Evening star., 1948-04-19
ITU in New York Votes
Delay in Considering
Contract With Papers
By the Assoeiotsd Press

kVIlHdII WIFI TdpClS
BY the Asseeiotsd Press
NEW YORK, April 1s.-The New
York City membership of the Inter-
national Typographical Union, AFL,
has voted to postpone consideration
Of the tentative agreement nego-
tiated by local union officers for a
new contract with Is Of the city's
major daily newspapers.
Members Of ITU Local Q, how
ever, voted yesterday 1850 to S4e
to ratify = contract settlement
reached Saturday with the city's
principal book, magazine and job
printing plants. A pay rise OF 1929
a week was among the provisions.
The membership vote makes the
contract binding and ends = dispute
which led recently TO q work stop
page which halted . major part OF
the commercial printing industry
for . time. Formal signing was set
for today.
400 Members Covered.
The commercial printing pact
covers 1900 ITU members. About
$500 are employed by the 13 news
papers.
While no work stoppage on the
newspapers has been threatened,
there was no immediate indication
Of the status Of negotiations be-
tween Local and the Publishers
Association OF New York City, rep
resenting the newspapers.
The Local s membership followed
the orders Of the IIU Executive
Council when they voted yesterday
to withhold consideration Of any of
the terms Of the tentative newspa-
per agreement reached last week.
The national ITU officers, includ-
Woodruff Randolph, ITU president,
refused to approve the tentative
pact, on the ground 1t does not COM
ply with the TITUS laws and collec-
tive bargaining policy. The pact in
cluded q SO weekly pay increase and
clauses to substitute for union Sc
curity provisions now banned under
the Taft-Hartley Act. Details were
not made public.
Recommendations Turned Down.
Local 8 members turned down
recommendations by their local
president, Laurence H. Victory, and
other officers of the local.
Mr.. Victory moved that the meet
ing approve the tentative agree
ment. The motion included pro-
vision that negotiations with the
publishers would be resumed on
clauses rejected by the ITU Execu-
tive Council, as soon as the council
gave Local 8 a full explanation of
why 1t turned down the terms.
Local 6 officers said they ex-
pected further word from Mr..
Randolph soon.
william Mapel, vice chairman Of
the publishers association, issued
this statement last night:
We presume the ITU Executive
Council will make known promptly
why 1t forbade Local 6 to ratify
what attorneys for the publishers
association and for the local union
said is a sound and legal contract.
and as such received the unanimous
approval OF the unions accredited
representatives, its officers and its
local Executive Committee.
Details Requested.
Mr.. Victory, who had asked Mr..
Randolph for details on the rejec-
ton Of the agreement, received from
Mr.. Randolph on Saturday night a
telegram which said:
you know that 1TU general laws
must be complied with. Any con-
fusion resulting from your seeming
rush to transmit newspaper con-
tract to the local union is self-cre-
ated. Executive Council must pass
on proposed contract and will ad-
wise you fully in writing 50 changes
can be made and approval secured
before submission to local union.
Much consideration given to the
proposal on Saturday, but caution
necessary to protect interests as
fully as possible under injunction
and Hartley law. There has
been much deviation from proposal
Vice President elmer Brown
helped you prepare for presentation
to publishers. Will write fully soon
as possible"
Answering members at yesterdays
meeting who asked why speedy con-
tract approval was needed, Mr.. Vic
tory said the ability OF Chicago
newspaper publishers to continue
publication during months-long
ITU strike makes it urgent to ne
gotiate a new contract here.
Pay Scale Outlined.
Supporters of the national TITUS
order said that defiance might lead
to revocation of the locals charter
and its members rights in the par
ent union.
The pay scale in the tentative
newspaper agreement would be 500
for day work on 3614 hour week;
$104 for night work for the same
number OF hours, and $l09 for late
night work Of IS hours.
The commercial printers agree
ment raises day wages from $8o.7l
to 500 for a 36A hour week. A SIM
liar increase for night workers
brings their rate to 1858 for the
same number Of hours. Late-night,
or lobster shift, workers will receive
e9558 for 321z hours.
The newspaper printers contract
expired March 81.