Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-07-01


Of six articles.
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Mr.. Hall down. But the police
moved in first.
Mr.. Curran was the first tc
threaten to resign from the
IAFL-CIO's Ethical Practice!
Committee If it didn't move fast
against the mob. In this he was
backed by Jack Potofsky, leader
of the Mems Clothing Workers
Union.
Reuther Fought BoOkieS
Walter Reuther took on 9
good-sized mob when he began
driving the bookies out of the
giant auto plants. This moi
fought back. It's take ran as
high as $50 million a year in the
giant factories.
The auto union worked with
the employers by telling mem
bers that any rank-and- file
dues-payer or shop steward fired
for being one of the gambling
ring would not be protected by
the United Auto Workers.
AS Mr.. Reuther put it re-
Gently; The kind of free labor
movement that we believe in
must make leadership a sacred
trust and not an opportunity
to feather ones nest and make
a fast buck. If these people
want to get rich, if they want
to make a fast easy buck. that's
their business. but we must in
sist that they do it outside Of
the American labor movement
and not inside the American
labor movement"
But these men are the national
leaders Of labor-the publicized
ones. There are many unsung
crusaders inside labor who battle
the crooks quietly.
Court Hears Complaints
There is a little fellow with
tall courage by the name Of Sal
Hoffman, leader of the Up
holstererS Union. Some years
ago he st up a special court in
side the union to which the
rank-and- filters can come with
complaints if anybody moves
against their union rights.
This court has on 1t a panel
of Outstanding public figures. Any
union member who wants to APP
peal any decision of any official
or board of the union can come
before the court. On it sit Judge
Curtis Box Of the Philadelphia
Common Pleas Court; Paul Her
zog, former National Labor Re-
lations Board chairman and as
sistant dean of Harvard's School
of Public Administration: Prof.
Nathan Feinsinger of the Uni
versity Of Wisconsin, Prof. Archi-
bald Cox Of Harvard. the Rev.
Leo c. Brown of st. Louis Uni
versity. the Rev. Dennis Comey
OF st. Joseph's College. Dr..
Joseph D. Lehman Of the Illinois
Probation Commission. J. B.
Gillingham Of the University of
Washington and DR.. Clark Kerr,
chancellor of the University of
California.
There are rank and filers such
as my good friends Bill Wilkens
and Pete Batalias. who were on
the air with me the night l was
attacked by an acid hurler and
who had to have police protec-
ton while attending their unions
convention in Chicago. They
have contacted other rebels in
other cities to fight on a national
front against the toughs and the
fronts for ex-convicts in the
Operating Engineers.
Kicked in Stomach
This is a union which has this
country by the throat. A union
whose executive board sat quietly
by when an older member came
to it for justice and one official
kicked him in the stomach. The
victim of the kick survived, too.
He went back home to fight. He
calls me from time to time to
report his progress.
Let me not pass without men,
tioning of rank and file long
shoremen who risked their lives
by rallying to the Rev. John
Corridan's fight on the New York
docks.
Just as the terror is transcon-
tinental, so is the fight for
decency inside labor.
But how many kicks in the
stomach will it take before the
rank and file of those unions
which are like slave centers
stand up and roar defiance?
When will they demand action
from their national leaders in
Washington, from the Govern
ment. from their local district
attorneys and from the police :?
The mob can be fought. 1t
takes CUTS. Like the men and
women who stood with arms
folded against the hoods in front
OF the hat company back in
the '30s.
Rank-and-File Must Act
But remember this. Certainly
labor'S national headquarters has
responsibility. Certainly the
Government, the district attor-
neys, the police have response
bility. But when all is said and
reported. so does the rank-and-
file OF American labor. 1t must
make up its mind to stand UP
like men or crawl before the
manicured mob.
Certainly there are decent men
leading millions in American
labor. But there also are con-
victed rapists. extortionists, hi
jackers. loan sharks, bank rob-
bers, cop killers, professional
sluggers, gunner, kniferS, mar
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