Evening star., 1951-04-02
4 THE EVENING STAR
Southern Textile Mills
HitbyStrike Of 100000;
Some Plants Closed
Washington, D. c
MONDAY, APRIL 2, 1851
By the Assoeiated Press

SVttHV ] HUbHGS StVSVQ
By the Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N. c., April g.
Pickets swarmed outside mill
gates today as about 10000 CIO
textile workers in five Southern
States pressed strike for higher
pay.
Management and union sources
disagreed as to the effectiveness of
the strike in cotton and rayon
plants.
Owners at NUMBER of plants
halted operations without an ef-
fort to stay in production. Others
opened the mills as usual and
worked with curtailed crews.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of
the South's booming textile in
dustry spun busily forward. There
are about 425,000 cotton-rayon
workers in the South but only
about 10000 are members of the
TWUA. OF the union members,
about $4,000 are under contracts
which have not expired. The
TWUA reported nearly 10000 on
strike.
Emile Rieve, president of the
Textile Workers Union of Amer
lea, set up strike headquarters at
Greensboro, N. c. e.
THE union is in position to
stand long strike" he asserted.
But we are hopeful we WON'T
have to stand a long strike"
Negotiations between mill man
agements and the union broke of
over the week end with no agree
ment.
Fieldcrest Mills eight plants at
Draper, Spray aand Leaksville,
N. c.. were closed by the manage
ment. Fieldcrest is a manufactur-
ing section of Marshall Field &
Co.. of Chicago.
Proximity and Print Works
plants of the Cone Mill Corp. at
Greensboro operated on a limited
basis. despite picketing at all
gates. Management said Prox-
unity was operating two-thirds of
its looms. but the union said the
strike there was 80 per cent eff
fective. Management said Print
Works was operating at so per
cent capacity, but the union said
the strike had cut operations
there to per cent of normal.
Single Picket at Plant.
About 3.400 workers struck at
three plants at Rock Hill, S. C.
The Rock Hill Printing & Finish
ting Co.. Industrial Mill and Gold
Tex Fabrics Corp. made no effort
! to operate.
Cones White Oak mill is not
formally organized. Shifts of
about 1900 each changed at q
am, without incident.
A single picket carrying a sign
reading. Please don't cross our
picket lines was on duty, but no
one appeared to pay any atten-I
Tion.
Please don't come back to
work tonight" the picket pleaded
with departing workers.
I'm hungry" responded one
girl.
COst-of-Living Raise Sought.
The first picketing started as
third shift workers were due to
come on at some mills late last
night. However, the picketing
started in full force early today
as the first shift was to begin.
The strike followed a two-week
truce requested by the Defense
Department. Many mills are pro-
ducing war materials.
The union is demanding 13 cents
more an hour, plus cost-of-
living adjustment and improved
pension and insurance benefits.
The union says average cotton
rayon wage rates in the South are
$1.21 an hour. and the minimum
is $l.01l2. 1t is asking a minimum
of $I1412 an hour.
Strike Affects Virginia.
The strike was on in Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina,
Alabama and Louisiana. In Ten
nessee, union officials said about
1900 workers at Brookside Mills in
Knoxville will continue working
until tomorrow afternoon, when
they will vote whether to join the
walkout. The TWUA said Brook
side is the only Tennessee mill af-
fected so far. About Is North
Carolina mills are affected, eight
in South Carolina, four in Ala
bama, one in Louisiana, the Lane
mill at New Orleans and one COM
pany in Virginia, Dan River Mills
at Danville.
Limited operations were under
way at the huge Dan River mills
where 10000 are employed. Pres
ident Basil Browder said two mills
were operating, and described as
'very encouraging" the number of
workers who reported to the day
shift. He said attendance on the
midnight shift was not good. Nor
riS Tibbetts, TWUA spokesman,
described the strike as very effec-
tive" Police said pickets exhibited
o carefree air.
a
Touch Glass DeyeIoped