Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-06-30
By SHIRLEY H. sCHEIBLA


Today, 10 months after the mar
riage Of the CLIO and the ALL, finds
the parent unions outwardly happy
with the arrangement, but many, of
their offspring unable to get along
under the same roof.
The fighting is over jurisdiction
in other words, which workers
shall belong to which union and
which union shall control which
job.
The parent union has come up
with two devices for reducing the
friction. First, international unions
are merging in cases where their
historic jurisdictions completely
overlap. This occurs in only a few
minor unions. however. Second,
the majority Of unions have signed
agreements prohibiting raids on
their brother unions.
Whenever these two measures
fail, as they often do, AFL-CIO
President George Meany and his
executive council may issue deci-
sions that are binding upon both
parties in a dispute. What Mr..
Meany has been unable to decide
on is formula upon which to base
these findings. A formula ideally
would determine when new organic
ing should be done along craft lines
and when along industry wide hines.
He has appointed a 13-man COM
mittee to devise and agree on such
a plan.
Solution Is Difficult
There are a number of illustra-
tions of the difficulties raised by
the jurisdictional issue. In st. Louis
the United Brotherhood of Carpen-
tiers is striking w. H. Condo, a brick
contractor. in a dispute over
whether the carpenters or the Hold
Carriers, Building and Common
Laborers Union should construct
scaffolding. Both are former ALL
unions.
In Cleveland. the fathers are
striking the Acoustical Contractors
Association over whether the
fathers or the carpenters should
install acoustical tiles. Here, too.
both unions were AFL.
Both cases are now pending be-
fore National Labor Conventions
Board.
In Detroit, United Auto Workers
President Walter Reuther is fight
ing the Building Trades Union over
who shall handle maintenance and
construction in auto plants. The
position Of the Building Trades
Union is that they should do the
work because it Is construction. In
the large food stores across the
country, the problem is who shall
handle the wrapping of meat, the
butcher or the retail clerk. In
Akron, the Sheet Metal Workers
are refusing to install Burt Manu-
featuring Co. ventilating equip
ment made by members Of the
United Steel Workers.
The AFL-CIO's problem Of juris-
dictional disputes Is not one to
which anyone expects to discover
an overnight solution. Mr.. Meany
recognizes the urgency Of the need
because he knows that strikes and
boycotts because OF, jurisdictional
disputes are not popular with the
public. And this is a time when
labor needs public favor.
ReutheF's Moneuver {
The difficulty Of solving the prob
lem is one reason the AFL-C1O
decided to merge first and solve
the disputes afterwards One Bit
ter dispute is between the United
Auto Workers and the International
Association Of Machinists who are
still competing vigorously with
each other. Reuther recently
granted autonomous bargaining
rights to group of skilled workers
within the JAW. This has been
interpreted as move to keep
skilled workers among JAW men,
bers from joining craft unions.
Despite the union fights. there's
no thought Of organizing all the
member unions along one line only.
either craft or industrial. That
would be impractical and too gigan-
tic an undertaking, labor leaders
say. Indeed. terms of the merger
include recognition of both craft
and industrial unionism as appro-
pirate. equal and necessary meth
DDS Of trade union organization.
The chief purpose of the ALL
CIO merger was to enable labor to