Ottawa County news. (Port Clinton, Ohio) 1931-1956, 1955-01-07
LOCAL 497, UAW-cIo
STEVE ]. NOVAk, PRES.

oSChC. OO WiCIl tlllo Jul llISt IOl'
umn in 1855 we'd like to turn our
attention to group of workers
who have shown striking demon
stration of loyalty to a PRO
UNION EMPLOYER.
Local 688 of the AFL Teamsters
has agreed to forego and cancel
five periodic wage increases and
other benefits with one of the ma
tion's largest manufacturing and
dry goods firms, Rice-Stix.
BY this action the local hopes to
keep the firm in st. Louis and
preserve some 500 union jobs.
The unusual decision was made
after it became known that the
non-union Reliance Manufacturing
Co. of New York was trying to
take over the 94-year-old local cor
poration. The $830,O0O saved by
the company in the cancelled bene-
fits will be used to fight the Re-
lance raid
Union officials fear that Reliance
is hoping to buy a controlling in
terest in the firm at a bargain that
could be quickly liquidated at a
very good profit II would also
eliminate competitor in the pro-
cess.
The contract with Rice-Stix has
a wage reopening clause through
which the members could recoup
some of its current losses il the
firm shows more than a 5 percent
return on its invested capital of
$40 million.
We believe this group of work
ers have displayed the loyalty most
employers can expect when these
same employers are pro-union and
loyal to their workers. And that
adds up to Good Labor Manage
ment Relations which we would
like to see more Of in 1855.
Loyalty is 2-way proposition.
Loyalty from below must be re-
ciprocated by loyalty from above"
j. Patton Davies
CU S. Diplomat recently
fired by Sec Dulles.)
Get-well wishes go to John Mis-
sen who is on our sick list this
week.
We are glad to take Harry Chat
fin off our sick list. He returned
to work this week.
y II
IN LONDON, ENGLAND, only ar
ancient, unwritten law barring
strikes against the King or Queen
prevented full-fledge1 walkout
by 20 of Queen Elizabeth's chauf-
fers and coachmen recently. The
royal coachmen, all of whom have
joined the Civil Service Workers
Union since the war, drafted an
indignant set of union complaints
about too much work, too little
leisure, and too-frequent calls to
work when they're On time off.
One chauffeur who drives Queen
Elizabeth regularly told union off
cialS that he had worked IL weeks
with only two days off while the
royal family was at Balmoral
Castle. Union leaders decided t.
get gently tough" on the grounds
that the royal family should Sc
an example to all British employ
ers on labor-management relations
The wiseacres in Washington ar,
referring to Edgar II. Dixon ant
Eugene A. Yates of the infamou
Dixon-YaYtes contract as the "Kilo
watt Kids"
SOME PRETTY SNAPPY DEALS
HERE! The Federal Government
which spent $500-million of th'
taxpayers money building and de
veloping q synthetic rubbe
plants, is now in the process o
selling these plants in secret t
private industry!
The Wall Street Journal recently
reported that contracts for tn
sale of six of the plants ALREADY
have been signed" The Journal al
SO disclosed that the Rubber Pre-
ducing Facilities disposal Commis
sion, set up last year to handle tht
transactions, has been negotiating
with 35 firms since last May.
How much are the plants beinj
sold for and hum much of beat
ing are the taxpayers going to take
Well, it seems that we won't know
the horrible details until after al
the deals have been completed
"Sale proceeds will not be announC
ed until the DisposaD commission
reports to Congress before JAM
ary 27."
Our sincere best wishes go t
Burt Easterwood who is patien
in Memorial Hospital in Fremont
after suffering a heart attack.
Food For Thought Tonga Sout
Sea Islanders, whose ancestor
were cannibals, take a dim yie'
of communist organizers, accord
ing to returned Rev. John Hanes
The missionary reported that on
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