Evening star., 1952-04-30
Strike
Continued From First Page.)

dIlu Sale SlluCQOWI1.
He called the situation still
touch and go" and added:
1--WE will not be able to tell
until later whether serious dam
age has been done to equipment. :"
The work Stoppage, third in
steel since the end of World
War II, began in Gary, Ind, and
South Chicago. Ind. within an
hour after Federal judge null
lifted Government seizure of the
steel industry.
Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo
and Baltimore were among the
first to report workers walking out.
Most of the workers waited until
their local union Offices received
Mr.. Murray's cease work order.
But many walked out as soon as
they heard of the court decision.
The USW's contract with prac-
tically all major steel producers
expired January l. Union-indus-
try negotiations produced no new
pact. Federal mediators failed to
break the deadlock on the unions
demand for an 1812-cent hourly
wage boost, union shop and other
objectives.
The WSB recommended a
172 cent hourly pay increase
and a union shop, pus other bene-
fits. USW accepted. Industry
baked. President Truman averted
a strike April 9 by seizing the
steel industry. The companies
successfully fought the action by
getting a Federal Court injunc-
ton. An hour later they were
bound.
The average earnings of USW
members has been running be-
tween $1.94 and $1.97 an hour in
recent months. The figure varies
because of fluctuations in over
time and other premium pay.
The earnings figure comes from
the American Iron and Steel In
Stiute. Some union sources say
average earnings are not that
high.
Wheeling Steel Reports Damages.
Wheeling Steel Corp. was one
of the few companies which re-
ported damage to plant facilities.
Wheeling Steel issued a state
ment which said:
Extent of the damage to coke
ovens, furnaces and other equip
ment at the Steubenville. Ohio,
plant could not be ascertained."
At Gary union spokesman in
dicated no effort was being made
to safeguard the expensive iron
and steel making furnaces. which
must be cooled slowly over period
of "a to 48 hours to prevent dam
age.
Orville Kincaid, head of USW
Sub-district l, said at Gary that
the union had made no arrange
ments with steel companies for
banking furnaces.
Mr.. Murray instructed his men
to arrange for standby operation
of steel plants.
Production Says Sharp.
Steel production sagged sharp
ly. but no one could say how much
with plants still in the process of
shutting down. The industry has
been producing at peak capacity,
making about 100000 tons of
ingots-raw steel-a week. Much
of it was being used for defense
and essential civilian purposes.
The steel strike of 1952-origi-
nally called for January l but
postponed four times-is in sup
port of demands for the union S
fourth postwar wage increase.
In Chicago, pickets kept about
100 supervisory and technical
workers out of the Inland Steel
Co. plant. The company said,
however, that 1000 others were
on duty inside the plant, more
than enough to assuer an orderly
shutdown" A spokesman added
"We see no threat to the safety
of any part of the plant or the
people in it,"
Republic Steel. which expects
to lose about 27,500 tons of ingot
production day during the strike.
predicted its plants will lbe closed
within a few hours with about
SIS, 900 workers idle.
Only a handful of steel COM
panies are unaffected by the strike.
They employ about $4,000 men.
They are firms which have al
ready signed with the union or
which do not bargain with the
United Steelworkers.
The biggest steel producer in
the lot is Kaiser Steel of Cali
fornia, which signed a contract
along the lines of the WSB recon-
mendationS.
| The major producer which does
not deal with the USW is Weirton
Steel Co.. a major producer Of
tin plate and other steel products.
Weirton Steel has contract with
an Independent union which COW
ers all its 1000 production workl
ers in Weirton, w. Va. and
iCtaIilnararrilla nnin