Ottawa County news. (Port Clinton, Ohio) 1931-1956, 1955-12-23
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STEVE j. N0VAK, PRES.
LOCAL 4c7. UAW-Cl0

During this holiday season hun
dreds of workers in this area will
be making their decision whether
or not they wish to join hands and
work together in free democratic
union.
These workers know the facts of
life of plant working conditions
and take home pay They are an
example of good, hard working
people with minds of their own.
They are capable of deciding for
themselves without pressure from
any source.
However, they have been bonn
barded with anti-union letters de
signed to shape their thoughts and
decision. So we would like to point
out a few truths we have learned
through union membership.
Every man has the duty to see
that his laboring interests are pro
tected and secure. He has the duty
to obtain for himself and his fam
lily truly human life, sheltered
against the future
The typical union contract spells
out important provisions of benefit
to all workers, whether they be
young or old The young, for in
stance, is insured better working
conditions, better living wage
and vesting rights for a brighter
future. The Older worker enjoys
these same provisions with par
ticular advantage in seniority and
in good sound pension plans Once
these provisions are established in
a union contract they cannot be
altered by the mere whim or fancy
of one or two men of the manage
ment kingdom. Nor can they be
withheld or administered according
to the top office temper of the day
Workers through their union and
contract insure that provisions are
administered fairly.
The worker has every right that
his voice should be heard in setting
up these provisions and in seeing
that they areadministered properly
For whom knows better than the
worker himself just what his needs
really are. But only through a dem
ocratic union can he, the worker,
ever hope to have that voice. And
no one worker can shed this re
sponsibility by saying, I'm just
one person. Let the others organ
iZe I'm not needed"
We cannot soft-pedal the need
of unions and union membership;
for there are bigger goals, bigger
in many ways than the first goal
of self-protection, and if they are
not achieved, even the first will
not be safely held
Every man has the duty to CO.
operate for the welfare of his feI-
loW-citizens and to call for the re
spect of justice in all the activities
of labor, industry and commerce.
The isolated worker canlN,t achieve
this. United with his fellow-work-
ers, he can. Therefore, there is
moral obligation to take an active
part in labor organization.
Thre is the need of doing away
with conflict between labor and
management and having them work
together for their common in
terests. Today long, hard fought
strikes are becoming so rare that
when one does occur it is given
front page publicity.
A Company and Union that have
been working together for 26 years
and have lost only 3 months of
work because of strike during
these years should consider this an
outstanding record particularly
when you consider the many long
peaceful years and the many gains
they have made during that time
Today, more and more workers and
their employers are peacefully
agreeing upon improved union
contracts that in the long run bene
fit the workers the Con,napx o,,5