The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1950-02-23

SLTlkeS Ol 100 lOln Tic b1Bhl-
ming the auto workers had a diff
ferent kind of union, young and
fresh and vigorous and unhamper-
ed by tradition. 1t streamed out of
the meetings in 1887 and it streams
out of the meetings now.
In Betty's office there was al
ways someone coming in, always
some one asking a question. Now
it was one of the maintenance crew,
fine looking Negro woman; now
a member of the flying squadron, a
veteran of the 1887 strike, with
the neat wine-colored oval patch
on his sleeve, who wanted to know
about oil coupons. In between tele-
phone calls, questions, visitors, all
of which Betty met gay and un-
ruffled, | learned that Local 400
has about $500 members, nearly
half of them women.
"But," said Betty, "Chrysler
hasn't got around to giving them
the most skilled positions yet, and
they haven't given them to our
Negro members either, though be-
fore the war they were only en-
ployed as jaintors and furnace
men," Betty is an arden believer
in equality of jobs for women and,
if there hadn't been an FEPC, she
would have invented it herself. |
also learned that there is strike
strategy committee, an energetic
recreation and education committee
that puts on two entertainments a
week and cooperates with other
locals, a motor pool, a flying
squadron and picket committee;
there is always flying squadron
car either circling the plant or
standing near by. Constant vigil
ance takes the place of a picket
line, although 100 cars circled Jeff
erson and Kercheval on Feb. Is.
Born in Pittsburgh, Betty is a
second generation auto worker and
unionism is a part of her very
bones. AS things began to get real
ly crowded in the office, "We can't
talk here" Betty decided, "there is
too much going on"
"They've asked you everything
so far except where to have a
baby" | said.
"Well, even for that | could tell
them where to find out" said
Betty. "They'd go to the counsel
ors; this is their room."
The committee was meeting, so
we went into the picket soup kitch-
en- with Mr.. Stanley, the head coun-
selor, who explained that the i'm
mediate business. is to screen re-
lief cases and refer them to local
welfare agencies. All counselors
take a comprehensive course first.
Soon pickets came in from all
over for an excellent dinner of
corn beef and cabbage, coffee and
doughnuts. There was something
in the hall of good temper and fell
lowship and lusty gaiety that |
had known so well as part of UAW
in 1887; something that one can
call the spirit of union and which
Betty, with her good sense and her
boundless vitality, represents.
When we came upstairs they
were putting up a television donat-
ed by the United Tire Company,
and Betty was telling me about the
union party to be held Saturday
night. Yet as the fear of mob
shadowed Pengelly Hall, the men,
ory of the attempted dynamiting
was here in this union hall togeth-
er with the tragedy that almost
took the lives of two Reuthers.
From there | went to the Hotel
Sheraton, where in the solarium
the union negotiations were going
on. There the pension dispute has
been side-tracked temporarily,
while the union presents new con-
tract demands.
If the spirit of Local 490 is a
S m pie Of what's happening
through the country in all of the
other Chrysler locals, it bodies well
for the outcome of the unions new
contract.