Evening star., 1952-09-04
Urge
Non-Red Oath
PERTURBATION
Soy ; Union Leaders
Have Been Identified
AS Communists

A Senate subcommittee today
asked the Justice Department to
consider perjury action against
leaders of a labor union in con-
nection with the signing of non
Communist affidavits.
The request was made by the
Senate Internal Security Subcom-
mittee in forwarding to the JUS
tice Department the transcript of
lengthy hearings into whether
Communists are in control of the
IDistributive, Processing and Office
Workers of America union.
The transcript of the hearings,
some Of them closed. revealed that
leaders Of the union were .identi-
fled by witnesses as Communists
or Communist sympathizers. The
subcommittee, in it's formal re-
port, said:
"The testimony again demon
strates the tactics by which an
organization with some $4,000
American worker members and
with very substantial amounts of
money is under the control of
agents of the Kremlin, which is
dedicated to the destruction of
the freedom which the members
of the organization now enjoy"
The testimony showed that
leaders refused to answer ques-
tions about their Communist con-
nections on the ground that their
answers might incriminate them.
Identified With Party.
The report named the officers
of the union as Arthur Osman,
president; James Durkin, secre-
tary- treasurer, and Donald Hen
derson, administrative director.
"Osman, Henderson and Dur
kim" the subcommittee report
said, "have been identified in
sworn testimony as Commu-
mist Party members"
The subcommittee also recon-
mended that Congress enact q
bill introduced by Senator Nc
Carran, Democrat, of Nevada to
make it unlawful for a Commu-
mist to hold any Office in, or en-
ployment with. any labor organi-
zation. Senator McCarran is
chairman Of the Senate Judiciary
Committee and also heads the
Subcommittee on Internal Sc
curity.
Under cover of a professed in
terest in the welfare of the work.
err" Senator McCarran said in a
statement, "this union-the Dis
tributive, Processing and Office
Workers of America - has ad-
vanced the Communist cause in
many ways"
Amon9 Wealthiest Unions.
Senator McCarran pointed out
that several of the unions officials
testified they had signed the non
Communist affidavit required by
the Taft Hartley law as a require
ment to the designation of their
unions as bargaining agents but
F.. Sought to avoid revealing
their past or present Communist
amliations."
The union was formed in Oc-
tober, 1850, by the merger of the
United Office and Professional
Workers Of America, the Food, To-
bacco and Agricultural Workers Of
America and the Distributive
Workers Union. The Office Work.
ers' Union and the Food, Tobacco
and Agricultural Workers group
were expelled from the CIO early
in 1850 because Of alleged Com
munist leanings.
The union was described by the
subcommittee as one of the
wealthiest in the country. It was
said to have a net worth of about
I$6 million, an income from dues
in excess of $500,0OO a year and a
security plan trust fund. the an
nual income of which is about So
million a year.
The Distributive Workers Union
is centered in the Metropolitan
New York area. The subcommit-
tee charged that the union had
resorted to "the strong terror
technique" against small business
men in New York and elsewhere.