Evening star., 1955-02-11
AFL-CI0 Merger Plan
Moving Into Action;
Beck Gives Approval
BY the Assoeiaisd Press

MIAMI BEACH, Fla, Feb. IL.
-AFL union leaders have unani-
mously approved the AFL-CIo
merger agreement and the pact
today appeared well on its way
to being put into effect.
The Endorsement by the AFL
Executive Council was only one
in a series of necessary ratify.
ing actions but AFL President
George Meaney said he was con.
fident they will be accomplished.
Told that some business lead.
ers have expressed fear that
welding the AFL and CIO into Q
single 15-million member organ
ization would tend to create .
labor monopoly, Mr.. Meany ex.
pressed disagreement.
1--WE represent only a minority
Of workers in the country" Mr..
Meany said. There are more
than go million workers and
we've organized less than IS per
cent Of them"
Sees Mass Farming Unionized.
Mr.. Meany said millions OF
workers probably never could be
organized because their work
doesn't lend itself to union.
ism. He mentioned individual
farmers or hired hands as ex-
amples. but said that mass farm.
ing operations could be organ-
lied.
He said that the white collar"
or office worker should be given
the same opportunity as other
workers to improve their work.
ing conditions through unions.
"The philosophy of the AFL
has always been not to organize
just for the sake Of organizing"
Mr.. Meany said, "but to organ.
ize where the application Of trade
unioniSm could bring about inn
provement in wages and working
conditions"
Mr.. Meany and CIO President
Walter Reuther, along with other
top AFL and CIO officials, signed
the detailed agreement to merge
their big organizations here
Thursday amid predictions that
their 140 unions would be
brought under the same banner
before the end of the year.
Beck Approves Merger.
Dave Beck, president of the
AFL's largest union, the Teams
ters. was absent from the AFL
Executive Council meeting but
sent a message that he approved
the proposed merger.
Arriving here a few hours later
from Washington. Mr.. Beck told
reporters he was very agreeably
pleased" with the merger deal,
particularly its assurances that
jurisdictional disputes between
rival unions would be dealt with
by voluntary means rather than
any compulsory procedure.
Mr.. Beck said he wants to
make sure that this principle OF
VoluntariSm Is carried out in tha
new merged organizations con-
stitution.
Il am 100 per cent for George
Meany to become president Of
the new organization" Mr.. Beck
added.
Reserve Plan Endorsed.
The AFL Council, yesterday
winding up, a To-day meeting
at the Monte Carlo Hotel, adopt
ed a statement giving qualified
Endorsement to President Eisen-
hower's military manpower pro-
gram calling for a large trained
reserve.
The council said that while
1t has opposed universal mill
tary training because it might
impose q regimented or mill.
tarized training program on our
youth in peace time" the Ma
tion's reserve forces now are
grossly inadequate to meet any
national emergency.
The AFL group suggested that
Congress place a statuatory
limit on the number of youths
processed annually through the
proposed training program and
review the entire plan after two
years trial.
The council also urged that
Congress approve q 10 per cent
pay raise for more than two
million Federal and postal serv-
ice employees, rather than the 8
per cent increase recommended
by President Eisenhower.