Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-03-05

vestigation of the dispute--the
Ter employed 3.40O workers.
The payroll is somewhat small
er now-perhaps $500. The
rest are on strike. or at work
elsewhere, or dead.
Company Union
Going back to the sos, there
was the Kohler Workers AsSo-
citation. In 1885, after a pro-
tested election at the Kohler
Works, the association was
adjudged by a labor board
operating under the National
Recovery Administration to be
"foStered, financed and con-
doned" by the company. SUBJ
sequently, KWA cleaned house
and continued to bargain for
the workers until 1852. But,
according to union claims, the
pay and other benefits Of KWA
members were low as COM
pared with those of unionized
workers in other companies.
Mr.. Graskamp, the JAW 10
cal president, testified recently
that when he was hired by
Kohler back in the sos, the
man who solicited his member
ship in KWA was a foreman
a company representative. .
In time, the United Auto
Workers, then known as UAW-
CLIO, moved in to organize
Kohler. The first organizers
hove on the scene in 1852. AS
testified last week by the Koh-
Ter Village chief Of police, IS
special policemen were added
to the normal force of three
men plus the chief.
UAW-CIO found little trouble
getting enough members to
force a bargaining election, and
managed to win the election
handily. A one-year contract
offering some improvements
but principally solidifying the
unions position for later bar
gaining table sessions w a
signed in 1858.
The question may be asked
what an Auto Workers Union
was doing organizing a plant
that makes toilet bowls, wash
basins and bathtubs. The an
swer lies in a widely held theory
of unionism that if a union has
organized one shop" it has
the right to try to organize all
that shops competitors.
The JAW had a contract
with the Beautyware Division
of the Briggs Auto Body Corp.
now a part of the Chrysler
Corp. Briggs Beautyware made
the same things Kohler made.
Overall CO m m a nd Of the
Kohler organizing drive was
given to Emil Macy, secretary
treasurer of the JAW. He was
chosen for the Job because he
was head of the Briggs De-
partment of the JAW and
familiar with the plumbing
fixture industry. Mr.. Macy and
a handful Of associates from
Detroit moved into Sheboygan.
Disagreement From Start
They were met there by Har-
vey Kitzman. a native Wis
consinite who heads the JAWS
Region 10, with headquarters
at Milwaukee. Mr.. Kitzman is
virtually the only one in the
whole union leadership who
is immune to the charge of
having been imported from
outside.
When the 1853 contract came
up for renegotiation, there was
disagreement from the start.
The union has made much, in
publicity releases. of the fact
that it retreated from most of
its bargaining demands. Mr..
Graskamp'S and Mr.. Kitzman's
testimony last week indicated
that the union could do little
else. The inference is there to
be drawn that Local 1913 was
none too sure of it's strength.
At any rate, there finally
remained only a handful Of
trivial demands three-cent-
an-hour wage increase, a sem
iority layoff clause and the like.
On these points the negotia-
tons foundered and the strike
began.
Charges Hurled
In a subsequent National
Labor Relations Board hearing.
in which the record of testi-
mony ran to 10000 pages
Trial Examiner George A
Downing took the position that
the company's bargaining at.
titude had been such as tc
precipitate the strike. He went
further:
Instead of bargaining In
good faith with intent to reach
an agreement" he wrote, IRE.
spondent was intent on penaliz.
ing the union for having started
the strike; and the penalty wa;
not to be simple equalization
on contract terms but the re.
duction Of the union to impo-
tency as the bargaining repre-.
sentative Of the employees"