Evening star., 1950-06-26
Printers Tell Guild
They'll Join Effort
To Obtain Pensions
By james Y. Newton

The head of the Washington
printers union declared today
that unions in the publishing in
dustry here are planning joint
action in an all-out effort to win
uniform pensions.
James O'Connor, president OF
Columbia typographical Union
made the statement in an address
at the opening session of the
American Newspaper Guilds an
nual convention.
| He called attention to the fact
that the printing trades unions
are cooperating with the Guild
in a strike against the World
Telegram and Sun in New York.
The paper has been shut down for
two weeks because of refusal of
the printers and other mechan-
ical trades to cross Guild picket
lines.
Pact Here Expires in April.
Fundamentally" said Mr.. O'Con-
nor in reference to the New York
pact, that is an act of unionism. -
He then noted that an agree
ment signed yesterday by the
printers with the Washington
newspaper publishers expires next
April. Mr.. O'Connor pointed out
that the great industrial unions in
the coal, automobile and steel in
dustry had won company-support-
ed pensions.
Between now and then (next
ApriD we will call together all
unions in the printing trades look
ing to the drawing up of a uniform
plan for old age security" he
added.
Even if the employers refuse to
bargain with all the unions jointly,
Mr.. O'Connor said, the unions will
be able to take up the matter of
pensions individually. He prom
ised that 1--WE then will make a
pact from which there will be
no retreat"
Criticizes Play on Mccarthy.
Harry Martin, international
Guild president. also in reference
to the cooperation among the
unions in the New York strike,
said there is a growing realiza-
ton among all unions of the
printing industry that they must
Withstand efforts to destroy each
separately"
Mr.. Martin referred to the news
play given charges by Senator Nc
Carthy, Republican. of Wisconsin,
of Communist infiltration in the
State Department as "the malo-
dorous failure of the press to meet
its responsibility" which has
given aid to the campaign of
character assassination"
Senator Nicely, Democrat, of
West Virginia. in another address
to the 300 guild delegates, did not
mention Senator Mccarthy by
name, but he likened him to a
'reincarnated fiendish spirit"
This spirit of evil" he said,
substitutes fiction for fact, rumor
for evidence and lies for truth"
Visiting Mount Vernon.
Other speakers at the first days
session were Miss Elsie Carper,
president of the Washington
Newspaper Guild, and T. J. Nc
Carthy, president of the CIO
Washington Industrial Union
Council.
This afternoon the convention
delegates are guests of the Ma
tional Capital Sesquicentennial
Commission for a trip to Mount
Vernon.
Earlier the guild officers had
expressed concern with newspaper
mergers that throw people out of
work.
The officers report said that
already this year 1000 employees
in the newspaper industry, in
cluding about $50 guild members,
have lost their jobs. It predicted
that mergers will continue.
Sam B. Eubanks, executive vice
president, said in an interview
that he personally is not so much
concerned about mergers in big
cities as he is concerned about
smaller places that now have only
one newspaper.