Montana labor news., 1949-12-08

400 NrM York financial district IN
'Nr heart 81 the shipping center
lhe sly ,iorl building also house,
Tie New York branch ii the union.
Perhaps the most striking thing
,bpui tn, particular union TO an
outside Observer. i, The AR Of m
iarmality, the man ,o-uuan relation
,llp, between the officers and the
membership should imagine thi,
Is the KIND % relationship that ex-
i,t, among ,caiaring men aboard
ship and tie union ha, admirahl,
transferred 1t 20 IL, ,hore-,ide ap-
paratu,
From 'hi, relationship stem, the
lrinoeraii, process, which the union
fc@lielou,lA adhere, - IN ever, phase
~ u, acti,iuc- A. ! observed in the
curse III my visit
The mn ion officials hypa,,cd
nothing 81 the ,isi,
saw how the ,eafarcr, maintain
ihrT records with their complete
data 90 the membership and the
finance,
MI oi the union records are a.ail
able ior inspection By the mem
bcr,hIp In TACT. the union en-
courage, interest IN these aspect,
- II, operations Elected commit.
tee, oi members inspect the book,
cpcrl week
NJ the Nealarcr, | had an oppor-
units y sec the hiring hall, back
hone ~ today Tree maritime trade
nnlNni>m IN operation Here /,
where the democratic. equitable SYST,
EN- 81 rotary shipping IS utilized
every hour This method Of dis
patching men 10 iobs-on a first
come inst served ba,is-represents
The greatest SINGLE attainment in the
interest II maritime labor and !
learned that i, has proved bene-
ielal q the employer, as well a,
the workers.
It i, the militant desire t. pro-
tee, thi, y stem Of employment, ircm
which the slU's principle objection
p the TAFT Hartley law arises. For
lhc SIT. and the other maritime
unions. asserts that the TAFT Hart
ley law places this precious symbol
ut Tree trade unionlsm in jeopardy
The SlJ, desire 10 acquaint its
! membership with the structure and
iunctiomng d their unlon IS we'll
demonstrated IN i movie called,
lhis /, the STU, which took %
we'll spent, minute u witness. The
masic. Mhilc hieh-lighting the at
'inmcut, made hy the union in the
ucld vi wages and working condi-
tipn, Tor the membership, also
,how, the members Why they pay
due, lhc spending ~ each dollar.
i, Tie movie point, out is calculated
ii make the SlU membership the
best represented scamen in the
world | would heartily recon
mend this movie u all who are IN
lyre,icd ID knowing how a sound
union functions.
J ATS" learned that tilc >lC apcr-
itc, un the theory that a well-in-
ipfncd membership 4, The greatest
Insurance iar continued Democracy
ilc uniot publications, notably the
Official organ, the seaiarers Log are
are black aud white examples 81 the
practice oi this theory, | daresaA
that icw publications reveal 50 great
Z degree u membership participa
Mlu In rs page, any member can
y u>c one ~ q, coloriul ilgure'
~ speech -bl,W ni> nd on any ma
yer N which the Welfare Of the mens-
n,r,lip Il, concerned The page>
- the paper are sort OF a testing
ground and mtiiy ideas expressed
u II by individual members later
merge a. union policy.
Another and interesting phase q
the nngon', activities i the providing
VI recreation Tor il, members while
they arg on the beach, waiting Tor
jobs VIA the rotary shipping board
s~eartaring unions, like the SIT dii
icr from ,hnre side unions IN sev-
cral respects The recreation hall
offers II example. Unlike shorcsidc
workers, the men who sail our mer
chant ileet are dependent upon their
Union almost y hours a day \oi
only Tor economic representation
but TOT a means OF recreation and
relaxation.
This need the SIT meets Tour
square comfortable lounsing racis-
iuies are available Checker and
chess canes are IN constant pro-
erc>s Radios and teleuslon work
around the clock On the walls are
displayed samples OF members tai
en,s and neutrality-suspicious..
unusual examples OF rope splicing,
aud the like.
Briefly, | would say that the Sll