Evening star., 1953-10-03
| |Fact-Finding Board
/ Starts Hearings in
| Strike Of Dockers
BY the As.oeia,ed Press

NEW YORK, Oct. 3.-A fact
finding board appointed by
President Eisenhower in the
East Coast longshoremen's strike
heard employer testimony today
that the dock tie up would cause
tremendous losses"
The three -man board opened
public hearings at the Hotel
Governor Clinton.
It is scheduled to report it's
finding to the President by Mon
day. Then he can seek an anti
strike Injunction to get the co.
900 strikers back to work for an
80-day "cooling-off" period un-
der the Taft-Hartley Law.
The board announced it would
hear employer spokesmen first
and then spokeSmen of the
longshoremen.
Shippers Counsel TeStifieS.
Joseph Mayper, counsel for
the New York Shipping Associa-
ton, representing ITO shipping
companies and contracting ste
vedores, was the first witness.
He said the port, the public
and the longshoremen "are faced
with tremendous losses" because
of the strike, now in its third
day.
Mr.. Mayper testified the en-
ployers had been bargaining for
35 years with the International
LongShoremen's Association, re-
Gently ousted from the American
Federation of Labor for failing
to rid itself of racketeers.
He said collective bargaining
had become increasingly diff
cult" for number of reasons.
Among them, he said, were the
need to conform with regula-
tions of the recently created New
York-New Jersey Bi-State
Waterfront Commission, which
becomes effective December /,
and notice from the AFL that it
intends to contest for the right
to represent the longshoremen.
May Question Ryan.
Members of the board said
that. if necessary, they would
go to the hospital bedside of
Joseph P. Ryan, ailing president
of the lila, to obtain testimony
from him. Other lila officials
were to appear at the open hear
ing. however, to present the LILA
side of the controversy.
The board members were
sworn in this morning by John
E. Dietz, of the Washington
office of the Federal Mediation
and Cancellation Service.
Members of the board are
David L. Cole, former director of
the service, chairman; the Rev.
Dennis j. Comey. S. j., director
of st. Joseph's College of Indus
trial Relations, Philadelphia; and
DR.. Harry Carman, former dean
of Columbia College.
The waterfront generally was
quiet as the strike went into it's
third day.
But as the inquiry board con-
vened, police maintained protec-
tive guards over rival longshore
leaders.
UNIV Bid Reported.
Another development in the
waterfront crisis was a report
that John L. Lewis United Mine
Workers independently had in
vited the old lila to join UNIV
District so. This is a catch-all
group which in some cities in
cludes tugboat men, school jani-
tors, taxi drivers, construction
workers and others.
In Washington the UNIV Off
cially declined comment on the
report. Mr.. Lewis was out of
town and unavailable for COM
ment. Another UNIV source ex-
pressed doubt the UNIV was
seeking to take over.
In New York police have STAYED
off a number of clashes between
members of the old lila and the
new lila.
Yesterday the FBI repeatedly
tipped local police to a rumor
that two gunmen were on their
way here from Oregon to kill
lila President Ryan, confined to
a hospital with an illness since
last Monday. A, round-the-clock
police guard was placed on the
69-year-old Ryan's private hos
pital room.
AFL Man Also Guarded.
Another police guard was
given John Dwyer, a leader in
the AFL's fight to drive Ryan's
lila off the docks. Dwyer, who
took his Manhattan local out of
the LILA and is now the ILA-AFL
organizer in Manhattan, had
two detectives by his side yes
terday as he marched up and
down the docks, calling on lila
pickets to bolt and join the AFL.
Police called Dwyer's guard "un-
official"
Developments in the strike it
EDUCATIONAL.