Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1953-02-04
AL Maps Program
10 Step Up Political
Activity in Future
BY james Y. Newton
Stor Siuff Correspondent

MA<AHt44 401a8AN<44s i &d., ECO. r
The American Federation of La
Dor today laid plans to step up
political activity in the future
despite failure of its efforts to
elect a President last fall.
Politically minded members of
the AFL high command have
beaten down strong opposition
within the Federation which
urged abandonment of activities
of the fiVe-year-old Labor's
League for Political Education.
A program has been mapped out
calling for greatly increased eff
forts and the expenditure Of
more money in future elections.
The AFL Executive Council is
holding its winter meeting here.
Today was given over to. a meet
ing of the 30-man Executive
Committee of the political league.
The committee already is look
ing to the 1854 congressional
elections and making plans for
full support for labor approved
candidates.
Pressure Exerted.
In the last election the AFL
for the first time went down the
line for a presidential candidate,
Adlai E. Stevenson, the Demo-
cratic nominee. Since then there
has been pressure on the leaders
to return to the Federation's old
policy Of hands off political
campaigns.
But the political league today
even produced figures purporting
to show that in the recent cleo
ton labor produced the votes
for Gov. Stevenson. This con-
sisted of figures from prepon-
derantly labor districts in Chi
cago, New York City, Tennessee,
California and elsewhere show
ing the Democratic majorities
were equally as great as in past
elections.
Union Told to Clear House.
The Executive Council yester-
day took the unprecedented &C.
ton of disciplining one of its
member national unions. the In
ternational Longshoremen's AS
ISOLATION. The union has been
linked with crime and corrup-
ton which has MIXED the port
of New York of an estimated
$3.50 million year. That was
brought out in a New York in
vestigation Of criminal activities
along the water front.
In a letter, the Executive
Council told the union to clean
house or face expulsion from the
AFL. The LILA has $4,000 mem
bers and is headed by Joseph
p. Ryan
The council told the union to
purge itself of gangsters and
officers who have taken brides;
to eliminate "shakedowns" from
its hiring practices among the
men who load and unload ships.
and to establish its operations
along democratic lines. giving
every member a voice in running
the union.
Deadline for the cleanup of
the LILA was set for April 80. If
the union wishes to remain in the
AL. it must show the council
that it has complied with the
order by that time.
Proud Of Breakdown.
Leaders of the AFL, operating
for the first time in % years
under a new president, George
Meany, the former Bronx plumb
er, were openly proud of their
breakdown in the New York wa
terfront scandals.
There have been other scam
dals in the history of the AFL.
But in the past the federation
has held the position that it's
internationals were autonomous,
and that the AFL, as such, was
powerless to intervene in their
affairs.
But the council told the dock
workers union that despite the
policy of autonomy, the fedora
ton could not allow the union
to bring the entire Qabor)
movement into disrepute."
There was a difference of
opinion whether the council had
the authority to suspend in the
event the longshore union fails
to comply with the cleanup
ultimatum. The AFL constitu-
ton was not too clear on the
subject. A majority of the
leaders believed that suspension
or expulsion could only be done
by the next AFL convention. set
for st. Louis this fall.
Critical of Message.
The council. analysing Presi-
dent Eisenhower's state-of- the
Union message, said that on ma
tional policy it was loaded"
with what labor considers "po-
tential danger"
Several of Gen. Eisenhower S
programs for action on the
domestic front, including social
security, were described as weak
and Inadequate"
1.-The entire message" the
council said, indicated a dispo-
sition by President Eisenhower
to go along with the majority
views in Congress, rather than
assert his own. We hope that
as time goes on. the President
will see the need of giving the
Nation more affirmative leader
ship"