one family houses. This will not benefit the vet eran or anyone who makes $40 a week. For the veteran, and for all those who barely make enough to make both ends meet, the only an- swer is low-rent housing, subsidized in part by the state or federal gov. ernment.
 Private industry cannot build this type of housing at a profit. The price of building materials has doubled in recent years, and the cost of mod crate sized house is double what 1t was in l940. All this despite the fact that the wages of the building mechanic have increased by only Is per cent since the end of the war. In the same period, wholesale prices of building materials rose 34 per cent; lumber prices alone rose 52 per cent.
 FEDERAL STATE AID
 hope that this convention will go on record favoring immediate enact ment of the Wagner Ellender- aft Housing Bill; and will call upon the special session of the Legislature which is to be held next month to ap- propriate funds for the same purpose.
 There are some people in this state who have been saying for years that we ought not to run to Washington" for everything we need; that we ought to take care of ourselves-right here in Connecticut We'll, this is a good time to prove how sincere they are. We need more low-rent housing. We need 1t at once.
 Let thim demand that the special session of the General Assembly pro- vide money to make this kind of hous- ing possible. It's time we stopped fool ing ourselves that the ten,- twelve, and fifteen thousand dollar one-family houses are going to solve the housing shortage. Some people who put their last cent into such houses two years ago, are now losing them, because of the great increase in the cost of living.
 If we are successful in having the housing problem added to the agenda of the special session, can assure you that the State Building Trades Coun- Gil will do an all-out job to see to it that we get results.
 PROPAGANDA
 During the past year, your officers have spent a good deal of time fight ing the propaganda that the building trades are responsible for the high cost of construction. We especially owe a vote of thanks to Secretary Treasurer Jim O'Kane for his article which was printed in the Bridgeport Herald and THE UNION TIMES, which once and for all answered those who are spread ing this propaganda.
 In my capacity as president, have been asked to give a number of talks, and have been glad to comply. I have discussed the guar. anteed annual wage with several groups. believe that when the present building boom passes, we will 60 back to the old days when building tradesmen were lucky if they could get work six months out of the twelve. To prevent this sit- uatiOn, we must begin to plan now to stabilize the building industry. This is the only way to avoid alter. nate booms and Impressions.
 In 1884, building trades mechan. ics averaged $22.97 a week. In l936, the average was $27.Ol a week. Even in l94O, we were mak. ing an average of $31.7O a week. We want to avoid going back to those days. They are bad for us, for the industry, and for the public. During the ensuing year, you will hear more on this subject from your officers and executive board.
 BIAS HOULD SIGN
 Secretary Treasurer James O'Kane will deal in his report with the prob lems of our organization, and I don't want to invade his jurisdiction. But do want to say that I think we can build stronger State Council if we can get more cooperation in the differ ent cities. The situation is much better than it used to be, but there's plenty of room for improvement. We talk about getting the contractors to sign a master agreement I think we ought
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