Evening star., 1952-04-13

caused 10000 Western Electric
employees to pitch picket lines
around telephone offices in 43
States last week.
Refuse to Pass Lines.
Thousands of telephone workers
would not pass the lines. And in
Ohio, New Jersey and Northern
California Bell System operators
and technicians were staging wage
strikes of their own.
One reason for union optimism
came in Ohio, where the company
lifted its offer by SO cents. This
made the new offer range from
$3.50 to $3.50 a week.
Other movements were noted
in Western Electric conferences
in New York and Winston Salem,
N. c., the latter manufacturing
plant. In New York the union said
it was making headWay on fringe"
issues, and in Winston Salem the
offer had been increased 4 12 cents
d11 11Oul w . z SSAIeo'
Michigan Dispute Settled.
Clyde Mills, No. 2 man in the
Government Cancellation service,
echoed hopes for settlements based
on terms reached Friday for 49,
900 Michigan phone workers.
With this in mind, he shifted E.
M. Sconyers, conciliation trouble
shooter, from the successful De-
troit negotiations to Cleveland.
Union officials have said the Mich
igan settlement, giving workers
an 1877 cents an hour, could END
the Ohio dispute.
In New York as we'll as Cleve-
land, Easter was to be just-another
work day for Federal mediators.
Two key Western Electric dis
putes, involving sales personnel
and installers. held the attention
of Walter Maggiolo, mediation
service general counsel.
Decision not to call a general
strike was announced by CWA
President Joseph A. Beirne after
an all-day meeting here with his
top colleagues.
Court Action a Factor.
The Bell Systems court action
was seen as one possible reason
for withholding a full-scale strike
at this time. The company pre-
sumably would bring breach-of-
contract suits in localities where
no disputes exist, and no-strike
clauses are written into contracts.
Mr.. Beirne said pickets would
continue to march here and else
where where the companies have
not obtained court injunctions
against picketing.
Such injunctions, obtained in
145 cities, mostly in the South,
were targets of union action yes
terday.
Calling the injunctions an in
fringement of civil rights and a
vicious strike-breaking conspir-
acy between State officials and the
Bell System" the union began
counter court action.
We're going to fight these in
functions clear up to the Supreme
Court if necessary" Mr.. Beirne
said.
Damage Suits Filed.
Two damage suits by Bell
System companies also enlivened
the strike picture. One was filed
here, with the Chesapeake & Po-
tomac Telephone Co. of West Vir-
ginia asking 100000 from the
union and it's regional director.
Glenn E. Watts.
Growing out of the hectic West
Virginia strike, the suit charged
that "belligerent, disorderly and
massed" picketing in several towns
forced the closing down of tele-
phone Offices and silencing of
$4,000 phones.
The 100000 was the telephone
company's estimate of damage to
business through union tactics of
terrorism"
A similar suit for $500,000 was
brought by the Southwestern Bell
Telephone Co. in Midland, Tex,
and a district judge granted
a temporary restraining order
against picketing in Texas.
In the West Virginia conflict,
a circuit judge at Clarksburg also
ordered 10 union members to show
at a hearing April 20 why they
should not be cited for contempt
for illegal picketing.