Evening star., 1949-07-09

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which made the Austrian people an easy
prey of Hitler.
Trieste before World War I did as much
shipping business as New Orleans today:
it was a business center in which Yugo-
slavia firms (Consulic Linel and German
corporations (Austrian Lloyd competed
freely with Italian companies (Asscurazioni
GeneralD. Not one of the adjacent countries
will be satisfied by an italian Trieste, if 1t
does not assure equality of business oppor-
tunities for all and a free port to their
importers and exporters.
DR.. RICHARD A. KAHN.
Representative of Longshore Union
Argues for Arbitration of Wage Issue
To the Editor OF The Star:
The International Longshoremen's and
Warehousemen's Union. CIO, welcomes your
suggestion, in your July editorial entitled
"Arbitration," that the President have a
study made to ascertain whether the en-
ployers in Hawaii are justified in refusing
to arbitrate or whether conversely the union
is acting reasonably in proposing arbitra-
ton. We feel certain that any objective
study will find that arbitration is a reason
able solution to the Hawaiian dispute; the
employers refusal is based simply upon
their foreknoWledge that they will lose their
case on its merits If it is ever presented
before an impartial arbitration tribunal.
Your readers should be interested in the
facts in regard to the Hawaiian longshore
dispute.
The ILWU contract with the stevedoring
companies in Hawaii provides for wage
reopening april Is last) within the life of
the contract which has another year to run.
The union proposed an increase of 80 cents
to bring the hourly wage for longshoremen
up from ST 40 to $1.72. The current rate
of pay for longshore work on the West coast
of the United States Observation-Disclosures
through collective bargaining between the
ILWU and the same shipping companies
that operate in the islands-is S1.82. The
increase proposed by the union would re-
establish the 10 cents differential that ex-
listed between mainland and Hawaiian ports
in 1945.
Pay Differential Emphasized.
Prior to the strike cargo was loaded in
San Francisco by members Of the ILWU for
a shipping company and the same cargo
was unloaded by members of the same union
in Honolulu employed by the same COM
pany. but the men in San Francisco earned
AZ cents more than their union brothers in
Honolulu-and for the same job. The union
opposes this practice: we always have. The
only difference between our members in San
Francisco and Hawaii is that the latter are
Oriental Americans, and we certainly will
not tolerate a wage differential based on a
color line. Equal pay for equal work is an
honest trade union demand; it is a pay
practice widely accepted in American indus
try today. That is the issue in dispute
wages and nothing else.
On request Of the Federal Mediation and
Cancellation Service, the union extended ne
gotiations for two weeks beyond April 49,
The last employer offer was IL cents. 1t was
rejected by the union.
The Federal Mediation Service then pro-
posed that the dispute be arbitrated The
union accepted this proposal-which would
have prevented the strike. The employers re-
jected arbitration.
On May the longshoremen went on strike
Since then attempts by interested parties in
several agencies of the Federal Government
and Territorial government to have the
dispute arbitrated all have been rejected by
the employers. In fact-and this is char
acteristic of the fantastic lengths to which
the opponents of the union have gone-one
Honolulu newspaper has described the
unions acceptance of arbitration as itself a
"communistic trick
Quotes Senator Morse's Views.
would refer your readers to an able speech
by Senator Wayne Morse, Republican, OF
Oregon, one-time impartial arbitrator OF the
West Coast ILWU contract appearing in the
Congressional Record for May Is. 1949, in
which Senator Morse reviewed the whole
situation in Hawaii and concluded, with the
union, that the dispute should be arbitrated
Again, addressing himself to the Hawaiian
sugar negotiations that have been dragging
along since May l, Senator Morse said In
letter to Earl Wilson, president of the Cali
fornia and Hawaiian Sugar Refining Corp,
in regard to the unions proposal to arbitrate
this wage difference Congressional Record
June Is, page A3879):
"You say If arbitration Of wages in the
strike of longshoremen should be agreed
upon by employers. it would be but one step
further for the unions to demand and
obtain the arbitration Of differences between
employers and the union in the sugar IN
dustry.
your observation causes me to ask the
question, Why not?' If the industry has
a strong case, as you appear to think 1t has,
the industry would not lose an arbitration
case on the merits. It seems clear to me
that basic in your philosophy, as set forth
in your letter, is the view that the employers
should be left perfectly free to decide for
themselves what the wages. hours and con-
ditions of employment in the sugar industry
should be-"
Moreover 1t Is fact that the collective
bargaining contract now in force in all the
major West Coast ports-a contract be-
tween the HWU and the same shipping
companies operating in the islands-ex-
plicitly provides that the September. 1949.
and September, 1850. wage reopenings be
arbitrated If not settled after Is days Of
negotiations. This clause was inserted in
the West Coast contract at the employers
insistence. In Hawaii the same employers
rof, rhi in, iroj1
to the same union
In view of the above can there be any
good grounds for the refusal of the Hawaiian
Employers Council either to negotiate away
the wage differential or present the entire
issue to an impartial arbitration board for
a decision binding upon both parties?
WILLIAM, GLAZIER,